Freshman cornerback Trey Dean has 21 tackles and six pass breakups on the season. (Photo: Matt Stamey/UAA Communications)
Freshman Dean Has Filled Big Void for Gators
Friday, November 23, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fresh off what he considered a stellar performance in the Under Armour All-American Game, Trey Dean arrived at the University of Florida in January as a mid-year enrollee.
A highly recruited defensive back out of Dutchtown High in Hampton, Ga., Dean shunned Alabama to sign with the Gators once Dan Mullen was hired and then hired cornerbacks coach Charlton Warren, whom Dean got to know when Warren recruited him heavily as a Tennessee assistant.
In the whirlwind of those first weeks on campus, Dean has a distinct memory.
"Fifth string,'' he said. "Coming from top-recruited athlete to seeing that, it's going to go two ways – 'I don't know what I'm going to do or you are just going to go grind.' No matter if Deion Sanders is in front of me or Patrick Peterson, you just got to go out there and grind. I use everything as competition."
Dean's "competitive character," a phrase Warren uses to describe the freshman cornerback, has served Dean well in his first season. In the second game of his career, Dean watched as sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson left the game with a season-ending knee injury against Kentucky. Dean's quick rise from fifth-stringer in the spring to starting freshman was complete, albeit not the way he or anyone desired.
Still, Dean seized on the opportunity the way he does whether he is playing Uno with his sisters or studying for a test. He wanted to shine.
"I always wanted to be a freshman All-American since I was a little boy,'' Dean said this week as he prepared for his first Florida-Florida State game. "I always had aspirations to play as a freshman, but I didn't know it was going to come this fast. I know going into every game, 'they are going to come at you.' I can see how people can lose their confidence. You just have to take on that challenge."
Warren expected nothing less.
Dean and Warren developed a good relationship on the recruiting trail while Warren was an assistant on Butch Jones' staff with the Vols. At one point, Dean committed to Tennessee. However, once Jones was fired midseason in 2017, Dean reconsidered his options with Alabama the leading destination.
A late official visit to Florida after Mullen was hired turned Dean toward the Gators. Warren's move south helped seal the deal and in each of their first seasons at UF, neither envisioned Dean's role as the primary starter opposite All-American candidate CJ Henderson.
Wilson's unfortunate stroke of bad luck opened the door for Dean to take on a starting role. He has played in all 11 games and started seven, including the last four. He is second on the team behind Henderson with six pass breakups and 21 tackles.
But everyone agrees the 6-foot-2, 194-pound Dean, rarely at a loss for confidence, is just getting started.
"He's a competitor. A lot of guys who get thrown into the fire, they get nervous and jittery,'' Warren said. "Whether he's been right or wrong or made a mistake, what you get more than anything is a competitor. At that position, you look for a guy who will compete all the time. He didn't shy away. The moment wasn't too big. If something bad happened, he moved on and made plays later."
Dean made his first career start against Colorado State and in a bit of irony, started his first Southeastern Conference game at Neyland Stadium, a 47-21 Florida victory over Tennessee on Sept. 23.
Trey Dean has started seven games as a true freshman, taking on a more prominent role after the season-ending knee injury to cornerback Marco Wilson. (Photo: Zach Marshall/UAA Communications)
Dean's season hasn't been without its ups and downs. He was ejected for targeting barely five minutes into Florida's win at Mississippi State while covering a punt, and he was replaced in the starting lineup against LSU and Vanderbilt by C.J. McWilliams. However, Dean came off the bench against LSU to record a career-high six tackles to regain some of his trademark swagger, which includes a heavy dose of trash-talk at practice and the aura of a player who knows he is talented but won't be satisfied with anything short of greatness.
"His mindset is what makes him so good,'' Gators safety Donovan Stiner said. "He takes it personal when he is one-on-one with a receiver. He is really passionate about what he does and he's not going to lose. With Marco going out, he had some big shoes to fill. I think he's doing a great job. He's becoming mature really a lot faster than he was supposed to."
Dean figured to get playing time as a true freshman, but with Wilson and Henderson back as one of the nation's top cornerback tandems, his primary mission was to prove he belonged on their level.
That was going to take time – and their help. Dean worked overtime to speed up the progress, often spending time at practice with the veterans for extra reps against the receivers.
Once Wilson got hurt, Warren upped the ante.
"When Marco went down, my message to him was clear: 'Hey, you've worked all this time in your life for this moment. You've prepared for it, you've studied for it. It didn't just happen when you got on this campus. It happened a long time ago. This is the moment you've wanted and now you've got it. You are built for this.' I think it's been a productive year for him. He is trending on the right path for a young guy coming out of high school to the University of Florida and starting in the SEC."
Dean's most trying moments came in the loss to Missouri when he got beat for a 41-yard touchdown pass from Drew Lock to Kam Scott. In high school, teams threw away from Dean, not at him. He said it was the first touchdown pass he had ever allowed in coverage.
Dean committed what Warren termed an "eye violation" by taking his eyes off the receiver and allowing Scott to beat him on a post route without any safety help.
"I don't want to give up no passing yards," Dean said. "I was in a dark hole. It was hard."
Dean went back to work, determined to shake off the play.
"I could sense some disappointment in him, but I think he took it as a learning experience,'' Stiner said.
Dean responded with good game against South Carolina, knowing the Gamecocks were going to test him with Henderson on the other side and film of his performance against Missouri.
No, Warren was not surprised. He has known Dean long enough to understand the drive inside that makes him one of the most talented newcomers on the roster.
"He's very, very critical of himself, but he has a short memory,'' Warren said. "That's a trait you look for in a guy. You can coach him hard. He's not a sensitive kid. He wants you to coach him in a manner that makes him a better player."
Dean's attention to detail allows him to train "like a pro" in Henderson's view.
Dean's accelerated development provides the UF secondary with three top corners heading into next season once Wilson returns. He won't look at the depth chart next spring and see fifth-stringer looking back.
Part of his motivation to come to UF was the school's reputation of turning out NFL defensive backs and the competition for playing time. Dean is nowhere near being satisfied despite his quick ascension to a significant role.
"I don't want to fall behind them boys,'' he said. "They had great freshmen years. I just had to go out there and grow up early, grow up fast. I don't think, by far, it's the best I think I could have played. These last two games, I'm going to seal the deal."
