RJ Moten brings experience, ‘great IQ’ to Florida’s safety room

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One of Florida’s biggest question marks for 2023 is at safety. The Gators lost both starters from a year ago and are young at the position with the exception of their newest addition, junior RJ Moten.

He was a two-year starter at Michigan and transferred to UF following the spring semester. With the departures of Trey Dean III and Rashad Torrence II, the Gators upgraded their safety room with Moten’s arrival this summer.

And his impact was instantaneous.

“R.J. is my guy. I feel like he made our secondary better on the day he arrived with just like how he approaches it,” redshirt junior defensive back Jaydon Hill said. “He’s very smart in the film room, and he understands. He knows we have a lot of doubt, and he plans on coming in and helping us win games.”

Moten was a part of 25 wins with the Wolverines over the past two seasons as they won back-to-back Big Ten titles. He appeared in all 14 games during both years, making five starts in 2021 and 10 more last fall.

That includes starting twice in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

“Just experience,” Moten said when asked what he can from his time at Michigan. “I got two rings and I’ve been in the playoffs. I was one play away from a national championship last year.

“Just to being able to bring that experience and that knowledge on what it takes to get to that level, because not everybody has been there. To be able to bring that to a team where that’s the end goal, I think that will help out a lot.”

It was Moten, however, who needed help when he first enrolled at UF. He missed all of spring ball under new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong and was behind on learning his scheme.

Moten credits sophomore safeties Miguel Mitchell and Kamari Wilson for helping him get acclimated to the playbook and Armstrong’s system, although he was familiar with some concepts.

“I asked Kamari and Miguel. Those are the two that I think know the defense the best,” Moten said. “So, I would pick their brain and see, ‘How do you guys see this? How do you guys see that?’ Once I was able to see what they see, that allowed me to start doing pre-snap. ‘Oh, they’re about to do this, so let me get to this check.’ Just things like that. Some things, some formations I’ve seen before. So, it’s kind of like a carryover almost.”

Moten walked into an interesting dynamic at safety. He’s the new guy in the room, but everyone is looking to him as the leader of the group.

Moten had to strike a balance between earning the respect of his teammates but also taking charge of the position. He’s made it work so far.

“The first couple of days I was like, a little shy, not saying too much, but they’ve accepted me and I’m happy about that,” Moten said. “We joke around all the time now in meetings, outside of practice and before walk throughs as well. Just to be able to have them accept me and open their arms, I still come to them for advice on plays and how they view things and how they see things, but everything is gelling well.”

Moten will likely be one of the starters with Mitchell and Wilson vying for the other spot. Jordan Castell could start as well and fellow true freshman Bryce Thornton also be in the rotation.

Regardless of who gets the nod with the first-team defense, Moten maintains that all five safeties will play in different pairings.

“Every day is just a competition. We all know the final goal and at the end of the day, the coaches have a say who is going to be on the field and who is not going to be on the field,” Moten said. “I’ll be on the field with Miguel, with Jordan, with Kamari, with Bryce at the same time, and we don’t even look at like that. We’re just all out there trying to make each other better.”

Moten has not made the safety room better but improved the overall play of the secondary with his communication skills and football IQ. Florida redshirt junior cornerback Jalen Kimber played on the same All-American team with Moten in high school and has admired his game since then.

“Great IQ,” Kiber said of Moten. “I’ve been knowing him for quite some time and RJ’s really smart, really instinctive, he knows the defense, and I feel like he’s really come a long way. We added a great piece to our defense.”

Anyone who watched Florida’s safety play last season can attest to the blown assignments and communication issues on the backend. That’s one area where Moten should be able to be provide a difference.

“I think my knowledge and understanding for the defense is a big key. I definitely take pride in it,” Moten said. “Every time I’m on the field, I think that’s one of the main components of a good defense. You’ve got to have good communication and I think that comes from the safety because, typically, I see everything. To be able to have my teammates see that I’m communicating at a high level, that definitely warms my heart.”

Moten’s recruitment to Florida

Moten officially visited UF in early May and committed to the staff during his trip to Gainesville. His father, Ron Moten, played linebacker for the Gators from 1982-86.

Armstrong, who coaches Moten at the safety position, also served as high primary recruiter.

“It was a cool deal that R.J. is a Gator,” Armstrong said. “I think in today’s college football climate that having guys that have a sentimental value or a geographical value to your team is really, really important. I started recruiting him, get on the phone with him and we offered him, per se, you know how unique that is. The guy was almost in tears because it meant a lot to him. His dad obviously was a good player here. They come down for their official visit and about three hours into it, we kind of moved on and were ready to go.

“The guy has started games at a place that we have a lot of respect for, University of Michigan, and two College Football Playoff starts, and he brings a lot of maturity to that room. He’s done a great job with the transformation of his body. The guy got here in June, and everybody else had gone through install in February and the spring, and he had to catch up in a really competitive room. I commend him and everybody in that room’s work right now. So, he’s a great addition for us, and we’re glad to have him.”

Armstrong added that Moten is probably going to play to the boundary and does a good job there, but also has some position flexibility. Moten is looking forward to lining up in Armstrong’s scheme and playing for him.

“I’m very versatile and I’ll be matched up in the slot, on tight ends, on running backs, in the box, in the post, all over the field really. So, his defense just allows me to maximize my talent,” Moten said. “I had a young high school coach who I had to trust and to this day I think he’s the reason why I got where I am. So, when I found out about Coach Armstrong, I think he just turned 30, and I saw the vision he had.

“It kind of reminded me why I stayed at my high school instead of transferring when we had a new head coach. I was just like, let me trust him and see what he’s got. He’s all over the place with his energy. He reminds you every day on why you are here, why he trusts you, why he wants you to succeed. So to be able to have that as a defensive coordinator definitely helps out a lot.”

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