Florida football: Gators offer experienced Big Ten safety in transfer portal

Florida football saw its defense fall off a cliff in the second half of the season and needs to add some talent and depth to that side of the ball in order for it to be a strength next season.

The transfer portal has already seen over a thousand players put their names in, and the Gators have identified one DB that they want to bring to Gainesville next season.

Cameron Martinez, a senior safety transferring from Ohio State, announced on his Twitter that Florida officially offered him out of the portal.

With a safety room full of young talent, adding a veteran like Martinez would be very beneficial.

Florida football: Been there, done that

Cameron was a member of the 2020 recruiting class and was ranked as a top-20 ATH in the country on 247 Sports.

All of those years in Columbus have gotten him accustomed to what elite football looks like, and he knows what it takes to be a member of an elite secondary.

Those traits would be a big boost for the Gators’ defense, which is full of youth and is in need of a lot of improvement.

Martinez has had an injury-riddled career. He appeared in only three games this season and missed a large chunk of 2022 as well.

His best season was his healthiest in 2021, where he totaled 23 tackles, three pass deflections, and a pick-six.

If Cameron is able to stay healthy, he would be a key contributor for the Gators on the back end. There were a lot of holes in the Gators’ secondary this season, especially in the back half of the schedule.

Adding veteran transfers like Martinez is what Billy Napier and Austin Armstrong need to do in order to turn that side of the ball around in time for next season.