Breaking: Gators land another talented super star

Florida leaned into the winter transfer portal to upgrade its roster for the second offseason in a row, securing a dozen college football veterans to bolster the Gators’ roster entering the 2024 offseason.

All Gators is projecting roles for each transfer acquisition. Next up is super senior safety DJ Douglas, who joins Florida following three seasons at Tulane after beginning his career as a walk-on defensive back at Alabama in 2019. Douglas spent two years with the Crimson Tide and received playing time, albeit in a marginal capacity, during his redshirt freshman campaign.

His ascension on Alabama’s depth chart led Douglas to transfer ahead of the 2021 campaign, eyeing a program that would offer him a legitimate opportunity to compete for significant playing time beyond the three snaps offered to him in Tuscaloosa. That school was Tulane, where Douglas went on to appear in 39 games and make 13 starts in the secondary. After occupying a rotational role over the 2021-22 seasons, Douglas secured a spot on the first team with the Green Wave in 2023.

He was credited with 54 tackles including one for loss, three interceptions and two pass breakups on the year, one in which Tulane went 11-3, appeared in the AAC Championship and appeared in its fifth bowl game of the past six seasons, after the program made one postseason appearance over the previous 15. Manning a versatile function in the Green Wave defense, Douglas logged 277 snaps at deep safety, 201 snaps at box safety, 157 snaps at nickel cornerback and 13 at outside cornerback. Following the December 2023 departure of Tulane head coach Wille Fritz, and with an eye on an increase in competition level, Douglas returned to the Southeastern Conference this offseason, transferring to Florida on Jan. 6.

“DJ Douglas is a player that we’re excited about,” Florida head coach Billy Napier said on Wednesday. “He’s impressed so far. He’s got a temperament about him. He’s a leader, He’s a good communicator. Think there’s some continuity in the system he played in and he’s an alpha and he’s a worker. His work ethic has impressed so far. “He’s 6-foot, 205 [pounds], came from Thompson High School in Alabama, which is a really good football program. And then certainly playing at Tulane for Coach Fritz, there’s a ton of respect there in terms of the type of program that they run. So I had a couple of my former players that were on that team that knew DJ and they spoke highly of his behalf.” Douglas’ positional flexibility should be of benefit for a Gators’ secondary that is expected to look quite different in 2024 compared to 2023.

Under the leadership of new defensive backs coach Will Harris, who replaced the dismissed Corey Raymond in December, Florida has added three transfers to the unit alongside Douglas this offseason, to pair with the retainment of multi-year starting corner Jason Marshall Jr. and the rise of multiple young prospects. Jordan Castell returns to start at safety after receiving Freshman All-American and All-SEC honors for his rookie performance, with fellow rising sophomore Bryce Thronton, Douglas, Oregon transfer Trikweze Bridges, Washington transfer Asa Turner and veteran depth piece RJ Moten set to compete to play next to him. But with the considerable injection of talent on the backend this offseason, matched with experience closer to the line of scrimmage, Florida could opt to play Douglas at STAR nickel corner in 2024.

Florida’s starting STAR in 2023, Jaydon Hill, transferred to Texas A&M this offseason, opening the position for either a transfer or an unproven player to step up in 2024 and beyond. Rising sophomore Sharif Denson was recruited to play STAR for Florida specifically. 40 of his 49 defensive snaps as a freshman were logged at the position, indicating he will fight for the first-team role this season. Douglas has proven capable in the slot at the college level previously, though. Ultimately, the two could form a duo at nickel cornerback in 2024 to raise the position’s floor, while simultaneously allowing the high-upside Denson to gain comfort with further utilization.