Three Gators I Want to See More of on Defense

A bye week creates opportunities for a reset and reevaluation. Here are three defensive players for the Florida Gators I want to see more of in the last two-thirds of the season.

Florida Gators defensive back Trikweze Bridges (7) runs during a play during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

With the Florida Gators on a bye for the fifth week of the college football season, head coach Billy Napier is using the off week as an opportunity to look in the mirror.

"We've had a chance to evaluate the first four weeks," he said during his portion of Wednesday's SEC Coaches' Teleconference. "Really good practice (Tuesday). I think it's important that we take a good look in the mirror and build plans for improvement this week for not only individual players, position groups, units, the entire team."

Part of that self-reflection is potentially reevaluating snap counts and who sees the field more going forward. With that in mind, here are three Florida defensive players I want to see on the field more for the final two-thirds of the regular season.

I previously listed three offensive players I wanted to see more of, which can be viewed here.

Florida is back on the field on Oct. 5 for a home matchup against UCF, which begins at 7:45 p.m. EST with television coverage on UCF.

Greg Smith III

One of Florida's last high school commits of the 2024 recruiting class, Smith III has only seen 10 total snaps this season, but considering struggles from the safeties ahead of him, it's time to see what he can do.

After starter Asa Turner when down with an injury midway through the Miami game, the Gators have primarily relied on transfer DJ Douglas, transfer Trikweze Bridges and sophomore Bryce Thornton to play opposite of Jordan Castell.

Bridges has been solid and provides versatility as he can play every defensive back position, but Douglas and Thornton have had individual struggles with tackling in space. The two are last and second-to-last on the team in tackling, according to Pro Football Focus, with grades of 28 and 25.6.

Douglas also has a 40% missed tackle rate, while Thornton has a 50% missed tackle rate.

Smith III, meanwhile, already has a 76.2 tackling grade despite the low snap count and is on-track to have a strong coverage grade with a 77 so far.

Should Turner continue to miss time, it would make sense to see what Smith III can do in an elevated backup role behind Bridges and Castell.

Trikweze Bridges

Speaking of Bridges, it's time to give him an elevated role in the safety room ahead of Douglas and Thornton. Against Mississippi State, Bridges led the team with 10 total tackles.

"I didn’t even know I was leading the defense in tackles," Bridges said after Saturday's game. "Just like, do whatever I can to be a part of the team and help the team out. I don’t look at the stats. I just look at the game and work on the things that I need to get fixed. It’s good to have double digits (tackles). I’m not sure if I ever had this (many)."

This was coming off the heels of a tough showing against Texas A&M, when he was ejected on a questionable targeting call right when he was finding his groove as a tackler in space.

"When they kicked me off the field, I couldn't do nothing but smile at it because I was like, 'wow.' I was just starting to get going," he said. "Last week could have been a double-digit game, but yeah, it brought fuel to this game, and I was ready to roll, ready to play."

In coverage, it should be noted that Bridges is third on the team among players with at least 50 snaps with a 76.6 grade, according to PFF.

Once again, even when Turner returns from injury, Bridges should be receiving more snaps in the safety rotation.

Kelby Collins

Collins is a unique choice in the list considering it doesn't appear that he's playing in the position he probably should play.

Originally an edge rusher, where he was named SEC All-Freshman a year ago, Collins transitioned to the Gators' interior defensive lineman spot, but has yet to find his groove. He's only received 56 total snaps this season with six total tackles.

Florida's defensive line room took a hit with Jamari Lyons' season-ending ankle injury as well as midseason injuries to Joey Slackman and Michai Boireau, but it has hardly changed Collins' role on the defense.

The edge room, meanwhile, has had consistency issues through four games. As it stands, only Justus Boone and TJ Searcy have a plus-70 tackling grade, and only Tyreak Sapp has a plus-70 pass-rush grade among edge rushers who are consistently in the rotation.

Considering this, it would make sense to put Collins back at his natural position to see if he could be the answer to Florida's problems.