The transfer portal is in full swing and no where more than Gainesville. Seven Florida football players entered the transfer portal Wednesday as the Gators begin preparations for Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Tight end Nick Elksnis, defensive linemen Chris Thomas Jr. and Jalen Lee, linebackers David Reese and Chief Borders as well as defensive backs Kamar Wilcoxson and Donovan McMillon were the Florida players that entered the portal.
Safety Donovan McMillon is the only one of the six players that played a major role for the Gators last season. The sophomore played in nine games and tallied 20 tackles. Lee played his five games in his redshirt sophomore season, tallying eight total tackles.
The redshirt freshmen Elksnis, Wilcoxson, Thomas and Borders played no more than three games with Wilcoxson and Borders combining for four tackles and Elksnis not playing at all. Reese never carved out a large role in five seasons in Gainesville and is transferring for his final year of eligibility.
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Wilcoxson has a past with Tennessee, committing to play for Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols before flipping his commitment to the home state Gators.
The seven Florida players that entered the transfer portal Wednesday makes 18 Gators that have entered the transfer portal since the end of the 2022 season. The mark is the highest in the Southeastern Conference.
Florida went 6-6 (3-5 SEC) in Billy Napier’s first season in Gainesville. The Gators’ season peaked with a week one win over No. 7 Utah but fell off the rails with an abundance of SEC losses and the program’s first loss to Florida State since 2017.
Under second year head coach Josh Heupel, Tennessee earned its first win over Florida since 2016 thanks to a massive performance from Hendon Hooker.
While Tennessee hasn’t had as many players enter the portal as Florida, they haven’t been without roster movement. Five Vols have entered the portal to date— all on the offensive side of the ball. You can stay up to date with Tennessee’s transfer portal movement here.
2 Responses
We need defense players!
College football is a sport played by our children, their friends or our grandchildren. To have 7 players leave a team shows the respect or Disrespect the were raised with. Not all players will play in NFL or other professionL games. Some will become lawers ( ChrisCollingsworth) Drs, car salesmen or out of work without a plan. Its not a do or die its learning how to play as a team and play as one together. Like a marriage “In good times and in bad” we stay together and support the TEAM. Thank you