GAINESVILLE — The Florida Gators asked a lot of former West Orange High standout Jordan Castell in 2023 and expect even more in 2024.

Forced into the starting lineup as a true freshman playing a new position, he aims to anchor a secondary that spent much of last season on its heels.

The sophomore free safety headlines a host of young defenders looking to make a Year 2 leap after suffering growing pains during a 5-7 season.

“You still just have to believe,” Castell said. “My freshman year you could look at the record and all that, but we had so many freshmen play and we’re all coming back. We’re like, ‘Let’s turn this around.’

“We don’t want to go through that again.”Castell has endured worse and overcome more.

He also never shied away from a challenge. At times, Castell actively pursued them in order to prove himself.

This combination of experiences — some soul-crushing and others self-affirming — have prepared the 20-year-old for whatever comes his way.

“He’s always been a mature kid,” older brother Bertram Castell Jr. told the Orlando Sentinel. “He was kind of built for these moments. He’d be a leader, no matter what he was doing.”

Bertram was by his younger brother’s side during the seminal moment of his teenage years. The two of them sat somberly in a room at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital as their father, Bertram Sr., passed away Oct. 1, 2021 from heart failure at age 52.

Jordan recalled delivering the news to family members in the waiting area. He then headed to Winter Garden to face rival Dr. Phillips.

“Once everything happened, we go downstairs, I had to tell my mom, my grandma,” Castell told the Orlando Sentinel. “Then had to go back to school and get ready to play.”

At the urging of his big brother, Jordan Castell honored his father with an inspired effort during a 45-7 win. After the game, Castell, one of seven children, was greeted by his siblings at the field-exit gate.

“I just kind of tried to keep my head up,” he said. “When we got back in there [locker room], the whole football team, and I’m in there, I was just crying. Nobody knew what was going on because I didn’t tell anybody.

“That’s a day I’ll never forget.”

By then, Castell was a rising star cornerback in the Orlando area. But the previous summer he was a virtual unknown; he didn’t even have a profile on recruiting sites 247Sports or Rivals.

Castell set out to introduce himself at an elite FSU summer football camp.

“They were talking about all these guys, five stars, this, that,” he recalled. “It was like every five-star [recruit] when you step up, I’m gonna step up. I’m just going to guard you. I’m just gonna show you who I am.

“So that was my plan: To show off my skills and what I can do.”

Castell soon rose recruiting boards and fielded scholarship offers from coast to coast. His mother Shelly Scott had to turn off her phone because coaches would call at midnight to speak to her son.

“It feels good sometimes to get all the attention from these schools,” Castell said. “But sometimes it can get real aggravating.”

Those recruiting efforts also were ultimately futile.

Castell’s heart was set on joining DBU — the fictional Defensive Back University — in Gainesville.

In high school, he played summer 7-on-7 for the “Rat Pack” coached by 2003 UF All-America Keiwan Ratliff. Growing up, Castell idolized Vernon Hargreaves III, a 2015 consensus All-America and the 11th pick in the NFL draft — one of seven UF DBs selected during the first two rounds from 2016-2020.

“He made me say when I was young I want to put a Gator jersey on,” Castell said.

By the time Castell’s time arrived, Florida’s secondary had lost its stature and DBU its accreditation.

The 2022 Gators allowed opponents to convert 49.71% on third down and more 10-yard plays (204) than UF had since records are available dating to 2010. The 2023 Gators were just as hapless, allowing more 40 yards pass plays (21) than all but UNLV and tying Temple for the fewest interceptions (3).

Aiming to shore up the back end of the defense, coaches moved Castell, a high school cornerback, to free safety — where his length, range and football IQ were well-suited. At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, his physicality would be tested in the SEC, yet he managed to record a team-high 60 stops along with an interception.

“You got to get your hands dirty a little more at safety,” he said. “Sometimes you got to put your pride to side and do what’s best.”

Castell strives to be better working with new secondary coach Will Harris, defensive coordinator Ron Roberts and strength coach Tyler Miles. He’s 10 pounds heavier, a step faster and making more plays, including interceptions in two fall camp scrimmages.

Even with the arrival of a trio of transfer safeties in their sixth college seasons — Asa Turner (Washington), Trikweze Bridges (Oregon) and DJ Douglas (Tulane) — Castell’s skill set has stood out.

“He’s keeping up with some guys,” tight end Arlis Boardingam said. “I’m like, ‘OK, boy, you got it.’ That’s real right there.

“He’s flying around everywhere.”

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Boardingham has wide receiver speed Castell’s recognizes. Tight end Hayden Hansen, a 6-foot-7 ¾, 267 pounds redshirt sophomore, said Castell also can adapt.

“He’s gonna be special,” Hansen said. “He’s a young buck, too. He’s very physical.”

Castell’s confidence separates him.

Head coach Billy Napier relied on first- and second-year players in 2023 out of necessity and with an eye to the future. None matched Castell’s impact on defense.

“He had to grow up fast,” Bertram Castell Jr. said. “He came in ready, though.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com