MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.-- There is an emerging star on Florida's secondary.
Kaiir Elam made his presence known in Florida's win over Virginia in the Orange Bowl. The freshman cornerback put a stop to the Cavaliers' come back with 5:11 left to play, when he leaped for a ball over UVA receiver Hasis Dubois' head, picking off Bryce Perkins.
"I knew he was their bigger-bodied guy," Elam said. "I just knew that if I got my head around I would be able to just play the ball. I knew he wasn't really used to doing any routes except for like flies, so I just used my head and played the play."
That was Elam's third pick of the season - and considering he predominately played on special teams and saw limited snaps up until the final three games, thats a good illustration of whats in store for the unit.
Elam finished with one interception and one pass break up in the win over the Wahoos, while amassing 11 tackles and four pass break ups, in addition to those three interceptions, this season.
Veteran corner Marco Wilson isn't surprised at Elam's success.
"They [the freshmen corners] have been stepping up since fall camp," said Wilson. "I'm really impressed since he [Elam] has come in. Very mature guy. Reminded me how me and CJ [Henderson] were when I first came in here. Throughout the year he has grown and has done everything that people has asked of him."
"When you look at Elam, he is a guy that is really patient," said Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. "He will play the ball in the air and he takes coaching. Really all those guys have been a pleasant surprise. They have taken the coaching, they are working hard to become good players."
According to Elam, it was working under talented defensive backs like Henderson and Wilson that allowed him to grow into the player he is today.
“When I first got here I was under their wing," said Elam. "I just learned so much technique and what to expect from them being a freshman and you know I’m just thankful for those guys cause they really helped me like grow out of my shell and just become the player I am today.”
Elam describes himself as a competitor.
"I don’t like to lose," he said after the win over UVA.
So as a competitor, Elam wants more from his career than the status quo.
“I think it went below what I expected," Elam said when asked how his first season went. "I wanted to be, I wanted to win the Thorpe my freshman year and then that didn’t happen. And then I wanted, I just wanted to do better. But you know I still got two more years, three more years so whatever God bless me with, I’m just thankful for it.”
With that attitude, one can see that 'DBU' is in good hands.
"I love my teammates, especially my corners, because every day we're grinding and trying to get better," said Elam. "I think it's very important for us to turn it up a notch and improve."
