Think You Have The Roster Figured Out? Think Again

It turns out that Emory Jones, who we all thought was joining the mad rush to the NCAA transfer portal, actually never put his name in the portal, which we were pretty sure he was going to do immediately after the Gators lost to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl. He’s enrolled in classes and participating in team meetings. If he’s planning to transfer out, it will be in the spring, but more on that later.

Lloyd Summerall III, who was actually in the transfer portal but played in the Gasparilla Bowl game, has removed his name, is back in school and planning to move on up a thinned out depth chart in the spring and summer. Khris Bogle, who played ahead of Summerall back in the fall, has transferred to Michigan State, so with three years of eligibility remaining and a chance to be in the D-line rotation under Florida’s new coaching staff, he’s back.

Dante Zanders, who came to Florida as a tight end but switched over to defensive end when he more or less out grew tight end, was also in the portal. Now he’s not. He has two years of eligibility, a new coaching staff and a chance to do more than low man on the rotation totem.

Trey Dean

Trey Dean III, who was invited to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and was thought to be all but gone, has decided to make the best of the one year of eligibility he has left on his NCAA clock, so he’s returning for a final season playing for new safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney.

Four who put their names in the transfer portal – Bogle, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey (Tennessee), wide receiver Jacob Copeland (Maryland) and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (Utah) – didn’t let the screen door hit them on the way out. They have already enrolled elsewhere, so there’s no turning back. The spring semester officially began January 5 and there is no official accounting of who’s enrolled and who hasn’t, so it’s entirely possible there will be several transfers announcing in the next few days. You shouldn’t be shocked if no one else puts his name in the portal, either. Billy Napier has a way of making strong first impressions and some of these who back in December might have had a foot out the door, may be hedging to see how things work out in the spring with a brand new coaching staff. The portal will be alive and very active then, too.

Are you confused yet? Stick with me.

The transfer portal has created college football’s version of the wild, wild west. It’s free agency with no sit out rule for those who have never before transferred. Graduate transfers have for years had immediately eligibility at their disposal. One of the very first grad transfers to gain immediately eligibility and have an immediate impact was corner Ryan Smith, who transferred to UF from Utah in 2006, earning All-America honors while helping the Gators to the national championship.

Here is where the portal gets a little bit tricky, thanks to a waiver provided by the NCAA, which also isn’t counting the 2020 season against any player who saw the field. Any school that loses seven or more players to transfer AFTER December 15, 2021 can replace as many as seven without it counting against the 85-scholarship roster limit.

Jack Miller

Napier signed nine in the early signing period plus he’s added two transfers in former Ohio State quarterback Jack Miller III and former Louisiana offensive tackle Kamryn Waites. Their additions plus the decisions of Jones, Dean, Summerall and Zanders to enroll for the spring semester bring the current Florida roster to 74, so Napier can sign 11 high school, junior college or transfers. If he signs 11 high school or junior college kids, and at least two on the current roster transfer out, then Miller and Waites will not count against the 85-man scholarship roster.

This is where the situation with Jones gets interesting. Had Richardson stayed healthy throughout the 2021 season, Jones most likely would have been relegated to a backup role sometime around October. Richardson has the thunderbolt arm and lightning feet to be as good a dual threat quarterback as can be found in the United States. Then there is Miller, a former 4-star recruit who sat behind Heisman finalist CJ Stroud and former 5-star Kyle McCord at Ohio State. The Buckeyes also signed a 4-star QB in the early signing period. Miller didn’t come to Florida to wait patiently for his turn. If he had wanted to be patient, he would have stayed at Ohio State.

Jones isn’t interested in changing positions, which is what some have speculated. He wants to play quarterback and believes he can be an effective Division I starter. The odds that he could be Florida’s quarterback in 2022 are stacked against him. So why come back? Why not go ahead and transfer out? Reportedly, he only needs a couple more classes to graduate, plus the quarterback situation nationally should be far less murky in the spring. The last thing Jones wants to do is transfer to a school that has a settled quarterback situation, so it makes sense to stay one more semester. Although it’s probably a longshot, if Jones responds to Billy Napier’s coaching – Napier does coach the quarterbacks – perhaps he can realize the potential that earned him offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Auburn among others. More than likely, he gets his degree from Florida and transfers in the spring.

Kaiir Elam

Another decision that hasn’t been made has nothing to do with the transfer portal but with corner Kaiir Elam. Thought to be a first half of the first round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Elam had anything but a stellar season for the Gators back in the fall. Elam still ranks fifth on Mel Kiper’s big board for corners but he doesn’t have first round assurance. With Corey Raymond, who made LSU synonymous with the term DBU, joining Napier’s staff as the cornerbacks coach, does it make sense for Elam to come back for a year, get coached up and risk that he will slide downward again in the eyes of the NFL? Or does he take his chances in 2022? He knows he will be drafted and perhaps with a great Combine workout he could regenerate his first round draft stock.

O’Cyrus Torrence

Left tackle O’Cyrus Torrence, a 6-5, 338-pound two-time All-Sun Belt selection, is expected to announce he will transfer from Louisiana, where he played for Napier. He has two years of eligibility remaining. Running backs Montrell Johnson (838 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns) and Emani Bailey (642 yards, 8 touchdowns) put their names in the portal. They both have three years of remaining eligibility.

The Gators only have seven scholarship receivers, so they’re going to need to pick up three more, whether it’s in the portal or from high school or junior college. There is a need for two more linebackers (10 on scholarship), but don’t get too caught up in the numbers, understand that it’s entirely possible one or more positions will become depleted through attrition in the next few days, weeks or months.

