DJ Douglas, a defensive back for Tulane, made a transfer portal commitment to the Gators on Saturday, making it their eighth commitment of the offseason.
Douglas played three seasons with the Green Wave, starting 36 games on defense, following two years as Alabama’s preferred walk-on. Throughout his career, Douglas has racked up 78 total tackles (58 solo), four interceptions, seven pass deflections, and one tackle for loss. According to PFF, Douglas also had one dropped interception in 2023.
Douglas adds experience to a Gators secondary that in 2023 had two true freshman in charge of their safety unit. (Thornton with four starts, Castell with eleven).
With Tulane in 2023, the 6’0, 205-pound safety recorded 201 snaps in the box, 277 at safety, and 157 in the slot (nickel / STAR). He possesses the adaptability to maneuver around Florida’s defense. Given that Florida lost starter nickel cornerback Jaydon Hill to the transfer portal this offseason, this level of adaptability is encouraging.
BY THE PIXELS
In 2023, Douglas played 653 snaps and allowed 23 receptions on 32 targets for 353 yards and four touchdowns, along with two interceptions and two pass breakups. With nearly 100 snaps, his coverage grade of 75.1 placed him fourth in Tulane’s secondary and would have placed him second on the Gators’ defense a year ago. Douglas avoided giving up a score on 158 coverage snaps in 2022.
Douglas received a run support rating of 60.5, which is above average by PFF standards but still better than Miguel Mitchell (59.1) and Bryce Thornton (59.3), who together received 12 starts a year ago. In 2023, Douglas missed 12 run support tackles.
Douglas’s stats on tackles are his one obvious weakness. According to PFF, the native of Alabama missed 16 tackles in 2023, accounting for a missed tackle percentage of 21.9%. He also had a tackling grade of 48.1, placing him 25th on Tulane’s defense. In 2023, seven Gators defenders (100+ snaps)—including safety Bryce Thornton and Miguel Mitchell—recorded a missed tackle rate of 20% or higher. Despite just playing 95 snaps and recording six tackles, RJ Moten had a 40% missed tackle percentage.
Douglas has a history of missing tackles; in 2022, he missed nine tackles for a missed tackle percentage of 26.5%, which ranked him fourth among Tulane’s defense’s players with 100+ snaps.
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