Brandon Harris’ life has been defined by two things: football and family.
Born in Miami, Harris and his two brothers, Tim Jr. and Treon, all grew up playing the sport, while their father, Tim Sr., established himself as one of the top high school coaches not only in the state, but in the entire nation.
Tim Jr. ran track at the University of Miami and now coaches at Florida State. Treon played quarterback for the Gators. Meanwhile, Brandon, the middle child, followed in his older brother’s footsteps, playing as a defensive back at Miami. From there, he played 42 games in the NFL before he transitioned to coaching.
Since then, Harris has coached for Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Central Florida and FSU. Now, he finds himself at his sixth in-state stop in eight years: Florida.
“All the guys give me a hard time because I have actually worked at every D1 school in the state,” Harris said Monday. “It's still a dream to me. I walk around in The Swamp, in the stadium and I look around at that place, and it's amazing. It has such high energy about it.”
The final stop on Harris’ Florida tour seldom came to fruition. After a successful 2025 as UCF’s defensive backs coach, it was heavily rumored that Harris would rejoin the FSU staff.
However, that opportunity was one-upped by Florida head coach Jon Sumrall and defensive coordinator Brad White, who saw Harris as a crucial part of Florida’s future success. That, paired with the prestige of the Southeastern Conference, sold Harris.
“Being able to coach in the SEC, you hear about it all the time, you watch it on TV, you want to be able coach with the best and coach against some of the best talent out there,” Harris said.
Harris’ speciality in recruiting the South Florida region, and his reputation as a high-level coach, give the Gators a major advantage in the talent-rich area. Further, his experience being a highly-touted DB from the area gives him a unique perspective on what it takes to become a collegiate standout and to reach the NFL.
“I will say this, the kids that come from that area in general, they get introduced to playing with a lot of pressure and a lot of high stakes at a young age,” Harris said. “When guys learn how to play with that amount of pressure and that amount of accountability early on in their career, that’s something that when they come to college and play at a major college program, they don’t shy away from that spotlight, they almost embrace it and they look for it.”
Now, Harris takes the reins of a talented cornerback group. At the helm of the room are redshirt juniors Dijon Johnson and Cormani McClain. Both players were key to UF’s secondary when healthy last season, but both suffered season-ending lower-body injuries.
Johnson played four games in 2025, recording a pass breakup and an interception, before injuring his knee against Miami Sept. 20. His recovery, however, has been extremely encouraging, and Harris said he has done a fantastic job stepping into a leadership role.
“We've been spending a lot of time together, me and him, just teaching him how to be a leader and teaching him how to connect with different guys in different ways,” Harris said. “He's been very, very, very influential with that group so far."
Meanwhile, McClain made strides in his second year, playing 10 games and recording an interception. But the Colorado transfer was injured against Tennessee Nov. 22, ending his season. However, he avoided a significant injury and is fully ready for the 2026 season.
“Cormani is great, man. He's exceptional,” Harris said. “He's not very vocal, doesn't really talk a lot. But man, when you sit down and have a conversation with him, this dude is interesting. He's very interesting. And he's excited. He's excited about the opportunities in front of him.”
Also, J’Vari Flowers and Ben Hanks III showed flashes of excellence in their freshman seasons, and both are expected to make strides as essential members of the team in 2026.
Flowers and Hanks aren’t new to Harris, though. Both have extended relationships with the coach, which was essential to their retention during the offseason.
Harris first saw Flowers play in middle school, and said that his “aura” told him he was going to be a special player when he got older.
In addition, the Harris and Hanks families have a vast history. Tim Harris Sr. coached Ben Hanks, the father of the current UF cornerback, in high school, and the relationship has blossomed still there. Ben’s older brother, Devon Johnson, is Harris’ best friend. Harris’ mom is Ben’s godmother.
Now, Flowers and Hanks are under Harris’ tutelage.
“You can’t say one without the other,” Harris said of the duo. “Every time you see them, they’re gonna be together. They’re from the same area, in the same recruiting class.”
For Harris, though, the whole experience is full circle. He’s made it to his final destination. The ultimate “Florida Man” has arrived in Gainesville.
“Putting on this logo and sharing a locker room with this group of guys, I'm extremely excited about being here,” he said.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is a junior sports journalism student in his seventh semester at The Alligator. He serves as The Alligator's assistant sports editor and football beat coordinator. He previously served as The Alligator's sports editor and as a reporter for football, women's tennis, volleyball, lacrosse and sports enterprise. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. Max wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and niche former Florida Panthers players (shoutout Maxim Mamin).
