Familiarity With System Allowing New Assistants to Find Rhythm

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With an offseason comes attrition, and the Florida Gators saw plenty on its defensive staff.

Following the departures of co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong and secondary coach Will Harris, the Gators added Vinnie Sunseri as a co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Robert Bala as a co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach and Deron Wilson as the corners coach.

While the three are new to this specific Gators' squad, the trio are already transitioning smoothy due to familiarity with the system, Napier said.

"That's where I think we're probably a little farther ahead," he said after Tuesday's scrimmage. "I think those guys hit the ground running. Just in general, we're getting lined up and we're playing fast. I think the rush, the coverage, is working well together. First, second and third level. I think we're a little farther ahead just because of the veteran players, and then I think it's year four in the system, so playing much faster. We get these vets back on the D-line, secondary, we got a chance to be pretty good over there."

Wilson's familiarity comes from spending the 2022 season as a quality control specialist with the Gators while having a stint at UTSA under Pete Golding, a branch of defensive coordinator Ron Roberts' coaching tree. However, Roberts' and Wilson's relationship goes much farther than that.

"He helped obviously recruit my son to McNeese when he was there. So it's, I mean, it's a lot longer probably – you say ‘he was here at Florida’, well, I've known him a lot longer than that, so I'm excited about him," Roberts said. "He's an incredible teacher, coach, all that stuff, but great person.”

The former Arkansas corners coach as also helped ease the transition following the sudden loss of Harris to rival Miami, mostly due to his familiarity with the veterans in the room.

"I feel like myself and the room as a whole have definitely accepted him," senior corner Devin Moore said. "It’s an easy transition for me because he was here my freshman year, part of my recruitment and I got to develop a little bit of a relationship with him. So him coming in, still preaching much of the same stuff Coach Harris was preaching, bringing his own swagger, too... he came in with that confidence. All the guys in the room are ready to work.”

Florida Gators assistant coach for defensive backs Deron Wilson instructs Florida Gators defensive back Teddy Foster (4) during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 6, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] | Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Not to mention, his experience in Florida's defensive scheme has instilled confidence in a room looking to build off a strong end to the 2024 season.

"He showed up here first day, he hadn’t even moved his stuff over, and he was telling us stuff that we added on last year, like the few last games, he’s telling us new stuff like that, that we didn’t forget about. He already knows that," Moore said. "... So him being able to come in here first day just getting off the flight and just knowing the terminology and teaching us and coaching us, it really opened my eyes cause not a lot of coaches can take in our playbook that fast.”

Meanwhile, Sunseri has carryover from his time as a player and eventually a graduate assistant at Alabama as well as a short tenure as a defensive assistant with the Patriots. It's his time as a player with the Crimson Tide, though, that has stood out.

“I sit down with him, after practice, after meetings. I have just learned so much ball talking to him," junior safety Jordan Castell said. "He came from different places, but somebody who actually like plays safety as well. He has that experience as well.”

Bala's overlap also comes from a stint at Alabama under then-defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who previously coached at Clemson with Napier. An under-the-radar hire, Bala's arrival to the staff comes with big implications as Roberts moves to a free-floating role as the full-fledged defensive coordinator.

"It does free me up to move around a little bit, see all the pieces," Roberts said. "It's not just being help where I can, but it's also the ability to evaluate players and what they're good at, what they're not good at. You get to see more eyes on them all the time. (Bala)'s a huge asset to me, just because I've known for a while, and his experience, he's ran the system before, and just value and things that he's done and what he can bring to the table."

Bala's energy has rubbed off on the linebacker unit, too, as he familiarizes himself with the group.

"He's very energetic," junior linebacker Jaden Robinson said. "Great guy, sitting in the room and getting us going. And he's learning, we learn from him and he's learning from us."

Florida Gators co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Robert Bala looks on during spring football practice at Heavener Football Complex at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] | Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bala and Sunseri also hold co-defensive coordinator titles beneath Roberts, although Roberts and Napier have emphasized that the defense is a full-staff collaboration even if Roberts has the final say on a decision.

"I think you work best as an organization when it comes from, everybody's got an input and say-so in what's going on. Yeah, I'm gonna make the final decision and say, 'Here we go,' but I'm gonna rely on them in every situation, everything we bring up. And, I mean, that's not any different than what I was doing any other year."

After a 2024 campaign that saw Florida's defense completely turn the corner, the Gators may head into 2025 with a largely new defensive staff, but the confidence in the entire unit remains high with the familiarity of the scheme by the staff and a large portion of its main contributors returning.

"I'm excited about where we are, because I think that it just starts with the players and the staff working together, being on the same page, to be able to go out there and get the job done," second-year defensive line coach Gerald Chatman said. "When you have that, you got a chance to be good. And we have that.”

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