Will Harris emphasizing tackling, takeaways with Florida secondary

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — There’s a lot for new Florida secondary coach Will Harris to like about the group he inherited. The concerns are well documented, but the experience and upside of UF’s defensive backs has Harris encouraged.

Gators coach Billy Napier shares his enthusiasm.

“I was telling Coach Napier, this might be one of the most talented groups I’ve had, just as far as height and length and speed. That’s what Napier always says, which is true. If you just look at it, Jason Marshall has 1,910 snaps. That’s a lot of snaps. And so, you just look at the experience that he has.

“And obviously when you go down the list, Asa [Turner] and Trikweze [Bridges]and DJ [Douglas] with the experience they have, and then having the guys that played last year as far as Ja’Keem [Jackson], we talk about Bryce [Thornton] and Jordan [Castell],” Harris said. “A lot of talent. That’s the biggest thing.”

Two areas that Harris has been emphasizing with his unit are tackling and takeaways. The Gators missed 116 tackles in 2023 — nearly 10 a game — and ranked second to last nationally in interceptions (3) and total turnovers (7).

“Let’s be real,” Harris said, “you guys saw the games. We gotta fix the tackling — point blank, period. That’s the emphasis for me and the rest of our staff, just make sure we get that fixed, especially in the back end. We talked about that a lot.

“Then just protecting the deep part of the field. … Those are the two most significant things I saw that needed to get fixed. It just comes back to the communication part of it. I feel like once we get that back on track, everything will be fine.”

The three players who missed the most tackles — linebacker Scooby Williams (15), nickel Jaydon Hill (12) and safety Miguel Mitchell (10) — transferred to other schools.

One thing Harris does is let his defensive backs tackle him in practice. He even went viral in early in camp for a video of Marshall leveling him during a drill.

“I’ve been doing that for years: I’ve been tackling, I’ve been getting tackled,” said Harris, who played DB at USC. “If I’m getting out there with them, they need to feel it and they need to understand this is the mindset we need to have.

“We’re creatures of habit. The more and more you do something, the more and more it becomes a habit. …. We do it every single day. I start every one of my (drills) out tackling and I emphasize it. I just believe if you continue to keep doing it over and over and over and over again, they’ll get it.”

Harris is well aware of the lack of turnovers last season but has kept his players focused on how they can create more this year. He’s also working with the defensive coaches on ways to force takeaways from a schematic standpoint.

Junior cornerback Devin Moore and freshman safety Josiah Davis both made interceptions in the first scrimmage, while Bridges, Castell, Douglas and Jackson all picked off passes in the second scrimmage last Saturday.

“I don’t even talk about last year. Last year is over with. We’re talking about now,” Harris said. “I’m very aware. To take this job, you’ve got to be aware of it. You’d be a fool not to. … Our job is to eliminate the explosives, get the ball back and score. … We can all go back and talk about last year, but the point of emphasis this spring is, obviously, making sure we protect that part of it and the tackling and obviously the takeaways.

“That’s a huge emphasis. That ball is either ours or nobody’s. So that’s the mindset we gotta have. Not only that, we as a staff talk about it scheme-wise. We gotta make sure we come up with the right scheme to create those. And then you get what your emphasize. This spring that been really good, we got a bunch of turnovers, but just continue to emphasize that every single day. That’s one that I looked at and made sure we got it fixed, as well.”