UF’s Tabor pushing to build on career season
GAINESVILLE — Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III will be a multi-millionaire by month’s end, while the former teammate who outplayed him last season will be wrapping up spring semester classes at UF.
Jalen Tabor knows the NFL awaits him, too — as a first-round draft pick if he builds on his breakout sophomore season.
Tabors is not hiding the fact the NFL is on his mind, either.
On what would have been the 33rd birthday for the late Sean Taylor, Tabor, a Washington, D.C. native, tweeted Friday he hoped Redskins owner Daniel Snyder one day would let him wear Taylor’s No. 21.
But wherever he is, Tabor just wants to perform better and more passionately than anyone on the field.
“Here’s a guy who really loves to play the game,” coach Jim McElwain said Friday. “There’s something to be said about really loving football, and this guy loves it. The way he practices and goes about his business is something you wish everybody would do.”
Tabor’s enthusiasm, confidence and talent have had a trickle-down effect this spring and will be a building block for Florida’s defense next fall.
Tabor likely will enter next season as the college game’s top cover corner.
New secondary coach Torrian Gray said Tabor is in the same class with the best cornerbacks he coached at Virginia Tech. This impressive list includes Pro Bowler Brandon Flowers, 2014 firstround pick Kyle Fuller and likely 2016 first-rounder Kendall Fuller.
“He’s right in there with the mix of those guys,” Gray said. “They all have got an ‘it’ factor about them. They’ve all got a high football IQ.”
Tabor also has the size (6-0, 199), instincts and an abundance of swagger.
“All those guys that are really great at the position, they believe in themselves,” said Gray, a three-time AllBig East safety at Virginia Tech. “You’re going to get beat, not everything is going to go well. He has that savvy, that cockiness or arrogance or competitiveness that you’ve got to have to be a top-flight corner.”
Long before he came to UF, Gray knew Tabor was special.
Tabor stood out as a ninth-grader when he attended a football camp at Virginia Tech, four hours down the road from Washington, D.C.
“You could tell that he was advanced for his age,” Gray recalled. “He’s got great footwork. He’s already tall, he’s got length. You’re like, ‘Oh, he’s only in ninth grade.’”
Tabor is a man among boys again. And the Gators are better for it.
Tabor missed a couple of spring practices due to a leg injury. When he has been on the field, Tabor has terrorized quarterbacks and blanketed receivers.
“His length is huge and he’s very quick,” wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon said. “If he gets his hands on you, it’s hard to get open. That guy is the real deal.”
NFL scouts and decisionmakers no doubt are eager to see how Tabor backs up his spectacular 2015 season. He finished with 18 passes defended — 10 more than Hargreaves — and had two picksixes.
Yet, Tabor still can improve.
Gray said he would like Tabor to hone his ability to read the offense before the snap, rather than rely so much on his physical gifts. Tabor’s tackling ability also needs work, though Gray said he made a couple of nice stops during Friday’s scrimmage and the ballcarrier did not pick up yards after contact.
“I’m pleased that he’s conscious of that and challenging that,” Gray said. “You know, ‘Let’s be better at a tackle.’”
Despite any deficiencies, Tabor is a rare talent with a bright future.
McElwain might be the only one who does not concede Tabor will be in the NFL a little more than a year from now.
“You’ve already got him leaving. Sheesh,” McElwain said. “Give us a chance here.”