UF defensive back Duke Dawson takes pride in his versatility.
Line him up as an outside corner, and he said he’ll keep up with the receiver.
Put him in as the nickel corner, and he’ll jam the slot receiver at the line.
Send him deep as a safety, and he’ll be a ballhawk and cover ground.
“I can play it all,” said Dawson, a junior. “It’s no big deal to me. It’s just all preparation.”
The Gators plan to primarily use Dawson at nickel, hoping he’ll fill the void left by the NFL-bound Brian Poole.
But with All-Southeastern Conference corner Jalen Tabor suspended for Saturday’s season opener against UMass, Dawson will have a chance to showcase his versatility right away. The 5-foot-10, 208-pound defender is listed on the Gators’ depth chart as the first-team starter for both outside corner and nickel this week.
“Duke really has upped a lot of the things,” UF coach Jim McElwain said last week. “His ability obviously, the flexibility to play some nickel, but more than that be effective at the corner is something he’s shown.”
But over his first two years, Dawson has not had a bevy of opportunities to make plays on the field.
A four-star recruit out of Cross City’s Dixie County High, Dawson spent most of his first two years as a backup, rolling in on certain packages or coming in for the occasional play whenever starters needed a breather. He took a back seat to the likes of Vernon Hargreaves, Keanu Neal and Poole — all in the NFL now — as well as classmates Tabor and Quincy Wilson.
In 25 games (just one start at safety) over his first two seasons, Dawson recorded 24 career tackles, two defended passes and a forced fumble.
His lone interception came in his collegiate debut against Eastern Michigan in 2014. He returned the pick 36 yards for a touchdown.
“I’m gonna take that game by game, day by day, practice by practice,” Dawson said. “You’ve got to come out every day and work.”
And according to his teammates, he’s put in the work.
Redshirt senior Marcus Maye, who has worked with Dawson over the last two years, said Dawson’s versatility is only a benefit for the Gators’ defense, a group that finished 13th in the country last year in passing defense by surrendering an average of just 182.1 yards through the air over 14 games.
“He can run. He can cover. He can tackle. You can put him in the slot. You can put him out wide at corner. He can do a lot of different things,” Maye said. “So just knowing that he’s out there on the field, we’re all excited to see him play.”
Come Saturday, Dawson will have his chance to play.
And to Dawson, where he’s lined up won’t matter.
“It’s just playing ball,” he said.
Contact Jordan McPherson at jmcpherson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @J_McPherson1126.
Players celebrate with nickel back Duke Dawson after Dawson's first interception during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 8, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
