While college football at times feels like it is becoming more and more like the NFL as it relates to player movement between rosters, one of the things that college still doesn’t officially have is trades. Sometimes, however, as was the case with Florida and Kentucky on Wednesday, two teams just happen to land players out of the transfer portal from the other team.
The Gators have landed safety Cam Dooley, while the Wildcats have taken safety Jordan Castell.
Florida and Kentucky swap safeties
Dooley was originally a lower-tier four-star prospect out of the class of 2024. He got minimal snaps as a true freshman before he had significant snaps in 2025. Dooley took 413 snaps this year and was the starter for Kentucky by the end of the season. Against Florida this year, Dooley took 57 snaps and recovered a fumble in that game to go along with four tackles.
He finished the year with an overall PFF grade of 69.7 and only gave up six receptions in 212 pass coverage snaps. Dooley is following former Kentucky DC Brad White, who is now the DC at Florida.
In return, the Wildcats got Castell. He came to Florida also as a lower-tier four-star prospect who essentially became a starter right away. As a true freshman, Castell had a solid year and took 660 snaps with a PFF grade of 75.6.
The problem that plagued Castell is that his play never evolved, and it was quickly apparent that he wasn’t a play-making safety. He frequently gave soft cushions and seemed to be given a role to just make sure no one beat him over the top, no matter what, even if it meant giving up 15-yard passes underneath. His tackling was fine enough, and he has a career missed-tackle rate of 10.7%, compared to Dooley's 17.9%. But the constant passive play from Castell made him one that Gator fans weren’t clamoring to keep when he hit the transfer portal.
Dooley will still have three years of eligibility, while Castell will be in his last year.