Dean's taking the entire family to Florida
Trey Dean got out of Atlanta last weekend to visit Kentucky just before the snow crippled the Peach State for a couple of days, but he will have no weather to worry about Friday when he boards a plane for the Swamp.
The four-star defensive back out of Hampton (Ga.) Dutchtown remembers when he was in Gainesville (Fla.) after his sophomore season quite well. After an impressive camp performance, the Gators became the first school to offer Dean. That moment will never be forgotten.
Now, he we are less than a week before the 6-foot-2, 180 pound senior signs with a school and he will return to Florida one more time. This visit will be big for both parties as Dean closes in on his decision.
"This visit is so important to me," said Dean. "I want to see the different coaches, I want to see how the campus is and I will just be good to get back down there.
"I was there as a little boy and I was there for the camp a while back, but there is new things going on, so I want to see it all. This will be my first visit ever to have my whole family with me, so it will be my mom, my dad, my two sisters and me. It is a very important visit."
The official visit to Kentucky went well for Dean, the No. 14-ranked safety in the country, but it appears the Wildcats my be third on his list heading into this weekend.
Alabama and Florida are the schools he is focused on and the Gators have his attention. Todd Grantham opened up immediate communication with Dean when he was hired as the defensive coordinator. He and Dean have met twice and Dan Mullen was with him earlier this week as well.
Mississippi State tried to recruit Dean, but he had other programs higher on his list at that time, so while he did not show a lot of interest in the Bulldogs, he is familiar with the two Florida coaches he has met with.
"Coach Mullen and coach Grantham seem like good guys. I have had good talks with both of them. Coach Grantham has been the one that talked to me about the defensive scheme, how I would fit in and things like that, so coach Mullen has talked to me about the culture and how he will be there to push me on and off the field in everything I do.
"I have listed to what they have had to say and I like them both."
Not many know this, but Dean was on the verge of committed to Florida just over a month after he received the offer from Florida. Could this come full circle?
His cousin is Ahmad Black, a former safety at Florida and Dean has been a fan of the Gators since he can remember. One of his favorites players is Amari Cooper too and Cooper had it down to Alabama and Florida before going with the Tide.
Now Dean will get to make his own pick.
"I will go back to home after the visit and compare Alabama to Florida to see which is the best for me," said Dean. "It is crazy has this has happened. It would be like a dream come true if I end up at Florida.
"I have been a fan all of my life, but I cannot make a decision just off that, so I have to make a smart decision and go to the place that God wants me to be."
Dean plans to announce his decision Wednesday December 20 at 1:45pm. He made it clear that it will be Alabama or Florida. The crazy thing is — Florida is looking for a defensive backs coach and Alabama is looking for a defensive coordinator. So his final two schools are in need of coaches that will affect his position.
That does not matter too much too him. He has faith in each head coach to hire the right guy.
"I am looking forward to signing early and getting to college. It is going to be a tough decision, but I will be ready Wednesday. I will talk to my parents when I get back, I will pray about it and I feel like I will know where I going by Tuesday."
