Dean has a family connection to UF: Florida Gators recruiting

A lot of the camps in Gainesville are chances for young prospects to get on the Florida Gators recruiting board by impressing the coaching staff. That was the case last weekend as several underclassmen picked up offers from Florida.

One of those was 2018 defensive Trey Dean (6-2, 180, Hampton, GA Dutchtown High) who had been invited to camp by defensive coordinator Geoff Collins.

“Coach Collins has been looking at film and they were interested so they invited me down for the camp,” Dean said of his talks with Florida. “He had been telling me that my film was great but they wanted to work with me at the camp, so that’s why I came down there Saturday.”

Dean impressed the Gators coaching staff and on Sunday morning he received good news from head coach Jim McElwain.

“Coach McElwain, the head coach, was the one who offered me,” he said. “He told me that I looked really good in the camp and that he liked how physical I was. He said that he liked my length and my size and that he loved how I liked Florida football.”

The 2018 cornerback knew the offer was coming though as Collins brought up to the Dean after his on-field performance.

“He kept telling me during the camp that I was doing great,” Dean said of Collins. “He said that my combine numbers were good and after the camp he told me that I did great. He said that’s why Florida was offering me.”

Not only were Collins and McElwain impressed by Dean, but defensive backs coach Torrian Gray was as well, as he got to work with the corner.

“I got to meet Coach Gray for the first time,” he said. “He’s a very good coach and I like his style of coaching. I liked his drills because they were some drills that I’ve never did before at my high school. It was very unique and he told me to keep grinding.”

Getting a Florida offer was an extra special one for Dean as he has a family connection the Gators football program.

“It means a lot. My cousin Ahmad Black played there so it’s special,” Dean said of the offer. “It was a very special day because my first offer came from Florida and Ahmad was excited. He told me congratulations and welcome to the Gator family.”

Dean doesn’t plan on being a stranger from Gainesville this summer, as he’s already lining up another visit to Florida.

“I’m going to visit again in July for their next camp,” he said. “I’m planning some other visits this summer too.”

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.