Marco Wilson feeling more comfortable at STAR
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Meet your new 'STAR.'
Todd Grantham made the decision to move Marco Wilson to nickelback on the road at South Carolina. Up to that point Trey Dean had taken most of those reps at the position, however, Grantham decided to move Wilson to nickel and place true freshman Kaiir Elam outside, opposite CJ Henderson.
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The move became permanent against Vanderbilt with Dean coming off the bench against Vandy.
“I’ve been all week at nickel," said Wilson." I’m playing nickel for the rest of the season, but if a team is running like 12 personnel or something, I’ll still be at corner.”
There were some reports circling that Dean was not happy with the move, but Gators head coach Dan Mullen quickly put those rumors to bed during his press conference.
“I think a lot of that weighs on him,” Mullen said. “These guys are young guys, and there’s lots of pressure put on them. And they put a lot of pressure on themselves. It’s one of those things of just making sure his focus is where it needs to be to continue to improve and to continue to gain confidence and go play.”
Dean took a lot of criticism for his recent performances after some Florida opponents chose to attack the sophomore during games.
"A lot of people don’t understand how hard that position is," cornerback CJ Henderson said.
"Star’s probably the hardest position on the field for our defense, especially," safety Donovan Stiner said. "First of all the Star sets our defense, so people have to line up based on Trey and stuff like that and he has a lot of running responsibility as well as covering. A lot of stuff to remember. He has to blitz, he has to cover, he has to fill in the runs. He has to do all type of stuff like that. So it’s a hard position. A lot of stuff to remember, and he’s a young player still learning."
Wilson is an experienced veteran and even took a few a reps at nickel during camp, and he is still learning about the position.
“At first, it was kind of tough, because I didn’t really practice much I just did like cover reps in the week," said Wilson. "Now I’m getting more comfortable in play calls and stuff like that.”
It takes a lot of effort and a special kind of player to take up that nickelback role.
“Really learning the playbook for it, because it’s more complex than just playing outside corner," explained Wilson. "You have to read more keys and you got to be more involved with things that are going on. Playing outside corner, you are on your own most of the time doing your own thing.
"Just adjusting to the quickness of the type of guys I’m covering. Because outsde you don’t really get guys that are quick like that. Usually the guy in the slot is going to be real quick."
Wilson nearly came away with a sack against the Commodores last week. The South Florida native joked that he likes that he will have the opportunity to blitz more, which means an opportunity to show NFL scouts that he is a versatile defensive back.
Mullen and company thought Dean's "skill set really fit" the STAR position, and it still may in fact fit down the line. He just may need time.
“Really just keep working," Wilson said of his message to Dean. "Thing are going to happen in this game. You’re not always going to play perfect. Everybody knows that. Whenever you get your opportunities to get in the play, wherever you are — nickel, outside — just do what got to do and make some plays.”
“He’s handling it good," said Stiner. "Trey is really competitive. He wants to get wherever he can to be the most successful. He wants to make plays. He’s still working hard in practice and doing everything he can.”
Florida will still utilize Dean in its rotation, as the Gators showed against Vandy last weekend. However, Wilson is the new STAR, and he has acclimated well to his new position well.
"Marco is really versatile," said Stiner. "We can put him at Star, corner, he can blitz and that’s helpful. It’s great to have a player like that on defense.”