Florida Gators: Freshman Donovan McMillon making an early impact
By Jeremy Klump
The Florida Gators have missed having an impact player at safety the last two seasons. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was the most recent Gators’ great safety, and the defense has felt the glaring hole. However, former 4-star recruit and current freshman Donovan McMillon may have the potential to fill that void.
McMillon is an early enrollee that shined playing his high school football in Pennsylvania at Peters Township High School. Pennsylvania high school football is underrated and to dominate like McMillon did proves he is special. When you turn on McMillon’s film, you see a physical and versatile safety.
That physicality stems from his wrestling background, which is no joke in PA. McMillon was a PIAA Class 3A runner-up at 182 pounds, which should tell you the type of athlete he is.
McMillon flies all over the field, and when he gets his hands on you, he is bringing you down. Fans will fall in love with his aggressiveness and willingness to help in the run game from the safety position.
Florida fans were already excited once McMillon announced his commitment to the Gators, but head coach Dan Mullen added even more excitement.
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Mullen spoke to the media today about Florida’s spring practice and the team’s first scrimmage. While doing so, he mentioned McMillon and had nothing but praise for the freshman. According to Nick de la Torre of GatorsTerritory, Mullen said, “He’s playing safety for us right now, but obviously, he’s got great size, so you never know with physicality how everybody grows into the backend of their career. But he’s playing safety for us right now. A high-energy guy. He really plays hard. I mean, I like intelligent football players. He really, one of the things you see with him is, obviously, his dad is a coach, and you can see that with his attention to detail with all the little things. Whether we’re in special teams or whether we’re on defense, his attention to detail to try to do it right really stands out.”
These words should hold a lot of weight, as Mullen clearly thinks highly of the young player. Mullen has no reason to praise McMillon, other than highlighting and rewarding the 6-1, 195-pound safety for his hard work this early in his career. Making an impact on the coaching staff should give Gators fans hope that Florida may have a potential star in the making.
Florida’s secondary was a disaster in 2020, with both the cornerbacks and safeties struggling each game. It felt like the Gators could never get the stop they needed or make a play when they needed it most. They missed having an elite player in the secondary they can trust each and every game. There is hope that the Gators’ defense will be back on track in 2021, and it looks like McMillon could be one of the players to help them do that.