Cornerback Wilson healthy, determined to prove himself
GAINESVILLE — After bursting onto the scene as a first-year player, UF cornerback Marco Wilson was forgotten before his sophomore season really had begun.
Wilson tore the ACL in his left knee during Week 2 against Kentucky on the Wildcats’ second offensive play. The native of Fort Lauderdale then watched the Gators improve from four to 10 wins without him and sidekick C.J. Henderson establish himself as one of the SEC’s top cornerbacks.
With his knee back to 100%, Wilson is ready to remind people what they missed a season ago.
“I know there [are] a lot of people sleeping on me because I got hurt. I’m going to be better than that guy, actually,” Wilson vowed Thursday during UF’s media day. “So, everyone [is] sleeping on me talking about, ‘ACL this, ACL that,’ they’re going to see when the game comes around.”
A member of the SEC AllFreshman Team in 2017, Wilson proved himself to be a complete cornerback for the Gators. The younger brother of former Gators standout Quincy Wilson led UF with 10 pass breakups and proved to be a sure tackler, finishing with 34 stops.
Wilson is eager to see what he and Henderson, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, can do during their second full season together.
Asked whether there is a better cornerback duo in college football, the ultraconfident Wilson replied, “Not even close.”
2019 class filling out: Two members of the 2019 class are expected to join the Gators in preseason camp after clearing some academic hurdles this summer.
Three-star receiver Dionte Marks of DeLand is on campus, coach Dan Mullen said, while four-star receiver Arjei Henderson is expected to arrive this weekend.
Offensive lineman Wardrick Wilson, a native of the Bahamas, continues to have problems obtaining a visa.
The addition of Marks and Henderson, the 140th-ranked player nationally in the 2019 recruiting class, leaves the Gators without five of 25 signees from Mullen’s second class at UF.
Four-star linebacker Diwun Black of Mississippi has enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College due to academic issues. Four-star offensive lineman Deyavie Hammond of Lakeland also failed to qualify academically and will attend junior college.
Cornerback Chris Steele, the top-rated recruit in the class, and quarterback Jalon Jones left the program this spring after Jones was accused of sexual battery and Steele was listed as a witness in the battery incident report.
Banks expected back: Mullen expects offensive lineman Noah Banks to be in camp after missing spring practices due to health issues. The 6-foot-5, 309-pound Banks, a redshirt senior, played in 12 games in 2018, starting against Idaho, and will add depth to an inexperienced unit replacing four starters and featuring just 20 combined starts.
“It is great for us to have him back,” Mullen said. “I know that one of the main reasons we recruited him is looking at our roster, and knowing that you’re going to be in this situation, he was going to be a critical part of the team. Getting him healthy, being able to make sure that he’s healthy to contribute, is huge for us.”