So, if you think you’ve got the roster all figured out, you might want to take a step back, take a couple of deep breaths and play the wait and see game. The situation is fluid and likely to change several times before we have it all nailed down.

THE FLORIDA ROSTER AS OF JANUARY 6, 2022

QUARTERBACKS (5)

Emory Jones (6-2, 211, RJR), Anthony Richardson (6-4, 235, SO), Jack Miller III (6-4, 210, SO/Transfer from Ohio State), Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 225, RFR), Jalen Kitna (6-4, 210, RFR)

RUNNING BACKS (3) NayQuan Wright (5-9, 196, JR), Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 203, RJR), Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 193, SO)

Gone (2): Dameon Pierce (5-10, 215, Graduate), Malik Davis (5-10, 207, Graduate)

WIDE RECEIVERS (7) Justin Shorter (6-5, 228, SR), Trent Whittemore (6-4, 211, RSO), Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 215, RSO), Xzavier Henderson (6-3, 195, SO), Ja’Quavion Fraziars (6-3, 220, SO), Marcus Burke (6-4, 187, RFR), Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 205, RFR)

Gone (3): Jacob Copeland (6-0, 202, RJR, Transferred to Maryland), Rick Wells (6-1, 200, Graduate), Jordan Pouncey (6-1, 208, Graduate)

TIGHT ENDS (5)

Keon Zipperer (6-3, 242, JR), Jonathan Odom (6-5, 240, RFR), Gage Wilcox (6-4, 230, RFR), Nick Elksnis (6-6, 243, RFR)

Signed: Tony Livingston (6-5, 225)

Gone: Kemore Gamble (6-4, 243, Graduate)

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (14)

Richard Gouraige (6-5, 312, RJR), Ethan White (6-5, 319, JR), Kingsley Eguakun (6-4, 303, RSO), Josh Braun (6-6, 342, SO), Michael Tarquin (6-5, 302, RSO), Riley Simonds (6-3, 303, RSO), Will Harrod (6-5, 325, RSO), Richie Leonard (6-2, 310, SO), Austin Barber (6-6, 312, RFR), Yousef Mugharbil (6-4, 318, RFR) Jake Slaughter (6-5, 303, RFR), Kamryn Waites (6-8, 358, RFR/Transfer from Louisiana)

Signed (2): David Conner (6-5, 295); Christian Williams (6-4, 319)

Gone (3): Jean Delance (6-5, 307, Graduate); Stewart Reese (6-6, 345, Graduate); Gerald Mincey (6-6, 320, Transferred to Tennessee)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (13)

Griffin McDowell (6-4, 297, RJR), Dante Zanders (6-5, 291, RJR), Gervon Dexter (6-6, 303, SO), Princely Umanmeielen (6-4, 260, SO), Jaelin Humphries (6-3, 328, RSO), Desmond Watson (6-5, 390, SO), Jalen Lee (6-2, 305, SO), Lamar Goods (6-2, 332, RFR), Justus Boone (6-4, 252, RFR), Chris Thomas Jr. (6-5, 314, RFR), Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 251, RFR)

Signed (2): Chris McClellan (6-3, 305); Jamari Lyons (6-4, 298)

Gone (4): Antonio Valentino (6-3, 312, Graduate), Daquan Newkirk (6-2, 308, Graduate), Tyrone Truesdell (6-2, 326, GR), Zachary Carter (6-4, 285, Graduate)

LINEBACKERS/EDGE (10)

Ventrell Miller (6-1, 226, SR), Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 253, RJR), David Reese (6-2, 230, RJR), Diwun Black (6-3, 228, JR), Ty’Ron Hopper (6-2, 228, RSO), Lloyd Summerall III (6-5, 247, RSO), Derek Wingo (6-1, 224, SO), Antuan Powell (6-2, 255, RFR), Chief Borders (6-4, 241, RFR), Scooby Williams (6-2, 230, RFR)

Gone (5): Jeremiah Moon (6-5, 245, Graduate), Amari Burney (6-2, 239, Graduate), Lacedrick Brunson (6-2, 229, Graduate), Mohamoud Diabate (6-3, 227, Transferred to Utah), Khris Bogle (6-4, 240, transferred to Michigan State)

SECONDARY (17)

Trey Dean III (6-3, 206, RSR), Jadarrius Perkins (6-1, 182, JR), Jaydon Hill (6-0, 182, RSO), Avery Helm (6-1, 180, SO), Jason Marshall Jr. (6-0, 191, SO), Rashad Torrence II (6-0, 205, SO), Tre’Vez Johnson (5-11, 192, SO), Kamar Wilcoxson (6-1, 200, SO), Donovan McMillon (6-1, 197, SO), Mordecai McDaniel (6-1, 191, SO), Fenley Graham Jr. (5-9, 171, SO), Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 175, SO), Jordan Young (6-0, 185, RFR), Corey Collier Jr. (6-1, 180, RFR), Dakota Mitchell (5-11, 182, RFR)

Signed (2): Kamari Wilson (6-0, 201), Devin Moore (6-3, 190)

Gone (1): * Kaiir Elam (6-2, 196, NFL)

* Hasn’t declared for the NFL or hired an agent so he can return

SPECIAL TEAMS (4)

Long snappers (2): Marco Ortiz (6-4, 233, RJR), Rocco Underwood (6-3, 229, RFR)

Punter (1): Jeremy Crawshaw (6-4, 193, SO)

Signed (1): Trey Smack (6-1, 200)