Gators Among Top Landing Spots for Rival Transfer Defensive Back

The Florida Gators could leverage their connection to the transfer defender in order to land his services

The Gators have a fitting connection to this player in the portal | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky defensive back Cam Dooley entered the portal on Sunday, and the early team to watch for the former Wildcat is the Florida Gators, according to CBSSports’ Matt Zenitz. 

Dooley is a former 247Sports’ top-200 overall recruit from the 2024 class. He posted 30 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in the 2025 season. As a freshman in 2024, he saw action in all 12 games, making four tackles and a tackle-for-loss. 

The 6-foot-2, 208-pound safety from Valley, Ala., played several positions in high school., starting at quarterback, wide receiver and safety for his high school. 

There is a connection to the Gators staff for Dooley. The Gators recently hired defensive coordinator Brad White and new safeties coach Chris Collins from Kentucky, where they coached Dooley. 

Dooley is not the only option on the board for the Gators, though. Another pair of safeties on the list for the Gators are former Baylor safety DJ Coleman and Kansas Lyrik Rawls. 

Coleman visited the program this weekend, starting on Jan. 3. and committed to the program on Sunday. He spent three years with the Bears, posting 89 total tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and one forced fumble. He ranks as the No. 98 transfer prospect and No. 8 safety prospect, according to On3. 

Rawls is a more wait-and-see target for Florida. On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported on Saturday that the Kansas safety has visits lined up with several ACC and Big 12 schools, but if the Gators ramp up conversations with him, they could be the team to beat. The defensive back just wrapped up his first year with Kansas, posting 73 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one interception and eight pass breakups. 

Florida may likely take only one safety from the portal. Starting safety Bryce Thornton and depth pieces Lagonza Hayward and Drake Stubbs were all retained this offseason by the Gators, giving White a solid base at the backend of his defense going into the 2026 season. 

The transfer portal is only just starting to heat up for the Gators. Only two days have gone by since the transfer portal opened, but Gators head coach Jon Sumrall has already scheduled several visits with transfer prospects. 

Some of the names visiting campus this weekend are Georgia Tech’s Aaron Philo and Bailey Stockton, James Madison’s Lacota Dippre, Penn State offensive line duo Eagan Boyer and TJ Shanahan, Jacksonville State’s Emmanuel Oyebadejo and Baylor’s Coleman and DK Kalu. 

The 2026 portal window closes on Jan. 16. Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of Florida's portal moves here.