Cormani McClain Poised to Anchor Florida’s Shorthanded Secondary
There are two cliches about winning championships: defense wins championships and strength in numbers.
While the Gators are nowhere near contending for a championship, the defense has taken a step in the right direction, but its numbers are dwindling.
The Florida defense has been one of the best in the country so far. It currently ranks 22nd in the FBS in yards allowed per game (284), with an offense that doesn’t make its job easier. The lack of offensive production from the Gators so far keeps the defense on the field and forces them to make more plays. The secondary has been a major contributor to maintaining the stout reputation of the team but has taken some blows along the way.
Loading ...Defensive backs Aaron Gates and Dijon Johnson have now both gone out with long- term injuries this season. With two starters out, some of the depth pieces in the Gators secondary will be forced to step up.
Coach Billy Napier said he expects junior Sharif Denson to take a lead role in the secondary with some opportunity for freshman Ja’Vari Flowers to also get some reps and has confidence that those two will be able to provide the same output as seen before the injuries to Gates and Johnson.
Cormani McClain is another name to look for in the absences. He has had a strong start to the season and burst onto the scene with a diving interception against Miami. The coaching staff put a lot of faith in McClain over the offseason and hope to reap the benefits in his improved role.
“I just got to come and play,” he said Wednesday when asked about the increased role.
He emphasized that the room is deep enough that he doesn’t really see his role changing too much and has faith in the unit.
Although the Texas offense has struggled this season, the defense is going to have to play a near perfect game to get the win. Texas has the No. 4-ranked defense in the country, which should cause problems for the Florida offense which has already been poor. Quarterback Arch Manning is also coming off his best start where he completed 18 of 21 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. If the preseason Heisman candidate can get a rhythm going, he could be hard to stop.
McClain has come up big in The Swamp before. He had a pick-six to seal the game against Kentucky last year in his first real on-the-field success as a Gator. He’s looking to do it again as one of the leaders of this depleted secondary core to give Florida life against No. 9 Texas.
“I see I got to play a bigger role,” McClain said.
Coverage of Saturday’s game will start on 98.1FM/850 AM WRUF at 12:30 p.m.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Football, Gators Football, SEC
