Eight months ago, safeties coach Chuck Heater sat in his chair on a raised platform at UF's preseason Media Day and tried to explain why the 2008 season would be different, how a secondary that gave up 373 yards passing to Michigan in the 2008 Capital One Bowl could possibly be any better after entering fall two-a-days with three scholarship players at safety.
The trio consisted of one returning starter (Major Wright), one converted cornerback (Ahmad Black) and an incoming freshman who just arrived on campus (Will Hill).
"I don't listen to the radio shows. I don't read the newspapers," Heater said at Media Day regarding his critics. "I work for Urban Meyer."
Meyer should have little criticism for Heater this spring.
Rarely does a position go from being a weakness to earning praise on SportsCenter, but that is exactly what happened with the UF safeties.
And during a spring where it seems starters get injured each day, the safeties have remained completely intact.
Wright and Black return as starters after anchoring a Gators secondary that intercepted 26 passes, tops in the Southeastern Conference. Hill will look to find even more playing time after stellar performances in spot situations in 2008 when he mostly saw action in the team's nickel defense as well as on special teams. Rising redshirt senior Dorian Munroe is back after watching last season from the sidelines due to a summer ACL tear, and Scout.com four-star recruit Dee Finley is finally in Gainesville, albeit a year later than expected.
"Well, it's the first time we've had depth," Heater said. "Of course, I had a bunch of safeties going into last spring, and two months later they were all gone."
Attrition depleted Heater's stock of safeties when Jamar Hornsby was kicked off the team for his legal issues, Jerimy Finch decided to transfer to Indiana, and penciled-in starter Munroe went down with his heart-breaking injury prior to two-a-days.
Black turned out to be the surprise of the season and started all 14 games at safety. Over the course of the season, the 5-foot-9, 185-pounder intercepted seven passes, including his highlight-reel ripaway from Juaquin Iglesias with less than 10 minutes left in the National Championship Game. This, of course, was after Black tipped and Wright caught an interception near the goal line right before halftime, which also followed Wright laying out Manuel Johnson during an attempted catch in the first quarter.
"The way I look at it, we've got four starters at safety," coach Urban Meyer said. "Dorian was a starter. Will Hill basically is a starter, and then you've got the two guys who did start."
It will be interesting see how the battle for the season opener's two starting spots on Sept. 5 pans out. The rotation will be there, but so far this spring, Heater hasn't tipped his hand too much, giving all five guys some reps with the first-squad defense. While Wright and Black, an All-SEC second teamer, stood out last year, Munroe is back and gunning for a starting job. Hill has been working out exclusively at safety this spring after Janoris Jenkins shifted to the third corner in the nickel defense, and Finley is quickly learning the ropes due to his high "football quotient," according to Heater. Meyer said Finley may be the first player he's recruited who went through a prep academy like Milford.
"They realize that type of situation should make them a better football player," Heater said of the close competition. "It doesn't allow them to relax for a moment, both mentally or physically."
So far, the returns are quite promising. In a goal-line scrimmage earlier this spring, the first two possessions ended in interceptions by safeties: Black picked off Tim Tebow, and Hill grabbed a John Brantley pass.
Black said there is a noticeable swagger this season stretching from the safeties to the corners to the line, which is to be expected with UF returning its top 22 defensive players from last season.
But no matter the talent level, no more than two or three safeties will be on the field at the same time come fall.
"Ultimately, someday, someone is going to be on the field and someone is going to be watching, and you gotta really manage that," Heater acknowledged. "My conversation with them is, 'Earn the right to play. Be a good enough football player for us to win a championship. It's my job then to make sure you get on the football field.'"
No matter what the rotation, someone will likely take fault with Heater's choice.
Good thing he doesn't read the papers, then. They've been wrong before.
