GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- All-American cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III is by far the best known player on the Florida roster. Jim McElwain plans to give him even more chances to make plays and etch his name into Florida football lore.

Hargreaves worked as the first-team punt returner in the spring, and McElwain has every intention of letting him play there during the season.

"I think that's just a highlight and one of his skills," McElwain said. "That's one of the things we worked a little bit in the spring with in both areas. Look, your ability to be an explosive playmaker in whatever way it is to help the team be successful, is I tell them, you're a starter on special teams first before you're ever a starter on offense and defense."

McElwain's philosophy is simple: He's not one of the those guys who's scared to risk injury to one of his elite players by using him as a return man. Get the best players the ball in their hands.

For Florida, that will mean putting arguably the nation's best cornerback back to field punts.

The first-year head coach doesn't see it as a risky move, but rather a chance to put some more points on the board while increasing Hargreaves' versatility in the eyes on NFL scouts.

"When you talk to those guys who were great NFL vets, they all play special teams, every one of them," McElwain said. "And to make a team, you've got to be able to show your versatility in a lot of those areas, so this is just another way for him to increase his brand and to help him."

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