The portal hasn't been kind to the Florida Gators defense

Losing Princely Umanmielen (33) to Ole Miss was a huge blow to Florida's defense (Photo by Chris Spears)

Since the advent of what equates to free agency in college football, an old saying has been paraphrased to “The portal giveth and the portal taketh away.” At Florida, Billy Napier has tried to make careful use of the portal, choosing to pick players he believes will fit best in the culture he’s trying to build at UF.

Culture is good, but it helps to bring in players who also make an impact on the field. In the case of Billy Napier and the Gators, he might have a tight locker room filled with players who have each other’s backs, but there has been a lack of productivity out of the defensive transfers in particular. That’s a problem that dates back to when Napier was named head coach in December of 2021 with the perfect example Mohamoud Diabate and Ty’Ron Hopper.

In 2022, Mohamoud Diabate was in on 58 tackles for the Utah Utes. That included five sacks, 13.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. The year before at the University of Florida, Diabate was in on 89 tackles, second best total on the team. Diabate now plays for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL.

That same year, Ty’Ron Hopper was in on 78 tackles for the Missouri Tigers. He had 2.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, six quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. At Missouri for his senior season in 2023, Hopper The year before playing for the Florida Gators, Hopper had 62 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss, a pair of pass breakups and a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble.    

Both Diabate and Hopper played their last season at UF for Dan Mullen in 2021 rather than give Napier a chance they took to the portal. Considering the state of the UF defense in 2022 with Patrick Toney as the coordinator, it’s not difficult to imagine that the Florida defense could have been a lot better with Diabate and Hopper as the starting linebackers. Florida gave up 411 yards and 28.8 points per game in 2022, finishing dead last in the Southeastern Conference in total defense. That was a season marred by missed tackles and an inability to get off the field on third down.

Florida’s defense was slightly better than 2022 in 2023 (from 12th to 11th in the SEC; from 97th to 71st nationally) with Austin Armstrong game planning and making the calls on game day. The 2023 defense, with Ron Roberts in charge, has reverted back to 2022 and then some. The Gators are 16th in total defense in an expanded SEC, showing the same give up the big play tendencies that doomed them in 2022.

The Gators have had three recruiting classes and two full seasons to grow players recruited out of high school. There has been development on the offensive side at the skill positions, but very little on the O-line. Defensively, the development has been even slower.

Slow developing recruits can be offset by judicious use of the transfer portal but when it comes to transfers, it has been a revolving door at UF. Since 2022 65 players have transferred out and 34 have transferred in – 19 on offense, 15 on defense. Offensively, Napier has had some luck, adding impact players such as All-American offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence (2022), running back Montrell Johnson, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and quarterback Graham Mertz. Florida’s offense hasn’t been spectacular, but it has been good and helped by the portal.

It's the defense that hasn’t been able to capitalize on the portal. The Gators have yet to bring in a true defensive impact transfer. Florida loaded up on defenders in the portal for 2024, but linebacker Grayson Howard (from South Carolina) is the only one to play with any measure of consistency. Safety Asa Turner (from Washington) was expected to have a major impact on the back end of the defense but he was injured in the season opener against Miami and hasn’t been seen since.

Meanwhile, players who have departed Florida, particularly on defense, have thrived in their new locales. If it were merely a case of personnel, it’s not a reach to think these guys would be making an impact if they were still with the Gators. But is it the players? Or, is it the coaching?

Here are some of the players who have transferred out:

Defense

DT Chris McClellan, Missouri: He has been a beast in the middle. Through four games he has 17 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4.0 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, a QB hurry and a forced fumble. In two seasons at Florida in which he played end, tackle and on the nose defensively, he accumulated 46 tackles with two sacks.

DE Diwun Black, Temple: He’s been injured, but a year ago had 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He was the top junior college recruit in the country when he came to UF in 2021, but he had only seven tackles in two seasons. He transferred after an injury-filled 2022.

EDGE Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr., Virginia Tech: He has seven sacks and two forced fumbles through five games. A year ago he had 9.5 sacks, 40 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He spent two seasons at Florida. In 2022 he had 29 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles.

