PONTE VEDRA BEACH - It's no secret that UF's secondary is looking for a big turnaround this season.
The unit gave up 258.5 passing yards per game in 2007, making it No. 98 in the nation, and much of the Gators' success will hinge on that stat improving.
"Last year, we were young and dumb, and this year we have something to prove," junior cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis said. That's how we see it."
Pierre-Louis will be key to the cornerbacks becoming older and wiser, as he and Markihe Anderson are the only juniors who figure to get much playing time.
It'll be a role reversal for Pierre-Louis, who spent his first two years learning the ropes of football after not playing the sport until high school. Now, he has to be a leader.
"Everything happens for a reason, and when it happens you have to take responsibility for yourself," Pierre-Louis said. "Now, I'm one of the older players in the secondary, so I'm just trying to do everything right and lead other people by my example."
Sophomore Joe Haden, who is expected to start opposite Pierre-Louis, said his partner has embraced his new role and spent more time watching film than any other defensive back this offseason.
The pair also has the advantage of having played together for a full season, and the two hope their chemistry can help propel them to be one of the best tandems in the Southeastern Conference.
But they aren't without challengers to their starting spots. Anderson leads one of the deepest benches the Gators have had at the position in years, and he hopes to crack the lineup for the season opener against Hawaii.
Anderson was supposed to start last season, but injuries kept him from significant playing time. Now, he's trying to convince new cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford to put him on the field.
"He works hard every day, and he's starting to make plays," Bedford said. "He's feeling very confident right now, and he wants to play. All he says is, 'Coach, I want to be the starter, not the nickelback. Put me in the lineup and I'll show you what I can do.' So far he has been outstanding, and he's pressing Joe and Wondy for a starting job."
There are other suitors too. Sophomores Jacques Rickerson and Moses Jenkins have some experience, and freshmen Janoris Jenkis and Jeremy Brown impressed coaches as soon as they stepped on campus. Newcomer Adrian Bushell is in the mix as well.
"What's good about the position right now is we have eight corners on scholarship, and we've never had that," safeties coach Chuck Heater said. "There's legitimate competition, so if a guy decides he doesn't want to go hard, someone can take his job. We haven't had that before."
The coaches are hoping that increased pressure, coupled with facing some of the SEC's best receivers in practice, will lead to a big change on the field.
And they want the players to remember how ugly things got last year, particularly in the season finale against Michigan.
"The biggest thing we tell our guys is to not pay attention to what people say about us," Bedford said. "We're going to walk out there with a chip on our shoulder because no one things much of us."
