Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The message had already been delivered whether Kaiir Elam realized it or not at the time. The text message from Vernell Brown, the Gators' director of student-athlete development, would come a few weeks later.

When the spring semester started in January, soon after Elam's freshman season concluded with a momentum-changing interception in Florida's Orange Bowl victory over Virginia, Elam joined his teammates for their one-on-one exit interviews with head coach Dan Mullen and position coaches. It's an opportunity for both sides to review the season and establish individual expectations for the next one.

For Elam, the meetings set the tone for his offseason.

"They all wanted me to be more of a leader,'' he said recently. "I was always a quiet do-my-job type of guy. They want me to be more of a vocal leader and I'm trying to accept that role, to get my team better the best way I know how. I like to lead by example first."

Elam got the memo and as mentioned, a text from Brown arrived later to inform him he had been chosen to represent the Gators at the two-day Southeastern Conference Football Leadership Council earlier this month at SEC headquarters in Birmingham, Ala. Elam joined a player from each of the SEC's other 13 schools to discuss NCAA and SEC legislative items, meet with officials about the rules of the game, and to have an open discussion with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on whatever topics concerned the group.

Elam considered it an honor to be selected by Mullen to represent the team, a sentiment shared by his mother, Shayla Davis, and his father, former NFL defensive back Abram Elam. As a player who spent seven years in the NFL and played collegiately at Notre Dame and Kent State, Abram Elam told Kaiir to take advantage of the opportunity and learn as much as possible.

It's the same advice Abram gave Kaiir when he would take him to work out with some of his former NFL teammates such as Darrelle Revis or Brandon Flowers, or perhaps to lunch with Abram's good friend and former position coach, Jerome Henderson, who was recently hired as Giants secondary coach, or Bill Parcells, who gave Abram his first shot in the NFL playing special teams for the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-2000s.

Kaiir took the advice to heart.

"He has always been like that,'' Davis said. "He is like clockwork. When he's home, he gets up early in the morning and goes for a run, at least 3 miles. He's always been self-disciplined. I never had to tell him to work out or go study or look at plays. He was an easy child. He just has his own drive."
 
Kaiir's quest to be the best shined through in his first season at Florida. A highly recruited defensive back out of the Benjamin School in Riviera Beach, he chose Florida over Georgia and enrolled last summer. He quickly found himself playing a significant role when starting cornerback CJ Henderson was injured early in the season. Elam played in all 13 games and started five, including the final three games of the season. He finished second on the team with three interceptions and had 11 tackles and four pass break-ups.

The 6-foot-2, 187-pound Elam handled the freshman transition with a veteran approach.

"A special player, and high-character, hard-working guy from the day he got here,'' Mullen said following the Orange Bowl. "Obviously as the year goes on, he's played more and more. He's gotten more experience in what's going on out there on the field. We have some DBs that left to go to the NFL and a couple guys graduating, so we're expecting him to carry on that tradition of being DBU here and having one of the best secondaries in the country."

At the SEC Leadership Council, Elam said he participated in discussions on a variety of topics, everything from practice schedules to the NIL debate to the targeting rule.

Mostly, he made sure his eyes and mind were open to a new experience. It's the same attitude he carried onto the field in his first season, one that ended with a promising moment for the future. With the Gators leading 33-21 early in the fourth quarter of the Orange Bowl, Virginia marched to UF's 13-yard line. However, on second down, Elam intercepted a pass by Cavs quarterback Bryce Perkins at the 3 with 5:11 to play. The Gators then drove down the field to ice the game on Evan McPherson's 42-yard field goal.

Elam's parents were in the stands that night at Hard Rock Stadium, not far from where Kaiir grew up. Needless to say, they relished in the moment. But they weren't necessarily surprised he came through at a key moment on a big stage.

"A lot of stuff that I saw transpire this year is just a testament to how Kaiir prepared and how he worked,'' Abram said. "He was in a great situation. I continue to remind him of that. He has relationships and knowledge that most guys his age don't."

Added Shayla: "He's always been very poised, an intelligent kid,'' she said. "I never had to worry about him because he always had everything lined up. He set his goals, he does his homework. I never had to remind him to do what he needed to do. He has just always been very independent."

Not only does that sound like a parent's dream, but a coach's, too, the kind of focused player you want to be a leader in the locker room.

Before he started to play football in middle school, Elam showed off his inner drive first in basketball, baseball and swimming. He began to take football seriously after his freshman season of high school, which he considered below his standards.

In some ways, he views his freshman season with the Gators in a similar light. He said he got off to a slow start in practice due to an acorn-sized knot in his hamstring muscle that had to be loosened. To maintain his speed this offseason in preparation for the start of his first spring camp next month, Elam is cross-training as a sprinter with the UF track team.

He wants more as a sophomore who is expected to start opposite Marco Wilson at cornerback.

"I always knew I could do the things I did during the season, but I feel like I didn't really accomplish anything that I set out to do," Elam said. "I wanted to be on the Jim Thorpe Award as a freshman. I wanted to not allow any passes. I gave up like 10 passes. I was always down about that. To end the season on that note [interception], it just tells me to do more and that I can do more."

Sounds exactly like the kid who would tag along to his dad's workouts – and one capable of being the type of leader Mullen envisions.

"That's something we have always discussed and kind of encouraged Kaiir,'' Abram Elam said. "To continue to be his own man and strive for greatness."