First C.J. Henderson, now Marco Wilson.
Florida D-coordinator Todd Grantham has extremely high praise for the defensive back duo. After calling Henderson the best cornerback he’s ever coached last year, Grantham put Wilson on a pedestal Monday.
“H’s probably the most versatile player I've had,” Grantham said of Wilson, who plays both cornerback and nickel for the Gators. “That really creates value for our team, for himself. He's an excellent STAR. When you talk about a guy that can be instinctive, that guy can cover. You know he's got physicality.
“So, I've been fortunate to have some good players at corner. I would say he's probably the most versatile guy that I've had from a standpoint of, you can match him up on a premier guy whether he's in the slot or outside, and those are the kind of things we can do with him.”
Wilson jumped on a Zoom call with the media following Grantham and reacted to his comments.
“That’s real important,” Wilson said. “I’m glad he thinks that. I try really hard to be good at what I do and I try harder just to be there for my team wherever they need me. Corner, STAR, wherever. Safety, if I need to, I’ll be there. Don’t matter.”
What did matter to Wilson was being snubbed by the Jim Thorpe Award, which didn’t include him on its preseason watch list. Wilson responded to the news on Twitter and said it puts a “huge chip” on his shoulder heading into this year, but he prefers it that way.
“I don’t want to be comfortable and relaxed, and be the top guy that everybody’s talking about,” Wilson said. “It just makes me want to keep grinding, keep going harder. I looked at that list, and some of the names I saw — and I respect everybody that’s on there — but I just know, seeing some of those names, I know a lot of people on there aren’t on my level of play.
“But you just gotta take it for what it is. At the end of the day, I’m not here for rewards. I’m here to play with my team and win. ... I’m just trying to level up my game and just get to the next level, and just dominate in anything I do.”
Wilson considered entering the NFL Draft, but elected to return for his senior season after making 36 tackles and three interceptions in 2019. The Gators have had nine defensive backs drafted in the last five years, including seven in the first two rounds.
Wilson could be No. 10.
“I think about that every time I go out there at practice,” Wilson said when asked about living up to Florida’s DBU tradition. “I know there is a lot of great guys that came here. When I leave here, I want to be one of those guys that is talked about. So I just want to make sure I do things necessary so I get talked about when I’m gone.”
