Over the weekend, a report surfaced that corner Elijah Blades was no longer with the Florida Gators football program. On Monday, Head Coach Dan Mullen told GatorBait Magazine that Blades was no longer with the team because the coach had dismissed him from the team.

“We dismissed him from our program. He was dismissed from the program, so he’s no longer part of the team," Mullen said on Monday.

Originally reports had indicated it was a Blades decision, so GatorBait confirmed with Mullen, this was a team decision.

“Yeah. I met with him and dismissed him from the program [Sunday].”

Blades didn't dress for the game on Saturday versus Vanderbilt, and has already been removed from the Gators roster online. We break down what this means for the Gators with these four thoughts on the dismal of Elijah Blades.

Mullen's Tone

Dan Mullen is known for being a coach willing to give second chance...and thirds and fourths, sometimes to an initially perceived detriment. But more often than not, his loyalty to players pays off as they make the most of the opportunity and learn from whatever went wrong before, whether it was off the field, like Jeffrey Simmons at Mississippi State, or on the field at Florida like with Feleipe Franks.

Very rarely do we see him lay down the hammer in such a way that brooks no argument. Justin Watkins being dismissed before even getting on campus back in 2018 is the only other instance that jumps to mind. Granted, we don't know how many opportunities Mullen might have offered Blades. But considering the Texas A&M transfer only arrived in August and was shown the door two months later, it stands to reason Mullen felt whatever act worthy of punishment was bad enough to warrant limited chances.

The timeline, as well as Mullen's tone on Monday made it clear this was not a decision the coach is going to lose sleep over.

Bouncing Blades

While the exact reason for Blades' dismissal is unknown—and we won't do the kid the dishonor of speculation—we do know it had to do with an off the field concern. According to Graham Hall of the Gainesville Sun, there is also an understanding academics factored in to the issues.

Regardless, Blades bouncing in and out of a program has become old hat for the former four-star prospect. Here is how his collegiate timeline has evolved thus far:

• Committed to Florida under Jim McElwain in 2016

• Decommitted from Florida and committed to Nebraska in January 2017

• Signed LOI with Nebraska in February 2017

• Elected to spend two years in JUCO at Arizona Western Community College instead

• Committed to Texas A&M out of JUCO

• Joined Aggies in 2019

• Entered transfer portal in June 2021

• Transferred to Florida August 6, 2021

Blades appeared in the season opener, but sat out the next two games with what was described as a minor injury. He returned versus the Tennessee Volunteers and appeared in a brief stint against Kentucky. He did not dress for the Vanderbilt game. Again, we don't know the exact reasoning for Blades dismissal, but his vagabond journey to this point makes short stops the norm.

The State of the Secondary

Blades loss come to an already anemic secondary. But while the depth is quickly depleting away, the pieces that have stepped in have stepped up. Avery Helm has been fantastic, Jason Marshall has come in and handled his own, Rashad Torrence has been everywhere from the safety position, along with Trey Dean and Jadarrius Perkins has been able to impress thus far at STAR.

Dan Mullen told GatorBait in the offseason that secondary was his biggest concern, not because of talent, but because of youth. They've been baptized by fire the first half of the season, and this scrappy group of underclassmen has grown up before our eyes. Since losing Elam (who dominated versus Alabama) this secondary has still been able to break up nine passes the last three games, hold those teams to an average of 187 yards per game through the air and allow three touchdowns through the air while also nabbing three interceptions (granted one of those came from defensive lineman Daquan Newkirk).

"I feel like we’ve came really far throughout these six games," said Perkins this week. "We still have a lot to work on, but we’re coming together as a defense. We’re geling together, we’re getting to know each other. I mean, I’m getting a feel for the defense coming in as a late transfer. So I feel like we’re at a really good part of the season and our defense, we’re coming together as a whole completely.”

The Return Of Kaiir

The Gators have been without future first round pick Kaiir Elam for the past three weeks. After dominating versus the Alabama Crimson Tide, Elam has been sidelined, forced to watch after his team gave up the two explosive plays versus the Tennessee Volunteers, and lost in Kentucky.

It looked like the Gators would get Elam back ahead of the Vanderbilt game, but trainers were uncomfortable clearing him beyond an emergency role. Mullen feels confident they'll get him back for Baton Rouge this weekend though, and even though the LSU Tigers will be without wide receive Kayshon Boutte, Elam's presence can make a world of difference.

"It was going to be a game-time decision for us," Mullen explained of Elam after the Vanderbilt game. "Talking to him, he wanted to play. Talking to the trainers, they said you know, we could get him out there if we had to, possibly, in an emergency and so that gets on me. If a trainer says that to me, get him out there in case of an emergency is not real confidence of what I’m looking for to get a guy on the field. We made the decision, I met with him after warmups. He’s like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ I said, “No, we’re not even going to dress you.’ As he said, he’s like coach, trust me, I will be ready next week.”