For the second consecutive season, the Gators are poised to lose a wealth of talent in the secondary to the NFL. After losing Vernon Hargreaves and Keanu Neal, both first round selections from the Florida secondary in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Gators are now dealing with the departures of potential first round picks Jalen Tabor, Quincy Wilson, and Marcus Maye.

During his Monday press conference, Florida head coach Jim McElwain was asked how his program dealt with losses of that magnitude.

“I don’t think a lot of programs in the country for that matter that have lost that quality,” McElwain admitted. “Sure you’ve lost those numbers, but when you’re talking first round draft pick possibilities, I don’t see that. Yet, 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. We’ve done a pretty good job of getting guys in the game.”

Understanding that his team was likely to be hit hard once again by departures this offseason, McElwain and his defensive staff found plenty of playing time for players like Duke Dawson, Chauncey Gardner, and Nick Washington last season. Now after receiving significant snaps helping out the former Gator standouts, these players will be tasked with stepping up and leading in 2017.

“That’s part of it,” McElwain said, “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 — which if they are good enough, and rated that high, they should.

“But to answer your’s question, it’s hard to imagine losing that kind of talent, those next guys have big shoes to fill.”

If Florida has any dreams of returning to Atlanta for the third time in McElwain’s third season in Gainesville, it will have to do so with some new faces taking not only a leadership role in a young secondary but successful replacing some high-level NFL prospects without much dropoff. While the task at hand is a big one, it’s been done before in Gainesville.

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