Walking out to the first day of spring camp Trey Dean had an unusual accessory.

The senior defensive back made the walk from the locker room under Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to the Sanders Practice Field with a shiny pair of handcuffs dangling from the waistband of his pants.

Why?

"Just out there having a little fun, you know. Just like a competitive edge, just to say every down we're going to give it our all to lock the receivers up no matter what it is. Having a little fun, having a little competition," Dean explained after the third practice of spring. "I wanted to be kind of different. A lot of people have their little turnover chains and stuff like that. So just to start a little trend."

Heading into the 2020 season the Florida Gators needed to find someone to replace Chauncey Gardner-Johnson at the Star position. Trey Dean was picked and, well, the experiment didn't go well. Dean, who was resistant when asked to move to Star, struggled in the new role before finally moving to safety in 2020.

Dean wasn't a starter but did get extended playing time later in the season when Shawn Davis went down with an injury. Dean finished the season with 34 tackles, including eight against Tennessee. He also almost had a game-changing interception against Alabama in the SEC Championship game before getting his clock cleaned on the return, fumbling the ball back to the Tide.

"I’m always going to have a lot of chances to make plays," Dean said after the Gators' third spring practice. "I just know next time what to do and I’m pretty sure I’m going to make the play and it’s going to end on our side next time.”

Dean is right. As he returns for his senior season he is poised to be a starter and a veteran in what will otherwise be a young secondary. Dean has played outside cornerback, star, and safety but looks to have found a home in the latter. Dean's versatility and leadership are qualities that could lead him to fill in other places in a pinch, but there's a need.

"He could play all of those positions," Grantham said of Dean. "I think, for our team, you always look at how do we get our best 11 guys on the field' and doing that, it would probably be one of the inside positions, you know, whether it was nickel or safety, we can, we can always look at that. And there's not a lot of difference in learning the two and he's had a year at nickel, but he's also had a year of safety and we'll continue developing at safety."

You want to get your best 11 on the field but the past has shown that Dean's best position is safety and the Gators' best 11 on defense includes him starting there.