{"id":75164,"date":"2025-07-11T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=75164"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T18:29:11","slug":"gators-safeties-commanding-the-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/07\/11\/gators-safeties-commanding-the-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Gators Safeties: Commanding the Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gators’ safety unit has quickly become the veteran position group, commanding the defense. Previously, one of the least experienced positions, the young players now have real SEC film under their belts. Coming on strong as the season progressed, the safeties turned some heads. Now, this veteran group is ready to take the next steps towards competing for a playoff spot. As mentioned time and time again, the Gators ended last year on a four-game winning streak<\/a>. Taking down multiple top 25 teams, the hope is that this unit can pick up where they left off. There is serious hope for a playoff push, as head coach Billy Napier enters the most crucial year of his tenure. With an offense returning some serious production<\/a>, all eyes will be on the defense. With the safeties now commanding the defense, they will dictate how far the Gators go.<\/p>\n

Experienced Safeties Ready to Compete<\/h1>\n

Quickly Experienced<\/h3>\n

Solidified as the number one safety, junior Jordan Castell<\/a> has been producing since he first stepped foot on campus. Earning valuable minutes in his freshman season, he surprised many by starting 11 games. Earning Freshman All-SEC, he followed that up with an impressive sophomore campaign. Starting every game at safety, he tallied up 55 tackles and led the team with nine pass breakups. With now two full seasons of SEC action under his belt, he enters his junior year with heightened expectations. Proving himself to be someone you can count on, the next step is becoming a leader for this unit. This group will lean on him, as he has shown the talent to compete at the highest level. Gaining some NFL buzz, this is a pivotal season for his future. With another high-impact year, he could hear his name called quite early next Spring.<\/p>\n

Coming on Strong<\/h3>\n
\"Kim
Photo courtesy: Doug Engle\/Gainesville Sun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the season continued, fans were starting to pay attention to safety Bryce Thornton<\/a>. The now junior started the last five games of the season. He finished the year with three interceptions, 41 tackles, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Putting together a monster game in the upset against Ole Miss<\/a>, he showed a knack for finding the football. Now in his first offseason as a starter, he has the chance to make up a deadly safety duo. The Gators now have two experienced veterans commanding the defense. This secondary as a whole is much improved and should give quarterbacks fits during the season. With another tough schedule coming up<\/a>, this defense cannot afford to start the season off slowly. If Florida wants to compete for anything meaningful, this unit must be ready from day one. Should Thornton continue his high level of play, this should be a dangerous safety tandem.<\/p>\n

Transfer Difference Maker?<\/h3>\n

With most of the secondary returning for the 2025 season, Florida did not attack the transfer portal for this position. However, they are excited about the addition of redshirt senior Micheal Caraway Jr.<\/a> The former Southern Miss defensive back started ten games last season, compiling 37 tackles. Spending three years with the Golden Eagles, he also has experience at the JUCO level. Brought on as a potential starter, he should at the very least provide the Gators with valuable depth. The oldest player in this defensive back room, he has the chance to take charge in the form of mentoring and leading. Coming from the Sun Belt conference to the SEC poses a big challenge for any player no matter their experience. For Caraway, the key will be not to get overwhelmed by the bright lights. Clearly, the Gators believe in his skill set and his ability to contribute.<\/p>\n

Freshmen Ready?<\/h3>\n

The Gators brought in two highly ranked safeties to help bolster the 2025 recruiting class<\/a>. Freshman Drake Stubbs was viewed by many sites as a 5-star and was one of the top players in the country. Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, he was one of the biggest recruiting wins for Billy Napier. Although the starting safety roles are entrenched, there is plenty of room for some quality backups. Stubbs provides just that, as he has all the talent in the world, as evidenced by his high ranking. However, it may take time for him to adjust to SEC speed, as that is a whole different level. The Gators did not bring him in to simply watch from the sidelines; there will be a role for him on this team. Look for him to make an impact first on special teams before getting his shot commanding the Gators’ defense.<\/p>\n

Not only did the Gators bring in Stubbs, but they also earned the commitment of Lagonza Hayward. The 200-pound defensive back was rated as a consensus 4-star and one of the top players in the country. Formerly committed to Tennessee, he decided to make the switch to play in Orange and Blue. Playing his high school football in Georgia, he was one of the top-ranked players in the state. He will help round out what should be a rather talented position group. Similarly to Stubbs, he will most likely carve out a role on special teams before taking the field on defense. Both rising freshmen are the future of this position group. This season, they will have the chance to develop and play their part in the playoff push.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gators’ safety unit has quickly become the veteran position group, commanding the defense. Previously, one of the least experienced positions, the young players now have real SEC film under their belts. Coming on strong as the season progressed, the safeties turned some heads. Now, this veteran group is ready to take the next steps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5059,"featured_media":75175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10906,8,35573,3],"tags":[34747,7159,35040,244,34485,20],"class_list":["post-75164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-cfb","category-fbs","category-florida-gators","category-sec","tag-2025-college-football","tag-billy-napier","tag-drake-stubbs","tag-florida-gators","tag-lagonza-hayward","tag-sec"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5059"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75164"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75177,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75164\/revisions\/75177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}