Trey Dean III returns for senior year with a chance to be a leader in the secondary

Safety Trey Dean III saw his playing time dwindle in 2020, but the Gators will likely need him to start in the secondary in 2021.

Name: Trey Dean III

Number: 13

Position: Safety

Class: Junior

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 200 lbs

Hometown: Hampton, Ga.

High School: Dutchtown

Twitter: @__TD3

2020 statistics:

Solo Ast Tot Loss Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR
22 12 34 1 1 1 19 19 0 0 1

Overview:

Dean was originally a four-star recruit in the 2018 recruiting class, and he was one of Dan Mullen‘s first commits after he was hired at Florida. Dean saw action almost immediately as a true freshman. He started the year working backup duty and playing on special teams, but after starting cornerback Marco Wilson went down with a season-ending ACL injury, he started nine of the final 10 games at cornerback, though he mostly played safety in high school.

He finished the season with 26 tackles, a pick and six passes defended. With Wilson back in 2019, Dean started just six games as a sophomore (though he played in all 13). He saw action mostly at cornerback and the STAR position, totaling 26 tackles (3.5 for loss), two sacks, a pick and a forced fumble.

He saw perhaps the smallest role of his entire career as a junior in 2020. Though he appeared in 11 games after moving primarily to safety, he started just one game all season in the SEC Championship against Alabama. He notched a career-high in tackles with 34 and forced another fumble, but he only had one interception (also against the Crimson Tide) and he didn’t break up any passes. Back for his senior year, Dean will likely begin the 2021 season as a starter at safety with a chance to be one of the leaders of a young secondary outside of Kaiir Elam.

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