EDGE Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss: Second team All-SEC at UF last year. Playing for an Ole Miss defense that ranks among the national leaders he has two sacks, three tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries in four games. In four years at UF he had 103 tackles and 15 sacks.

LB Scooby Williams, Texas A&M: He’s the third-leading tackler for the Aggies with 14. It was a real surprise when he transferred out from UF after a productive 2023 in which he had 53 tackles, a sack, five quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles. In his two previous seasons at UF he had 18 tackles.

LB David Reese, California: He’s been dealing with injuries that have limited his production this year, but a year ago he had 6.5 sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, four quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. In three seasons at Florida he played in 21 games and had nine tackles.

CB Jordan Young, Cincinnati: He has 13 tackles and two pass breakups so far this year. A year ago at Cincy he had an interception, 34 tackles and seven pass breakups. In two seasons at UF he barely sniffed the field.

CB Jadon Hill, Texas A&M: He’s having a good year in coverage with nine tackles so far. He came to UF in 2019 and in five seasons at UF had 88 tackles, two interceptions and 16 pass breakups.

CB Jalen Kimber, Penn State: He has seven tackles and a pass breakup in three games. Started his career at Georgia in 2020, then transferred to UF in 2022. In two seasons at UF he had 36 tackles, an interception that he ran back for a TD and six pass breakups.

CB Avery Helm, TCU: He has been injured this year, but a year ago he had 22 tackles, a sack, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. After a redshirt 2020 at UF, Helm had a decent 2021 with 22 tackles. Transferred out after a diminished role in 2022.

S Tre’Vez Johnson, Missouri: Already has an interception this season. A year ago had 43 tackles. Prior to Missouri Johnson had three very productive seasons with the Gators with 64 tackles and three interceptions.

S Donovan McMillan, Pittsburgh: He is a tackling machine with 35 already to go with three pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble. A season ago, McMillan had an astounding 105 tackles. He showed promise as a freshman at UF in 2021, had 21 tackles in 2022, then transferred to Pitt.

S Jadarrius Perkins, Toledo: He has five tackles and an interception so far. He had a promising 2021 at UF, then saw diminished playing time in 2022, transferred out last year.

S Kamari Wilson, Arizona State: He was the top recruit in the 2022 class, but transferred to Arizona State where he’s struggled with injury problems. He had showed plenty of promise during his freshman year at UF in 2022 when he had 39 tackles, but played in only three games due to an injury in 2023.

Offense

G Josh Braun, Arkansas: Second team All-SEC at Arkansas last year. He started seven games at UF in 2021, one as a true freshman in 2020. He only played in two games in 2022 then transferred to Arkansas.

Gerald Mincey, Kentucky: Transferred to Tennessee after Napier became head coach. Made 13 starts in two seasons at UT. Starts at right tackle for Kentucky.

RB Trevor Etienne, Georgia: Heading into the game with Alabama he was averaging 6.5 yards per carry for the Bulldogs. In two seasons at Florida he gained 1,472 yards, averaging 5.9 per carry with 14 touchdowns. He also caught 30 passes for 238 yards and a TD.

G Jalen Farmer, Kentucky: He played in four games in two seasons at Florida. He’s a starter on Kentucky’s O-line.

T Michael Tarquin, Oklahoma: He’s the starter at right tackle for the Sooners after transferring following one year at Southern Cal where he had eight starts in 11 games. In four years at Florida he played in 34 games with 10 starts, eight in 2022 at both left and right tackle.

G Micah Mazzccua, Nebraska: Starts at right guard for the Cornhuskers. At Florida in 2023 he started at right guard in 11 of the 12 games he played. Played in 20 games with 10 starts at Baylor prior to Florida.

WR Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech: He has caught 15 passes for 200 yards and a TD at Texas Tech this year. In two seasons at Florida, he caught 21 for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He caught 11 for 133 yards and a TD last year at Florida before going down for the season in the fifth game.

WR Daejon Reynolds, Pittsburgh: Only one catch for 40 yards and a TD this season at Pitt. A year ago caught 28 passes for 316 yards. In two seasons at Florida he caught 12 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, 11-244 and two TDs under Napier in 2022.