When Brad White was hired as the newest defensive coordinator of Florida football, he was challenged with bringing a new defensive scheme to a Gators unit that finished 13th in the SEC in total defense in 2025.
In his time in Gainesville so far, White made it clear that the past doesn’t matter and that Florida is heading into the new season with a clean slate.
Though he harped on the importance of waiting until players practice in pads to truly evaluate their talent and effort, White highlighted a handful of players who have already developed a solid understanding of the scheme through just two practices.
Safety Bryce Thornton
A senior, Thornton is entering his fourth season as a Gator after starting in 11 of UF’s 12 games in 2025. He finished his junior year with 56 total tackles and an interception and led Florida in both fumble recoveries (2) and pass breakups (6).
Thornton also changed his number from 18 to the famed No. 1 jersey this week and has received high praise from White and head coach Jon Sumrall for his leadership in practice. As Sumrall put it: You don’t get that jersey at UF without being a consistent defensive leader or an explosive offensive playmaker.
“Bryce Thornton has done a really nice job through the first couple days,” White said. “It looks like it's easy, the communication.”
Linebackers Jaden Robinson and Aaron Chiles
Senior Jaden Robinson and junior Aaron Chiles are two players White has been impressed with on the defensive front thus far. Though he wants to see players in pads to gauge standouts, the pair of linebackers were noted as having performed well in practices thus far.
Robinson saw action in all 12 games and logged 51 total tackles and two sacks for the Gators in 2025. Chiles also played in every game last season and tallied 52 total tackles and recovered a fumble.
With both players as upperclassmen who saw a respectable amount of playing time in 2025, they are expected to step up ahead of the 2026 season, and have already been identified by White as key contributors who can become high-ceiling defenders this season.
“Aaron Chiles has done a really nice job,” White said. “I’ve been really, really pleased with J-Rob, so those guys have done a nice job up front.”
Defensive linemen Jayden Woods, Brendan Bett and LJ McCray
The defensive line is where White values practicing in pads the most. He said once UF begins practicing with pads, he will be able to evaluate the physicality of its top linemen to see “who really wants it.”
Through the Gators’ first practices, sophomore Jayden Woods and redshirt junior Brendan Bett have done well in understanding White’s defensive scheme.
Woods totalled 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks for UF in 2025, while Bett added 39 total tackles and 3 sacks. Both linemen appeared in all 12 games last season, giving them the experience needed to stand out on Florida’s defense and step up as leaders if they choose.
“The game comes easy to Jayden Woods,” White said. “From just alignment front stuff, again, I think Bett has done a really nice job in his understanding there.”
Another d-line standout, according to White, has been redshirt sophomore LJ McCray.
While McCray played in all 13 games in 2024, he was sidelined for the majority of UF’s 2025 season with a broken foot suffered against South Florida. He logged just four snaps and a QB hurry before undergoing season-ending surgery.
Though McCray is in the process of learning a new system like his teammates, he also faces the added difficulty of reintegrating himself into a team that saw him sidelined for nearly all of 2025. However, White has been impressed with the work he has put in since his return to Gainesville in January.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with LJ and the work that he put in the weight room in January and February, the commitment that he’s made to try and change his body, to get stronger, to change his body comp,” White said. “He’s flashed out there. If we can get him going, that’s going to make us a much, much better football team.”
White also highlighted two defensive players in particular as having an untapped potential for development: sophomore safety Lagonza Hayward and redshirt senior defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo.
Defensive back Lagonza Hayward
Through 11 games as a true freshman in 2025, Hayward totaled 12 tackles (3.5 for loss) and a sack. Now, with the departures of former Gators Sharif Denson, Jordan Castell and Aaron Gates, Hayward has the room to establish himself in Florida’s secondary.
Though he’s a talented player, the sophomore needs to learn to analyze Florida’s defensive scheme in order to best play his role. Currently, White said Hayward is still developing his understanding of the defense, evidenced by his run-and-gun mentality that involves simply attacking the ball.
“He is a special, special athlete,” White said. “The big thing for Gonza, and he knows it, he's got to put in the time to understand this defense. Back there, like right now, there's just sort of a lot of floating, and it just goes see ball, hit ball.”
Defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo
Redshirt senior Emmanuel Oyebadejo started all 14 games at defensive end for Jacksonville State in 2025, finishing with 41 total tackles and 4.5 sacks. He also had five pass breakups and forced two fumbles.
At 6-foot-6, 300-plus pounds, the Manchester native has the size to control the trenches and seize gaps, but as White made clear, practice with helmets and pads will be crucial to expose who has the tenacity and physicality to win games for UF.
As of now, repetition and practice are the biggest things Oyebadejo needs to focus on in order to improve. While he’s blessed with imposing size, White stressed that Oyebadejo needs to learn to use his length to his advantage, and that reps will be the key to his development moving forward.
“God’s gifted him with arms that can touch that camera over there, but he's got to understand how to use that,” White said. “You play with bent arms, now he's nothing but me. So those are things that he's going to have to touch the fire, and again, pads are going to help.”
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a junior sports journalism student in his fourth semester at The Alligator. He is currently the sports desk's football and enterprise beat writer, and previously served as a reporter for men's tennis, sports enterprise and football. He is currently pursuing a public relations minor and is an avid Duval sports fan. (#DTWD)
