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The Florida Gators gave up 28 touchdown passes in 2020, more than any other Florida secondary since at least World War II. It was an ugly year for the Gators' defense and there needs to be a change to start living up to the Gator standard.
That means jobs are open and there is an opportunity to earn playing time. That process begins in earnest this spring, where the focus is on learning the scheme, learning your position, and improving your game. In spring you don't have an opponent to gameplan on, so the whole focus is to make the team and yourself better.
That's where Donovan McMillon's career begins.
The talented safety from Peterstownship High School in Pennsylvania is already turning heads. As a sophomore in high school, McMillon was a small 5-9 but shot up to his now 6-2 frame. McMillon is listed at 6-2, 197 pounds on Florida's official roster and he continues adding size in a new strength and conditioning program.
McMillon's career will start at safety, where there is an opening next to Trey Dean, but with the way he's putting on size one could wonder where he'll end up in the next two years.
“He’s playing safety for us right now, but obviously, he’s got great size, so you never know with physicality how everybody grows into the backend of their career," Dan Mullen said. "But he’s playing safety for us right now."
Safety isn't an easy position at Flordia and in Todd Grantham's defense. There's a lot to remember and you have a lot of responsibility. McMillon has impressed the coaching staff with the way he's handled that early on.
"I like intelligent football players. He really, one of the things you see with him is, obviously, his dad is a coach, and you can see that with his attention to detail with all the little things," Mullen said of McMillon. "Whether we’re in special teams or whether we’re on defense, his attention to detail to try to do it right really stands out.”
McMillon brings a level of physicality and toughness to the field that the Gators defense needs to embody in 2021. Couple that with the football IQ that his head coach is raving about and it looks like a recipe for early playing time in 2021.
