Florida Football: Sharif Denson becomes the next man up

As is life for Florida football, Jadarrius Perkins took to Twitter/X to announce that he plans to enter the transfer portal following the Gators’ loss to Utah. The graduate senior only played in six snaps last Thursday after being beat out by Jaydon Hill.

When one man leaves, another man has to take his place. And more than likely, Sharif Denson becomes that man.

Florida Football: Next man up

We highlighted freshman DB Sharif Denson last month. At the time, we said:

"Denson was graded as a high four-star prospect by Rivals.com and was considered by them to be the 15th-best cornerback in the country.ESPN had him as a top 200 overall prospect, while 247 still had him as a four-star.On3, shocking, had him as a three-star.His film in high school showcased a player that wasn’t afraid to lay the boom, even though his listed high school weight was somewhere around 170 pounds.Listed at 5’11” and 181 pounds now, Denson had great awareness and play recognition to peel off his man to jump a route for an interception. Despite not having imposing size, he still had no issue getting in the face for press coverage of opposing wide receivers."

We also noted that he had a medium chance of redshirting, given that he was behind Hill and Perkins on the depth chart for the STAR position.

With Perkins now departing Florida football, the door is open for Denson to get his chance.

As noted with many of Florida’s freshmen, Billy Napier’s 2023 class is filled with guys who weren’t afraid to impose their will on film in high school. Guys like Jordan Castell, T.J. Searcy, and Treyaun Webb, among others, all popped for being willing to embrace contact.

Losing the experience of Perkins isn’t ideal, but it continues to trend of Napier getting his guys into the rotation.