Aptitude of Gators Safety Youth is a Measuring Stick for Defensive Success
The safety position has undergone immense changes to begin the 2023 offseason.
Enduring the departures of both of its veteran starters — Trey Dean III and Rashad Torrence II, who combined for 185 total tackles as the team's top two tacklers — multi-year backups Donovan McMillon and Corey Collier Jr. and a coaching change with Patrick Toney's exit to the NFL, the Gators' backend will rely on an influx of youth during Billy Napier's second year at the helm.
On Thursday, following the team's second scrimmage of the spring practice sessions, Napier spoke candidly about the position's youth and challenged the sophomores and true freshmen in the room as they'll take on significant roles with frequent usage.
"That's one of the areas on our team where young players are going to have to play," Napier said on Thursday. "There's no question.
"The Jordan Castell project, the Bryce Thornton project and certainly Kamari Wilson and Miguel Mitchell both being young players who had some experience playing last year but not necessarily returning starters. That room is a room where we're doing a lot of work."
That work, spearheaded by Corey Raymond — who took over the secondary in its entirety following Toney's exit — is a work in progress. But, the early returns lead him to believe their collective ceiling is high after working with the group directly this spring.
He cites the unit's athleticism and maturity from a leadership standpoint as defining factors.
However, their development will likely come gradually as they accept more responsibility as a tactical piece in the defense this season, particularly in communication.
"Tactical position is like inside linebacker and safety," newly minted defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong explained on March 11. "So right now, we got a lot of young dudes out there and they've got a call. They've got to be able to do their job perform. They also got to tell somebody else how to line up and adjust, right?
"We're going through the process of seeing tactically what we can do, but not overloading them. They can't go play football and get evaluation. So that's where we're at right now."
The second-year talents understand those asks, according to Raymond, and are making strides to ensure they can meet the standards set out by Armstrong. Napier named defensive communication as an area he's been relatively impressed with this spring on Thursday, providing hope that the aforementioned change this offseason at this spot could be a breath of fresh air for the new-look defense.
Mitchell, who emerged as a depth piece late in the 2022 season and is expected to align as a starter this upcoming campaign, is spearheading that endeavor as he accepts the challenge in stride.
"I mean, if you know your stuff, it's not that bad," he said when asked about the back-to-front communication within the defense. "We are like the quarterback of the defense. ... Just knowing the guys, knowing who knows what and what they can do and just helping them out."
Even though praise for the unit has come often, that isn't met the complacency from the Florida staff as those responsibilities could come as daunting challenges for first-time starters.
Instead, the Gators have kept an open mind about pursuing a more mature talent to fill the void when the spring transfer window opens after the Orange and Blue game's completion on April 13.
Napier confirmed such Thursday.
"Overall, that's a room where we can add a player. It's a room that we need to continue to develop depth, if that makes sense," he said.
Doing that could aid the Gators in deploying the talented but inexperienced pieces at a volume that better aligns both parties for success. The unit's aptitude could dictate the production and efficiency of a defense that has endured documented struggles over the past three seasons.
"Ultimately, it's going to be a big part of how good we can be on defense," Napier said.
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