Corey Raymond breaks down the Gators' freshmen cornerbacks
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With a promotion and a contract extension that keeps him with the Gators through January 2025, Corey Raymond is settling into his new role. He and the Gators pulled in an impressive group of defensive backs in the last cycle, and five of them are already on campus.
After five practices Raymond spoke about the three freshmen cornerbacks in spring camp and how they’re adjusting to the college game.
Raymond is high on Ja’Keem Jackson
Ja’Keem Jackson soared up the On3 rankings at the end of the cycle. He finished as the No. 40 player in the 2023 class. Raymond was quick to see talent in Jackson, even when he was playing a different position.
“He played receiver then he moved to DB but you saw the traits,” Raymond said. “You saw the traits that he had. I thought that he was a really good player in high school once he started playing the position.”
Now, Jackson is already earning reps and positing himself to play as a freshman.
“He’s going to be real good. He has a chance to be special, we just got to keep him going, understand what we want, the details of playing the position. At the end of the day, it’s about your athleticism but there’s a lot of details in the position that you have to learn and it’s going to be changing every play,” Raymond said of Jackson. “Things change and you have to be able to change quick so you got to be a critical thinker. That’s what he’s starting to learn: how to become a critical thinker.”
Sharif Denson
Sharif Denson has been working as a nickel (Star) during the early days of spring camp. Raymond credited Denson for being smart and playing with grit as he works his way into the rotation.
“Sharif is doing really good. Sharif’s going to be a really good player,” Raymond said. “He’s a nickel guy, he’s doing that. He’s doing good. It’s a hard spot, but he’s doing better. He’s going to be good. Like I tell him, you can’t rush it, man. Just keep working, just keep working. You know, sometimes kids want it right now. He’s just gotta keep working.”
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Aaron Gates
Aaron Gates continues to come back from an injury. He hasn’t been able to run through drills with the rest of the defensive backs.
“He’s staying involved, and Aaron Gates is a really good player,“ Raymond said. “It’s just unfortunate he had the injury, but we’re going to get him back. He’s working hard.”
Despite the injury during his senior season, Florida continued to recruit him and fended off Michigan from a late flip.
“We had to keep him,” Raymond said. “He’s a good player, that’s the thing about him. We had to keep him, and we stayed with him even after the injury, because he was a guy.”
