As dazzling Gators cornerback CJ Henderson continues to get rightfully tabbed to pre-season All-SEC and All-American teams, it seems the memories of college football analysts and sportswriters fail to extend beyond last season.
Henderson undoubtedly put on a show his sophomore year totaling 38 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, two INTs, seven pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. However, just two seasons ago, then-freshman Henderson was regarded as the future 1B to fellow freshman corner Marco Wilson’s 1A.
As the highly-anticipated Florida/Miami game nears, no other storyline may be as intriguing as what the world missed out on when Wilson was away.
An ACL tear in the Gators’ second game of the 2018 season ended the redshirt sophomore’s season. While a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament may no longer be career ender, it is still a year-long rehab process that can affect the way an athlete plays; especially if an ACL is torn twice. Wilson also tore his ACL in high school.
Luckily for the Gators, the Ft. Lauderdale native has put on a good amount of muscle and was often seen leading the team in during camp drills.
The importance of a healthy Wilson is crucial to Florida taking a step forward after going 10-3 in Mullen’s debut as head coach.
From the first day of his freshman year, he was regarded as the next torch holder in the DBU dynasty. He was one of only four true freshmen corners in Gators history to start the season opener. As the season progressed, he logged 34 tackles and led the team in pass breakups (10). For perspective, a freshman Henderson recorded 22 tackles, four interceptions (two pick sixes), and four pass breakups.
So a freshman Wilson only accounted for four less tackles and three more pass breakups than a sophomore Henderson, who experts are expecting to have an All-American season.
Last season, Henderson was also the anchor of Florida’s cornerback unit. Despite being targeted on less than ten percent of his snaps, anyone who watched a UF game would have seen Henderson bail out the rest of the defense at times.
Here, Henderson races downfield to prevent eventual second-round NFL Draft pick Deebo Samuel from scoring. He did the same thing against Tennessee, preventing the Vols from getting any sort of momentum.
USCe’s radio guy did not know about Hendo’s speed lol pic.twitter.com/qYvoYuWUXg
— Billy (@BillyLong07) November 13, 2018
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The anticipation for what Wilson can do this weekend is also at an all-time high when considering the fact that Wilson was targeted as a freshman because of who else was on that Florida defense in 2017. As freshmen, both Henderson and Wilson had 2018 second-round NFL Draft pick Duke Dawson on the roster.
Wilson made the same number of tackles (34) and had one more pass break up (10 to 9) as Dawson did in 2017. Henderson only had five pass break ups in 2018, in large part because the offense didn’t go in his direction very much.
If Wilson can be a difference maker on the defense, opposing offenses won’t be able to avoid Henderson any more. And that will free up the defensive line to wreak havoc as opposing QBs have to hold the ball.
Exciting stuff, to say the least.
Sure, an ACL tear sucks. And having Wilson on the field last season probably would have changed the outcome of only a few plays. But when Henderson went down against Georgia, it sure would have been nice to have Wilson out there.
But, the past is in the past and Marco Wilson is back on the green in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium without a knee brace. Everyone knows Florida’s got a superstar in C.J. Henderson (Not to mention a rising one in sophomore Trey Dean and three highly-recruited freshmen at the position).
But when the lights go down on August 24th, the Gators defense will once again have two of college football’s best defenders lined up on opposite sides of the field.
C Rimler
DBU. UF does more because of its elite coaching staff