Coach Corey Raymond has been known to be one of the best defensive back coaches in all of college football given the amount of success Raymond had at Louisiana State University for nearly ten years before arriving at Florida in 2022.
Just last week, a positive change happened for the second-year defensive coach as he was promoted to Assistant Head Coach while also having control of the entire defensive backs’ unit.
Raymond is a coach many fans wanted to see get extended since taking the job at Florida, and it’s exactly what they got after only one year of having Raymond on staff.
We’re only a couple of weeks into spring practice and Raymond has already had a major impact on his new unit.
“You know, with coaching the safeties, it’s just we’re all together,” Raymond said. “Doing it together, you know, maybe some more working together, cohesiveness, talking together. It was the same thing with Coach Toney, it wasn’t nothing. You know, everything from last year was more being new than anything, and the guys getting in. I think being a year in the system and not changing anything, I think you’ll see a lot more improvements because we had a good system last year. It’s the same system from last year, it was really good, and I think that the guys are growing into it and understanding how to become professionals in it. That’s what’s going to make them better.”
In terms of the overall scheme, not much has changed with Austin Armstrong taking over as defensive coordinator. Although, defensive backs will need to play more aggressively under Armstrong and Raymond in the second-year system.
“I mean, you’re going to do a little bit of everything, dab into a little bit of different defenses,” Raymond said. “It comes from a lot of things that have been, you know, where he [Armstrong] came from, a little bit where [Dave] Aranda came from. It’s a lot of defenses that are mixed together, so you see a lot of different things. In the secondary there’s going to be situations where you’ll have some one-on-one matchups, and you’re going to have to win. I think they’re understanding everything that we want, what we’re trying to get accomplished, and I think that’s what they’re comfortable with now. So, you see them playing a little bit faster, you see them compete more and see them doing all the little things to get better.”
While the safeties didn’t have the best season as a group last year, Trey Dean and Rashad Torrence were huge pieces to the secondary in terms of experience and production.
It’s important that the safeties have a better understanding of their responsibilities in Year 2, and Raymond is very impressed with what he’s seen from the group so far.
“They’re doing a good job, they’re doing a really good job,” Raymond said on the safeties. “I mean, for some of them this is year two, they understand it. And it’s just going to keep more reps. The more reps they get, the better they get. You know, like you say, from week one to week two, you’re going to see the advancement of those type of guys. They’re going to be really good. They’re real, real athletic. They’re going to be some really good players.”
When looking at the secondary as a whole, it’s all about the players buying into what’s being taught and putting in the extra hours.
“I mean they’re working hard man,” Raymond said on the secondary. “I think they have a chance to be—could be good. You know, it’s going to be on them putting in the work, which they are doing, and guys are stepping up and being leaders.”
For the newcomers that have early enrolled and been on the field at spring practice, the strive to be great is exactly what you want to see out of the young group.
“He’s a nickel guy, he’s doing that,” Raymond said on Sharif Denson playing nickel. “He’s doing good. It’s a hard spot, but he’s doing better. He’s going to be good. Like I tell him, you can’t rush it man. Just keep working, just keeping working. You know, sometimes kids want it right now. He’s just gotta keep working.”
As spring practice continues to move forward, it’ll be interesting to see how guys like Sharif Denson, Ja’keem Jackson, Jordan Castell and others continue to grow in their first year as Florida Gators.