Gators Safeties Impressing Newly Hired Vinnie Sunseri Early On

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Having only been in his position with the Florida Gators since the end of January, newly hired Vinnie Susneri hasn’t had much time with his safeties. However, in that short time, he’s been impressed. 

“Unbelievable, we have a lot of great guys, guys that are talented, smart, have a lot of experience,” Sunseri said. “There’s also young guys that are coming in. They are green, but they’re also extremely talented and eager to learn.”

For the 2025 season, the Gators welcome back both Jordan Castell and Bryce Thornton, two integral parts of the defense. 

“I think they are extremely talented, they are extremely smart, and they understand what to do,” Sunseri said about them. 

After shining as a true freshman and earning All-SEC Freshman team, ESPN Freshman All-American honors, Castell produced similar numbers as a sophomore. In 2024, he recorded 55 total tackles, nine pass break-ups, two tackles-for-loss and a sack. 

Thornton, on the other hand, had a career year in the orange and blue. The second-year safety played in 10 games as a sophomore and tallied career highs in total tackles (41), pass break-ups (six), interceptions (three) and forced fumbles (one). 

He was pivotal in the upset win over Ole Miss near the end of the last campaign as well, ending the game with two interceptions and 14 tackles. 

Both are still learning, though, with Sunseri working with them on understanding how offenses will be gameplanning against them as players. 

“I think the next step is to understand how the offense is going to attack them and that’s what we’ve been talking about this spring,” Sunseri said, “not only what their role is in the defense but the concept of the defense and where you can be sometimes a little weak in some areas, and how you can anticipate motions, anticipate where the ball is supposed to go in certain situations.”

It isn’t just Castell and Thornton receiving this lesson, there are others in the room working on bettering their craft, too. That includes incoming freshman safeties Drake Stubbs and Lagonza Hayward, who have had their chances to impress during spring practices and gain valuable experience at the start of their collegiate careers. 

“You know every opportunity on the football field is experience and the only way you learn how to play the game of football is experience,” Sunseri said. “It’s all different from high school to college, so I think they’ve benefited a lot. I think they’ve learned and they’ve grown, and they practice at an extremely high level. I’m extremely proud of them.”

As for Hayward, his time spent outside the white lines has also caught his coach’s attention. 

“He studies the game extremely hard. He meets extra. He works out, extremely tough,” Sunseri said of Hayward. “Sometimes, you see him in the weight room, and you see how much weight he’s doing, and you’re like, God dang, I wish I would have done that.”

Combining the youth of Hayward and Stubbs with the veterans, Castell and Thornton, is certainly good for the future of the Gators ' program. While Sunseri doesn’t think the room is at its peak, he believes they are getting better. 

“They are doing everything we ask of them as a staff, and I think we’ve gotten better this spring,” Sunseri said of the safeties. “We’re not where we need to be, but we’ve taken steps in the right direction.”

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