Florida going to find out fast just how replaceable all these top-flight DBs are

Both Florida and LSU deserve to be called “DBU” these days, although the Gators seem to have inched ahead of the Tigers right now.

UF had two defensive backs chosen in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft — cornerback Vernon Hargreaves and safety Keanu Neal — and two more are possibilities to come off the board nearly as high this year.

According to the updated rankings at CBS Sports, Teez Tabor is the No. 7 cornerback available and currently projected to hear his name called in the second round. Fellow corner Quincy Wilson isn’t far behind at No. 11. Like Hargreaves and Neal, Tabor and Wilson left Gainesville following their junior seasons.

Needless to say, solidifying his depth chart in the secondary has been a focus during spring practice for third-year coach Jim McElwain.

“I don’t think a lot of programs in the country for that matter that have lost that quality,” he told reporters Monday. “Sure, you’ve lost those numbers. But when you’re talking first-round draft pick possibilities, I don’t see that.”

The aforementioned Bayou Bengals saw corner Rashard Robinson go in the fourth round last year and safety Jalen Mills in Round 7. Now, safety Jamal Adams — a lock for the Top 10 — and corner Tre’Davious White have first- and fourth-round grades, respectively.

Impressive? Yes. Still, the orange and blue have had superior skills in the secondary to the purple and gold since McElwain arrived. It’s worth noting that he didn’t recruit Hargreaves, Neal, Tabor or Wilson (below). All of them were left behind when he took over for the ousted Will Muschamp, who stockpiled quality defenders everywhere.

Nevertheless, when McElwain has been forced to replace all of these premier DBs, said replacements aren’t overly green.

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

“One of the things we’ve done a pretty good job of the last two years is rotating guys in and getting them playing time knowing that some guys are going to be leaving,” he said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of getting guys in the game.”

To McElwain’s point, Hargreaves was the big-name cornerback for the Gators in 2015. However, a lot of tape hounds went on record with their belief that Tabor was actually the better player — be it in coverage or run support.

Likewise, with Hargreaves off to the pros, Tabor was the alpha-dog cornerback for 2016 and a preseason pick for All-SEC. Not as many people knew about Wilson at the time, but they sure did once the campaign concluded. While Tabor did indeed make first-team all-conference, Wilson was second-team and equally productive.

And it’s not just Tabor and Wilson. Safety Marcus Maye, another all-league second-teamer, was a senior and will be drafted, too.

“Playing guys knowing that the way things are, the climate today, you’ve got to prepare yourself for guys coming out after their third year,” McElwain said. “Which if they are good enough and rated that high, they should.”

Even with three surefire draft choices in the secondary, McElwain was smart to get rising sophomore cornerback Chauncey Gardner plenty of reps last year as a true freshman. He tied for second on the team — behind Tabor — with 3 interceptions.

Gardner was the one UF underclassmen to pick off a pass this past season. Rising senior safeties Marcell Harris and Nick Washington also had 1 each, although that’s it in terms of players still on the roster. Losing Hargreaves and Neal was tough, but losing Tabor and Wilson the very next year is even tougher.

Fortunately for McElwain, five of his 23 signees from February’s recruiting class are corners, plus one more is a safety.

“It’s hard to imagine losing that kind of talent,” he said. “Those next guys have big shoes to fill.”

Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Those half a dozen newcomers would be wise to look to Gardner (above) for tips on how to succeed right out of high school. With two INTs in the Outback Bowl victory over Iowa — one he returned 58 yards for a TD — he earned MVP honors.

That being said, of the five early enrollees presently taking part in spring ball for McElwain, none of them are DBs. As a result, he’s a little thinner on the back end than he’d prefer to be at this point. Safety in particular is hurting a bit in terms of pure numbers and could use an influx of fresh bodies.

Those first-year players won’t have the luxury of feasting on a cupcake, either. Florida opens with Michigan at a neutral site.

“There’s going to be an opportunity for those young guys who are coming in who can get a lot of playing time, whether it be at the corner position, at the safety position or at that nickel spot,” McElwain said. “A lot of that has to do with their ability to kind of process.”

For all the obvious reasons, the feature story this spring for the Gators — as it was last spring — is the competition at quarterback. Until McElwain finds his QB, the offense will hopelessly lag behind the defense.

It’s also fair to wonder how much longer UF’s D can continue picking up the slack. Defections have been numerous at every position defensively, not just in the secondary. From tackles to ends to linebackers both inside and outside, Muschamp didn’t win enough games, but he won enough recruiting battles.

Even if Hargreaves and Neal turned out to be replaceable, McElwain doesn’t yet know if that’ll be the case for Tabor, Wilson and Maye.

“We’re going to find that out early,” he said.

John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.