Redshirt senior defensive back Trikweze Bridges continues to work at cornerback leading up to Florida’s week 12 matchup against No.21 LSU.
The Oregon transfer played cornerback throughout his five seasons in Eugene before joining the Gators as a safety, which Bridges and UF’s staff felt was his natural position. However, due to Florida’s laundry list of injuries at cornerback, which includes Jason Marshall, Ja’Keem Jackson, and Devin Moore, Bridges has switched back to cornerback in an effort to maximize Florida’s defensive production.
“That’s what I’ve been doing all week was at corner. Getting comfortable at that position again,” Bridges said on Wednesday.
In week ten against Georgia, Bridges served as Florida’s emergency corner, having to play the majority of the second half at the position after Dijon Johnson went down with an injury. This meant that Florida was down their top four cornerbacks entering the season.
“When I seen Dijon Johnson coming off the sideline, I knew then that’s when I was going to have to step up. We already had talked about it of the beginning of the season and just like this week if anything would happen. So I’m emergency corner. Those times come, I show up,” Bridges said after the Georgia game.
Last week vs Texas, Bridges logged 45 snaps at corner, the most since his playing days at Oregon. He allowed two receptions for 15 yards on three targets.
“I always told them like I can play corner. I can play safety. Wherever you can put me is like that’s good for me. Be able to show my versatility off. I’ll be able to do that, so I’m happy to do that for the team,” Bridges said.
As a bigger corner, standing at 6’2.25, 200 pounds, Bridges uses his size to his advantage.
“Just being very patient. You know what I’m saying like let them dance at the line do what they do. Yeah but I don’t want to say too much to give it away before the game but I’m a very patient guy,” Bridges said.
While moving Bridges to corner was not ideal from a team standpoint, Bridges believes the versatility he’s shown throughout the season will help him at the next level.
“He [Will Harris] said it’s a really great tool to have just be able to like be flexible and play more than one position because there’s only 53 players can get on that roster,” Bridges said. “So you wanna be able to play more than one position, be flexible, and move around as an athlete so I think it is a good tool, good ability to have.”
You can expect a lot of moving parts defensively vs LSU as Florida has injuries at safety too (Asa Turner). Redshirt freshman Aaron Gates played 22 snaps at safety vs Texas.
Through nine games of the 2024 season, Bridges has allowed eight receptions for 77 yards and no touchdowns on 18 targets, holding opposing QBs to a passer rating of 33.8, the lowest on the Gators.