Florida defensive back [autotag]Trikweze Bridges[/autotag]’ versatility has been on full display over the past few weeks, and with several injuries hitting the secondary this week he was asked to step into a new role.
During a second-half drive that saw three Florida defensive backs come up slow with injuries, Bridges moved from safety to cornerback.
“When I seen [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag], when he was coming off the sideline, I knew then that’s when I was going to have to step up,” Bridges said. “We already had talked about it at the beginning of the season and just like this week if anything would happen. I’m the emergency corner.”
Bridges made his first start for Florida against Tennessee three weeks ago, replacing [autotag]DJ Douglas[/autotag] as the starting safety opposite of [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag]. He hasn’t spent much time practicing as a corner, but he’s told coaches all season that he can play wherever they need him in the secondary. The plan is to focus a bit more on corner in the following week.
“I wanted to focus on the things to do at safety (in practice),” he said. “Being a safety, you know what everybody’s doing … there have been times where I go to corner and do some drills with them to keep my technique clean and stuff like that. So, I’ll be doing a lot of that this week coming up to be ready to play safety and corner and just be ready where they need me.”
For Bridges, being asked to move positions is a sign of trust from the coaching staff and something he feels could help come draft time.
“If they need me at corner, that is where I’ll be playing,” he said. “I’m glad that the coaches are able to trust me to be able to play that position and be here to contribute and help the team out. I always told them I can play corner, I can play safety, wherever you can put me. That’s good for me. You know what I’m saying? Being able to show my versatility off and I’ll be ready to do that.”
The defense is coming together
Florida forced Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, a player that has been mentioned as a potential first-round pick, to throw three interceptions in the first half on Saturday.
“I feel like in the first half we did what we were supposed to do,” Bridges said. “We went out there and executed, and we had a lot of turnovers. We just kept going at it, kept going at it, and I think that Georgia was not prepared or ready for us to do that. But at the end of the day, that’s our mentality every week, week in and week out. We just got to go out and dominate.”
Things got a bit more difficult once DJ Lagway went down, but the defense put pressure on itself to help out third-string quarterback Aidan Warner.
“We had to just turn it up and run a notch and just keep executing because we have to give him the opportunity to warm up and get in his mode and his game and just be ready to play. I was on the sidelines saying let’s go on defense as well. So, our mindset was just let’s turn it up a notch and keep going.”
Should Lagway miss more games moving forward, Bridges knows the defense will have to stick to the game plan and execute things perfectly to take the pressure off Warner.
“It’s going to take a lot of communication as a group, and it’s going to take a lot of film, doing a lot of things together and really just get those guys in the mindset to be ready to play and be ready for your name to be called. No matter what situation we’re in, everybody has to be ready. All hands on deck.”
There’s a newfound confidence among the defense following four straight games of success. Bridges’ move into the starting lineup matches up with the efficiency adjustment, so it’s safe to say he’s one of the leaders of that unit.
“We always we always felt like (we could compete with any team). We just had to clean things up at the beginning of the season. We just kept going, kept going and believed in ourselves and blocked the outside noise and whatnot. All we’re doing is just keep going every day. Every week, we try to show up and show out. Because we know what we can do and we wasn’t surprised what we did today. That’s something that we want to put out for you guys to see, and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Depth players such as Cormani McClain have also stepped up in the wake of injuries. Bridges is taking it upon himself to encourage McClain moving forward, knowing the difference a bit of confidence can make.
“I was excited to see him make a lot of plays today. A few good tackles. I was pumped up for him. Pretty good in coverage, and when I see him again, I’m just going to talk to him and say keep going, keep doing your thing and keep that confidence up. Because when you have confidence like that, you can’t be stopped.”
Still, one or two players don’t make all the difference. Getting all 11 players on the same page is paramount if Florida is going to keep up this high level of play.
“We still have to show up as a team, and that’s is the main goal. We trust in everybody on the team. We trust in Aidan. So, as a defense, it’s our job to get him harder looks (in practice), give him a lot of pressure and stuff so he can be ready for next week.”
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