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Florida football secondary coach Will Harris departed from the program Friday to join the University of Miami as a safeties coach.
Florida coach Billy Napier moved quickly to hire Deron Wilson as his new cornerback’s coach, according to various media reports Sunday.
BREAKING: Florida is hiring Deron Wilson as its DB coach
Wilson had taken the DC job at Georgia State, also worked at Florida as an analyst in 2022. Former DB Coach at Arkansas the last 2 years. pic.twitter.com/tAaaefHnpP
— Florida Gators šš„ (@gatorsszn) February 16, 2025
Harris’ Short But Impactful Tenure
Despite his brief time in Gainesville, Harris made a significant impact on Floridaās defense, both statistically and in recruiting.
Under Harris’ leadership for one season, the Gatorsā secondary showed notable progress. Florida went from recording an SEC-worst three interceptions in 2023 to 14 in 2024, tying for fourth in the conference.
Of those 14 interceptions, 11 came from secondary players, with sophomore safety Bryce Thornton leading the team with three.
Overall, Florida also improved from No. 87 nationally in passing yards-per-game allowed to No. 83 after securing a four-game winning streak to end the season.
Harris was instrumental in strengthening Floridaās secondary through recruiting. His contributions positioned Florida for long-term success.Ā
He helped land transfer defensive back Trikweze Bridges. The secondary coach also built a strong defensive 2025 high school class, bringing in five-star safety Hylton Stubbs, four-star safety Lagonza Hayward, five-star corner Ben Hanks III and four-star corner Onis Konanbanny.Ā
Harrisā Departure Announcement
Harris took to the social media platform X to announce his decision, expressing gratitude to NapierĀ and Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. However, Harris also acknowledged that ābusiness is business.ā
First and foremost, I would like to thank Billy Napier and Scott Stricklin for giving me the opportunity to coach at The University of Florida. Billy – As they say, the ones who bleed together are brothers. We went through the trenches last year and pulled out one hell of aā¦
— Will Harris (@CoachWillHarris) February 15, 2025
Wilson’s Defensive Success
Wilson served as a quality control assistant with the cornerbacks during Napier’s first season in 2022.
Following that season, Wilson ran Arkansas’ secondary for two years. In his first season in 2023, Arkansas ranked fourth in the SEC in passing yards allowed per game (202.8).
Wilson has numerous coaching accolades under his belt, including coaching two defensive MVPs of the Southland Conference, 14 All-Southland Conference Players and two All-C-USA Players. He also worked with NFL defensive backs Jordan Moore and Riq Woolen. Woolen was a fifth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Additionally, Wilson coached McNeese State in 2021 to become the No. 1 ranked defense in the Southland Conference and helped lead UTSA to a top-10 ranked defense in the nation in 2017. He also contributed to McNeese ranking nationally in the FCS in sacks (No. 10), rushing defense (No. 16) and scoring defense (No. 41).
Before he began coaching, Wilson served as a defensive back at Southern Miss from 2009-12, starting in 39 straight games and playing a part in a secondary that broke the NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with eight.
