Predicting the Florida Gators' Starting Corners After 2026 Spring Camp

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators concluded its first spring camp under head coach Jon Sumrall with its annual spring game, which gave fans its first true glimpse of the program for the 2026 season.

Camp also gave Sumrall his first look at his first roster as he looks to build competitive depth and establish starters at multiple positions. Sumrall added that he would spend the first few days of the post-spring offseason talking with the entire roster about where they stand individually on the depth chart going into the summer.

Having already taken a look at Florida's offense – comprised of the quarterback room, running back rotation, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive line – and evaluating the interior defensive line, edge rushers and inside linebackers defensively, we continue with the corners.

Overview

Knowing he had a talented room in veterans Dijon Johnson and Cormani McClain and youngsters Ben Hanks III and J'Vari Flowers, position coach Brandon Harris went to work to retain them, which included calling each of them while he was on a Disney cruise with his family.

And, the effort proved worthwile with all four electing to return to Florida for the 2026 season.

Johnson returns as the veteran leader and after a season-ending knee injury from last season. With last year behind him, he is looking to break out.

"I don’t want to say like, I’m like, back to where I want to be because I’m always looking for improvement, looking for how to be the best I can be on the field," he said in camp. "It’s going to be a journey but it will be a special one.”

McClain, however, may be the most notable in the room with a well-publicized recruiting and transfer journey to Florida. He recorded a career-high 18 tackles wit one interception across 10 appearances, of which he started six. McClain's biggest area of focus this offseason has been realizing its his fourth year of college, Harris said.

"He's really trying to push himself, and he's really trying to do some things different for him, and he understands that he's older now," Harris said. "There’s no more ‘This is a young Cormani, and he's trying to figure it out.’ It's now like ‘Come on, Cormani. You’re in year four in college. These are things that's expected of you, and there's other things that we're going to need for you to do.’ And he's done a good job trying to respond to that and really trying to push himself."

Flowers and Hanks III are the two wildcards as former bluechip recruits heading into their second years. Flowers emerged as a true freshman contributor last season after Johnson's injury, recording 17 tackles and four pass breakups in eight appearances on defense, including two starts. Hanks III, meanwhile, had one of the strongest camp performances, highlighted by an interception in one of the scrimmages.

In just three games last season, he recorded eight tackles and an interception, which included a five-tackle effort off the bench against Mississippi State.

"He's elevated right now and playing, I think the best in the corner room with the most consistency in the pass game," Sumrall said of Hanks III during camp.

Rounding out the room is senior transfer Jordy Lowery, redshirt freshman Onis Konanbanny, true freshmen CJ Bronaugh and CJ Hester, walk-ons Javion Toombs and Vincent Brown Jr. and former JUCO player Javier Jones, who committed on Tuesday.

Outlook

Considering McClain's ceiling and Johnson coming off an injury, it is easy to predict the former five-star getting the first snaps. From there, Hanks III makes the most sense to start right away on the opposite side after spring camp.

That being said, having Johnson and Flowers makes corner a true rotation rather than two starters with two backups. Should Flowers or Johnson each have strong fall camps, they very easily could start over either McClain or Hanks III. It is also highly unlikely Florida uses the same two starters in all 12 regular season games this season.

Lowery, newcomer Jones and Konanbanny are interesting options after Lowery and Konanbanny had quiet camps in spring, but a strong fall camp could improve their current standings.

Depth Chart Prediction

*denotes walk-on

• Starters: Cormani McClain (R-Jr.), Ben Hanks III (R-Fr.)
• Backups: Dijon Johnson (R-Jr.), J'Vari Flowers (So.)
• Reserves: Jordy Lowery (R-Sr.), Onis Konanbanny (R-Fr.), CJ Bronaugh (Fr.), CJ Hester (Fr.), Javion Toombs (R-Sr.)* Vincent Brown Jr. (R-Jr.)*

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