Florida Gators Coach Ron English Talks 'Big Year' Ahead for Trey Dean
When the Florida Gators line up on defense this season they'll be showcasing plenty of familiar faces on the back end. Seniors Donovan Stiner, Shawn Davis Jr. and Brad Stewart will all return as the team's primary safeties.
This season, however - following Jaewaon Taylor's graduation -, the team will be deploying some new faces at safety, including a much "improved" junior defensive back Trey Dean, who will make the transition to safety this season.
Speaking with reporters via Zoom earlier this week, safeties coach Ron English praised Dean's work ethic this summer, noting that the junior had his best scrimmage of the fall, what happened to be the final tune-up scrimmage of camp prior to the season opener on Sept. 26.
"His tackling has improved, his physicality has improved, his technique has improved, so I’m pleased. He’ll help us this year both those spots," English said of the defensive back's transition to safety and ability to play on the boundary at cornerback.
Earlier this offseason, Dean posted photos on social media showcasing his improved size, clearly making the transition with the help of strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage, but primarily on his own due to the coronavirus pandemic.
English has noticed Dean has "jacked up," noting that even without the full offseason with Savage his players have been able to take advantage of the time they had.
"Trey you know he's cut up now. He's cut up. These guys, I mean these guys—for not having a spring and not being around Savage for very long, I mean they look pretty good, they're pretty stout looking dudes."
Teachability is one of the greatest traits a young player can have, and while Dean has done well in the past, he hasn't always listened, says English.
"You know what really has improved about Trey Dean is managing his ego. He finally has learned and matured in the sense that he is really not arrogant like he was before," said English.
Now, Dean is more mature, and humble, something Florida's safeties coach is proud of. Sometimes players can grow arrogant, and coach English makes sure to let his players know about talents that never stop working. For example, Lebron James at 35 years old is still working each and every day and seemingly hasn't slowed down.
"I think we all know when your arrogant you miss stuff and you don’t grow as quickly as you should if you were more humble. That’s one of the biggest things he’s doing. He’s growing exponentially because he’s listening, which he didn’t always do that."
Although some may feel Dean's past ego impacted the timing of his switch to safety, English disagreed, saying there has never been any hesitancy from Dean from his perspective, and the team has never had any issues in cross-training players.
The team's coaching staff has also had the ability to cross-train, dating back to English's stint at Mississippi State with safety Johnathan Abram, who was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Abram's success at STAR, free safety and strong safety illustrate what a player's versatility can do to their overall success at both levels of football. For English, he's excited for Dean this season.
"Trey’s gonna have a big year. I really believe that in my heart and I really like the way he’s coming on."
