2025 Transfer Portal

[Escambia94]

The Gators have 11 offensive players and 8 defensive players in the transfer portal as of 12/15/2024. Only Damieon George was a first-team player all season, and he just announced his re-commitment. Jack Pyburn earned a first-team role later in the season and has not ruled out a return. 6 of the players are walk-ons who need to be trimmed off the roster but have a shot at a scholarship elsewhere. Kelby Collins, Justus Boone, Arlis Boardingham, and Andy Jean were showing promise early on but found it difficult to break into the starting lineup.

Player	2022 Depth	2023 Depth	2024 Depth	2025 Team
Ja'Keem Jackson ​	N/A​	RCB 2​	RCB 2​
Kelby Collins​	N/A​	F/ DE 3​	END 2​
Justus Boone​	DE 2​	DL TBD​	F 2​
Damieon George​	N/A​	RT 1​	RG 1​
Arlis Boardingham​	TBD​	RTE 3​	RTE 1​
Gavin Hill​	N/A​	TE TBD​	LTE 3​
Mike Williams​	N/A​	N/A​	OL TBD​
Andy Jean​	N/A​	WR-Z 3​	WR-X 4​
Jack Pyburn​	TBD​	DL TBD​	LB TBD → JACK 1​	LSU
Quincy Ivory​	N/A​	DL TBD​	WO/ DL TBD​
Deuce Spurlock​	N/A​	LB TBD​	LB TBD (transfer)​
Christian Williams​	TBD​	LG 3​	RG 2​
Ahman Covington​	N/A​	DB TBD​	WO/ S TBD​
Bryce Capers​	N/A​	DL TBD​	WO/ DL TBD​
Hunter Smith​	N/A​	N/A​	PWO/ PK 2 (transfer)​
Parker Leise​	N/A​	QB TBD​	WO/ QB TBD​
Zak Sedaros​	N/A​	WR TBD​	WO/ WR TBD​

 

[DRU2012]

Aside from Pyburn, of whom thus far it seems the more we hear the LESS clear his actions appear to be (ar least there, Billy seems to have done his best to leave the door open for our once-"project"-edge to return), for the most part it sure appears that despite hints, promises and protestations to the contrary coming INTO the "portal period" (and especially after Strickland's "vote of confidence" AND general public suggestions that the money saved in NOT spending "buy out cash" would be spent instead on NIL), that in fact has failed so far right come to pass. In FACT, it looks a whole HELLUVA lot more like LAST year's "diamond in the rough"-approach...NOT that THAT turned out so badly (particularly at WR in the transfer portal), but counting on similar "good fortune" might be cause for practical concern.
In short, it isn't exactly where the budding optimism of just a couple of weeks ago originated, and it now remains to be seen exactly HOW we should feel as our 2024 season winds down and 2025 begins to dawn.
More than ever it seems we are counting on what "the plan for the portal" (if any) really IS, and how it all plays out in the coming weeks.

 

[DRU2012]

(Continued--later Sunday...)
Well, the more this goes on, the less confident I am in any real longterm positive change being reflected in the 2025 Napier-coached Gators after all:
Either this staff gets busy at some kind of still-unrevealed "portal plan" PRONTO, or all our end-of-season excitement and sudden hope will be for nought--an illusion that comes crashing down in the early NEXT-season reality when we go up against most of the same teams that put us in a deep hole from the start in 2024...This time it'll just start a couple of weeks later, and come in a different order.
So far at least it appears that Billy's been blowing smoke up our butts AGAIN! This has hardly been "an aggressive approach to addressing our needs in the transfer portal" thus far.
Believe me, I want so badly to be wrong, to be jumping the gun somehow before some actual method plays itself out--but the longer absolutely NOTHING changes here while the online news is active with what everyone else is gaining, and pretty well only continued UF starter-LOSS to the same portal.
So much for "spending that buyout money"!
I see little evidence that it is playing the slightest part in getting new guys OR keeping tge ones we have...all I HEAR are reasons, excuses as to why and how the losses are somehow "unavoidable", and silence on the rest.
Does someone have an alternate take?
Some narrative that retains a sense of pending positive explanation--as in "change for the better is on its way"??!

 

[DRU2012]

Monday, Dec 16...
Now comes w I rd that Pyburn indeed has committed through the transfer portal to LSU.
In other words, either they actually met his rather huge (even OVERBLOWN) reported demands in terms of guaranteed financial and playing time, or this reported "lifelong Gator fan" whom we stuck with and helped nurse back from first underachievenent then injury decided to jump ship even when a rival ALSO offered less than he wanted.
Either way, if it weren't for our Coach and staff's strange foot-dragging approach thus far to the portal, I would tend now to be more inclined to--say "to HELL with him" abd just move ON.
The LAST thing we want or need is to see this kid having some big game against us crashing the edge for the Tigers when we play them next September! But that'll be up to whomever we have on defense come the day.