Defensive Secondary in 2017

First, I think it is important to remind everyone just how good the pass defense was this past year, especially when the whole starting 5 was healthy:

Passing TD Allowed: 8 - #1 nationally
Completion Percentage: 46.4% - #2 nationally
Yards pre game: 156.3 - #3 nationally
QB Rating Allowed: 98.36 - #3 nationally
Yards per Attempt: 6.2 - #8 nationally

That unit, outside of one flukey, terrible half against Tennessee where they surrendered 4 TDs, was the best unit in the entire country, and one of the best secondaries in a long and illustrious history of great secondaries at Florida.

OK, so that unit is losing S Marcus Maye, and in all likelihood, CB Quincy Wilson and CB Teez Tabor to the NFL, probably in the first 3 rounds. There are some rumblings that NB Duke Dawson may also go pro. Assuming for a moment the non-worst-case-scenario, let's say Dawson stays, here is what the roster will look like based on where UF stands in recruiting as of today:

CB1:
Joseph Putu - 6'2, 195, Sr. (Juco) - 4 tackles in 2016. Limited playing time
McArthur Burnett - 5'9, 174, R.Fr. - red shirted in 2016

CB2:
Chris Williamson - 5'11, 191, Jr. - 5 tackles in 2016. Limited playing time
CJ McWilliams - 5'11, 171, R.Fr. - red shirted in 2016 - coming off of an ACL injury in 2016

NB:
Duke Dawson - 5'10, 208, Sr. - 23 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 7 PBU, 1 INT in 2016
Chauncey Gardner - 5'11, 204, So. - 30 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PBU in 2016. (Could play Safety or corner)

S1:
Nick Washington - 6'0, 197, R.Sr. - 45 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU in 2016
Quincy Lenton - 5'11, 202, R.Fr. - red shirted in 2016

S2:
Marcell Harris - 6'1, 211, R.Sr. - 64 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FR in 2016 (#1 in tackles)
Jaewon Taylor - 6'0, 187, So. - 7 tackles in 2016 in. Limited playing time.

New Recruits:
CB - Elijah Blades - 6'2, 170, 4 star (247 composite)
CB- Marco Wilson - 6'0, 180, 4 star (247 composite)
CB - Shawn Davis - 5'11, 190, 3 star (247 composite)

So here is the bottom line:
UF has no experienced depth at corner. None at all. Chris Williamson is the only player that has been here more than 2 years, and he has barely played. Joseph Putu is a developmental player from Juco who may not pan out, we don't know yet, and we don't know what we have in CJ McWilliams or McArthur Burnett. So, basically, UF is going from 2 first round corners, to a bunch of inexperienced guys that have barely played. There is going to be a massive drop off at the CB position. That is just the way it is.

Best case scenario, is that one or two freshmen in this recruiting cycle can play immediately, and that guy like Williamson and Putu take the next step this off season, and then UF should be at least OK at the position. If that doesn't happen, then I guess Gardner and Dawson may play outside? Perhaps? There will obviously be a lot of moving parts at the position as they try to find the best fit in the off season.

At Safety, UF should be solid with Marcell Harris and Nick Washington, who both have a lot of experience now. If anything happens to either of them, I assume Gardner will rotate back to safety, where he played well this year. He may even steal one of those starting spots, and maybe Washington plays nickel. It's unclear to me. It is imperative to depth on this unit that one of Taylor or Lenton is ready to contribute at a moderate level next year. Taylor played limited snaps last year and was OK, and we don't know what we have in Lenton.

So that's it, in a nutshell. This is the unit. It will be interesting to see how this unit does, in comparison to say, the 2007 UF defense.