GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In Todd Grantham’s defense the ‘star’ position is very important. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson filled the role exceptionally well last season, but now Trey Dean moves into that slot and will be backed up by John Huggins.
“Trey is a guy that is really a fit for that position in the sense he has corner skills, he has length, size and power,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said of Dean. He’s a good blitzer. He’s got some toughness, so when you play that position and they run those bubble screens and stuff you’re going to have to take on blocks.”
“He has the physicality to set the edge, shed a block and make plays. When you bring him on blitz, he’s a factor, he can affect… if a back’s blocking him, he’s goping to have a chance to win that and get after him. And then he can cover. He really brings those three things to the table as a Star for us.”
Gardner-Johnson finished with 71 tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, and four interceptions at the position last season and Dean will have to live up to those expectations and the rising sophomore has seeked advice from the former nickel.
“Most definitely,” Dean said. “Just to look at the offense’s tendencies, what they’re going to do, technique. Look at the o-line, a lot of things. How to play it, what technique to use on what down, different stuff like that.”
Dean was thrown into the fire last season after starting corner Marco Wilson went down with a torn ACL against Kentucky and he was asked to grow up quickly.
“(I) just had to trust in God that He was going to bring me through,” Dean said. “I didn’t know my name was going to get called. I came into the game. I didn’t have my shoes tied.
“I’m, ‘No chance I’m going to get in. I’m just going to look around, look around the stadium, take in the atmosphere.” I looked back and, ‘Trey, get in.’ I just had to grow up quick. It’s a dog-eat-dog mentality. Eat or get eaten.”
Dean managed to put together a solid season as a freshman at corner and looks to continue to improve even though he is transitioning to a new position.
“It’s going real good, switching to a new position,” Dean said of the switch. “I’m going to end up playing both of them. Play corner and star. Just learning different things will help me become a better football player.”
Sometimes players are forced to play a position they don’t necessarily want to play when guys leave or are injured, but that wasn’t the case for Dean. He welcomed the switch.
"They never really forced me to play the star position,” Dean said. “They asked me what was I interested in, and I sat down to see what the star position is about and did what’s best for my team. So, you know, my team need me to play star, I’ll play it. My team need me to play running back I’ll play running back.”
Fellow rising sophomore Huggins is in a similar position as Dean. He came in as a safety but is transitioning to nickel as well to back up Dean this upcoming season and so far his first spring is going well.
“It's something I need to get accustomed to - just learning the new formations and stuff like that everyday,” Huggins said. “But honestly I love it. I am closer to the ball. I can do a lot in that position and there is a lot more blitzing too so I think it's closer to my game.”
So far both Huggins and Dean have impressed at the nickel spot early on this spring and look to be natural fits at the position. They are flying around and creating plays for the defense and both are feeling more comfortable by the day.
“It's a good feeling and I am just getting used to it,” Huggins said. “My mindset has changed. I want to get ball. I want to go and get it every time. Really just playing hard every day and just keeping my mind focused and focusing on just about football.”
“I’m very comfortable,” Dean said. “With star, it’s just like you gotta play with a lot of technique. Just trust your teammates and just trust the coaches that they’re not gonna put you in the wrong position.”
