Florida’s secondary is known around the country as one of the best in college football.
The Gators’ defensive backs have youth and experience across the board that can compete with any top-tier secondary in the country.
It all starts with Vernon Hargreaves III, commonly regarded as the best cornerback in the nation. Opposite him is sophomore Jalen Tabor, one of the game’s rising starts and a former five-star recruit himself.
Sprinkle in corners Brian Poole and Quincy Wilson along with safeties Keanu Neal and Marcus Maye, among others, and you have the makings of a dynamic group of defensive backs.
It’s a unit that was tied for 15th nationally in interceptions last season, and has been a top 20 pass defense in six of the last seven years and a top 10 pass defense in three of those six years.
But this year they want to be better.
They’ve placed higher expectations on themselves and have accepted the challenge of being the best in the country, with Hargreaves leading the charge.
"We’re the best part of the team. Without a doubt we’re probably the best in the country," Hargreaves said at the Southeastern Conference Media Days.
However, what hasn’t been said is how close they are off the field. Spending so much time with each other outside of games and practices is vital to how each of them plays on Saturdays.
It isn’t about how many interceptions they get or how many highlight reel plays they make.
It’s about building a bond that goes beyond the field and will last well beyond their playing days.
What goes on behind the scenes when nobody’s watching, and the friendships forged when the bright lights of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium aren’t on, is what gives the Gators’ secondary the confidence it possesses to be the best in the nation.
"We’re the closest unit on the team. We might be the closest unit in all of college football, we just go out there, we compete with each other and make each other better," Tabor said.
"I feel like off the field we’re just as close as we are on the field."
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For defensive backs, the film room is their go-to place. It’s where they find time to break down the game, correct their mistakes and communicate with each other. In Florida’s case, you won’t just see one member of the secondary go into the room at a time.
"They go in packs. Very rarely do you see people by themselves. It’s two at a time, three at a time," defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan said.
But the film room isn’t just a place to do work. It’s a place where they have another chance to bond, become closer and strike up a chemistry that goes beyond the field.
Defensive lineman Bryan Cox Jr. has seen it first hand.
"You go in the defensive room to watch film and you’ll either see Keke (Neal) or you’ll see all of them in there watching film together, calling out plays and stuff like that," Cox said. "That’s a strong sign that they’re really close."
The importance of having a strong bond is something Tabor has appreciated since he set foot on campus. He’s been with the program for two years and has already experienced two different coaching staffs.
But what the Washington, D.C., native hasn’t seen change is the players surrounding him. The familiarity with the others has allowed him build a relationship, one he compares to a family.
"I feel like we get along so well off the field, we’re like brothers," Tabor said. "We’re going to fight. We fight sometimes, we argue, we get on each other hard and at the end of the day we all know that we’re for one another."
The importance of family and getting along with each other is one of the things head coach Jim McElwain has stressed since he took over the program. He believes there are more important aspects in life than the game of football, with family being a top priority.
But when describing the secondary and how tight-knit of a group they are, he couldn’t help but praise them for putting the onus on themselves on and off the field.
"What they’ve done is they’ve accepted kind of a responsibility above and beyond. We only get 20 hours with these guys, so a lot of things, they’ve gotten to kind of do on their own," McElwain said.
"And to see how these guys have taken the extra time to study the opponent … that’s the thing that separates great players from just good players."
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While all members of the secondary speak highly of each other, the attention has always been on Hargreaves — projected to be one of the top draft picks in the 2016 NFL Draft.
While football fans across the country are aware of his physical gifts, most might not know how unselfish he is off the field.
And it started before he landed in Gainesville.
Coming out of Wharton High in Tampa, Hargreaves was the No. 3 player in the country according to 247Sports. He had the reputation of being a shutdown cover corner in high school, but a lot of people don’t know that he’s always been the type of player willing to bring along others for the ride.
His father, Vernon Hargreaves II, now the linebackers coach at Arkansas, said his son was willing to defer to others and he didn’t want to take sole possession of the spotlight. It’s a quality Vernon has kept since he arrived at Florida, and he has taken the responsibility of imparting wisdom on the younger players.
"I think he probably just feels the obligation of helping those guys to get better, especially younger guys," his father said.
"That’s what you try to do if you’re one of the leaders or top guys. You try to bring as many guys along with you and help guys be better, and that’s what he’s trying to do."
Vernon’s father also had the same thoughts about the importance of team chemistry within the position group. He said if one player is selfish, it has a negative effect on the entire team when a coach like McElwain is trying to build a program. Sharing the accolades and being unselfish with each other is the sign of an up-and-coming program.
"When you’re playing your game and if you feel really good about the guys you’re playing around and you have a connection with those guys off the field as well, now you want to play really well and not let your partners down," Vernon’s father said. "I think that’s a big part of it as much as anything. It kind of all works together."
Vernon has also made a strong impression on Florida’s defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.
At Mississippi State, Collins helped develop two cornerbacks who were second round picks in the 2013 NFL Draft — Darius Slay drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 36th overall pick and Johnthan Banks drafted 43rd overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Banks was the 2012 Jim Thorpe award winner, which is given to the top defensive back in the nation.
Vernon, however, is in a class of his own when compared to those two.
While he might not have as many interceptions as them, he does have 24 pass breakups in his first two seasons at Florida, compared to the 26 Slay and Banks combined for in their last two seasons at Mississippi State. Vernon was also named an All-American in his first two seasons, and Collins loves the extra work Vernon puts in off the field.
"One of my favorite things about Vernon is the things that he does that people don’t see," Collins said. "He’s one of the first ones in the meeting room to watch film. He takes notes. He studies. He does little things extra that people don’t see. But that’s one of the things the great ones do, is the extra little things that other people don’t see or aren’t willing to do."
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The veterans on Florida’s secondary do what they can to help bring along the younger players. They spend extra time teaching them the intricacies of the position, because once Hargreaves, Poole, Neal and Maye leave, their production will need to be replaced.
The crop of Tabor, Wilson, Nick Washington, Duke Dawson and others will be the next in line to carry the torch.
Callahan sees it as imperative that the younger guys learn everything they can from the veterans.
"You want the young guys to see how it was done and done the right way. They’ve done a great job and obviously there’s the progression of when those guys move on, guess what, the young guys become the veterans now," Callahan said.
"Now you’re taught to sit there and teach the young guys and you like to keep that system rolling and you continue the success and the situation that we want to have with great players being in the back end continue to keep developing those guys."
It’s never easy living up to high expectations, though. For the younger guys in the secondary, trying to crack the lineup and get playing time over the established players is no small task.
But for guys like Wilson, Washington and Dawson, sitting behind the others provides an opportunity for them to learn the game.
"It’s kind of hard for them, but it’s also good for them to learn from us," Hargreaves said. "They listen to what we have to tell to them."
It worked out for the now-established guys in the secondary and it’s one of the reasons why they’ve gotten to the point where now they’re one of the best in the country.
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With the second game of the season against East Carolina on Saturday, the lights will continue to shine bright on the Gators’ secondary. And the question of whether they can be the best in the nation will play out as the season progresses.
But having the chemistry they have, combined with their willingness to share the spotlight, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t live up to their expectations.
However, one thing is for certain: They’re not short on confidence.
"We all know we’re talented. We all know we can play and we’re comfortable in our own skin," Tabor said. "At the end of the day no matter who goes out there we know the job is going to get done no matter who goes out there. … Because at the end of the day we all have one goal, to be the best secondary in the country."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
UF cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III returns an interception during Florida’s 61-13 win against New Mexico State on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
