Five doomsday predictions for Florida Football ahead of 2024 season
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier collars at the officials during first half action as Florida takes on Florida State at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2473,h_1391,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2F213%2F01j5xf59532p2tz22e61.jpg "Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier collars at the officials during first half action as Florida takes on Florida State at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Jason Marshall Remains Static
Prior to the 2023 season, Jason Marshall was talked about as a potential first-round draft pick. He's back in Gainesville for another go around, so one can draw their own conclusions on how that panned out.
The irony is that from a pure metrics standpoint, Marshall had a better 2023 campaign than he did in 2022. He only gave up 17 receptions in 2023 compared to 27 in 2022. His overall reception rate was better in 2023, and his PFF grade for the season was higher, too.
But the ire he drew from Gator fans stemmed from the fact that when he did give up a reception, it was for an average of 24.2 yards. Of the 224 defensive backs who dropped back into coverage at least 300 times last season, that was literally the most in the country.
His five touchdowns surrendered were 11th most in the country and his missed tackle rate of 16.1% was bottom half in the country among defensive backs.
Under new defensive backs coach Will Harris, the hope is that all these metrics improve and Marshall goes on to be a high draft pick in the NFL.
But we will state again that until you have done it, you haven't done it. And if Marshall puts up similar metrics in 2024 as the leader of the secondary, it could be a long season in pass defense.