The last two years there hasn’t been a lot for Jaylin Dickerson to smile about, but he couldn’t help crack a smile when the question was asked.

The safety who’s career has largely been marred with injury stood in the indoor practice facility talking with the media in his first availability since his redshirt freshman year.

The question about how he’s feeling was lobbed out, and Dickerson immediately perked up.

“I feel great,” he said, the smile creeping over his face. “I feel better than when I first came in, to be honest.”

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Dickerson, who came in a highly touted safety prospect, quickly saw his freshman season evaporate due to a serious nerve injury before playing sparingly as a redshirt freshman with a hampering hamstring injury.

His redshirt sophomore season was over before it started last year, ending in the summer after Dickerson needed hip surgery.

If this happened to anyone it’s understandable for that person to be dejected as they keep getting dealt vicious body blow after body blow, but Dickerson took the exact opposite approach the second time around.

“You know, going through it the first time and second time it was different,” Dickerson said. “The first time I was down and depressed. Like, ‘Dang, the game I love is stripped away from me.’ The second time I found some enjoyment and happiness out of it. I got to embrace the game more. I found the love and the passion the second time, which just made me embrace it more.”

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Through all the strife and struggle Dickerson’s gone through the last three years, he’s come out the other side better, he thinks, and hopes it pays dividends this season.

“I’m at a high point right now. Low point? Shoot, there were times I was crying in bed like, ‘Dang, I might not play again.’ I got over that with the help of the coaches and athletic trainers,” he said. “They helped me build my mind up. It’s going good right now.”

Before spring practice was canceled due to Coronavirus, Dickerson was working exclusively at safety, where he repped in the brief stints he was healthy before this spring.

Even though his on-field availability hasn’t been consistent since getting on campus, Dickerson is entering year four on campus and feels good about his understanding of the scheme.

Right now he’s working with a new position coach, moving from Will Muschamp to Kyle Krantz and Travaris Robinson now, but the system doesn’t change.

“With the basics I feel extremely good,” Dickerson said. “I still have to learn the newer plays we put in. I’m going to struggle with those but basically I have a grip of it going forward.”

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Safety has been a weak link a times the last few years with inconsistent play being the biggest detractor. There are plenty of guys right now—Israel Mukuamu, Jammie Robinson, RJ Roderick, Dickerson—who can play it.

No decision has been made yet, obviously, but Dickerson feels he can come in and make an impact.

“As long as I know what to do and am in the right spot at the right time,” he said, “I feel like I can help a lot.”