Florida was the first school to offer Trey Dean the summer before his junior season. He almost committed to the Gators about a month later, but he held off until December 20.
It came down to Alabama and Florida for the No. 14-ranked safety in the country.
"It was a tough decision and I did go back and forth, but Florida is the school I feel God wants me to be at," said Dean. "I prayed about it a lot, I feel Florida has great academics and athletics for me and it is just a great school for me.
"I felt God's plan is for me to go to Florida and He has great things in store for me there."
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Before the official visit to Gainesville last weekend, Dean knew he liked the Gators, but the visit took his interest to another level.
"The visit was great. Everything was great all around down there. There are great guys every where, coach [Dan] Mullen is a great coach and I see him doing great things at Florida.
"I learned about the coaches, I learned how they want to use me all over at defensive back and I liked the environment. Everything went well."
Dean grew up a fan of Florida, so this is like living out a dream. He took that fan out of the equation when he was going through the recruiting process, but now that fan has come back out again because he is headed to play in the Swamp.
The four-star safety out of Hampton (Ga.) Dutchtown in moving south in January and he plans to work hard to get on the field next season. Dean sees himself being a part of something special at Florida.
"I am going to be in the first group learning the new defense and everyone will be learning coach [Todd] Grantham's defense at the same time," said Dean. "I am ready to go to work. I am planning on playing my freshman year.
"I am going to work hard to help the team because I think coach Mullen is going to win SEC Championships and National Championships soon. Big things are coming."
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