Former 4-star safety has a leg up in Florida football’s defensive back room
Florida watched most of its secondary depart this offseason to the NFL or to graduation. Because of these losses, the Gators will feature new faces in the back half of their defense.
Sophomore safety Rashad Torrence II is one current player who saw some action on the field last season. Swamp247 and Thomas Goldkamp started their series analyzing some of the second-year players who will likely see more snaps this season.
Out of high school, 247Sports rated the Marietta, Georgia, native as a 4-star prospect and ranked him as the No. 56 safety in the country in its rankings. He also tallied 25 tackles in his freshman season.
Goldkamp identified Torrence’s athleticism and potential he showed last year as some strengths he can build off of. It was impressive considering the absence of an offseason strength and conditioning program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, that is one area where Torrence can improve and become bulkier. If he accomplishes that, he can bring the boom on opposing players and help force turnovers where Florida’s defense struggled in 2020.
Because of the experience he earned last season, Torrence should slot into one of the starting spots at safeties. It’ll be up to him to keep improving and become more consistent to keep other young safeties like Mordecai McDaniel from overtaking him.
