Florida secured a commitment from punter [autotag]Bobby Engstler[/autotag] in December, but the Gators only offered him as a preferred walk-on. On Tuesday, Engstler announced his decision to flip to Cal-Berkeley after being offered a full scholarship from the Golden Bears.
Engstler was only committed to the Orange and Blue for 40 days. At the time of his commitment, fans praised Florida’s staff for making an effort to improve the special teams unit.
The Gators still have Jeremy Crawshaw to punt in 2024, though. Crawshaw finished the 2023 season ranked 12th in the country among punters by Pro Football Focus with an 80.4 rating. Unfortunately, he’s only got one more year of eligibility remaining. Engstler was his natural successor.
First, I would like to thank the University of Florida for the NIL opportunity however, after receiving a full scholarship to UC Berkeley. I am decommitting from UF and I’m fully committed to the University of California, Berkeley. @4thandLongwell @CalFootball #GoBears pic.twitter.com/LAmEqYw14N
— Bobby Engstler (@BobbyEngstler) January 16, 2024
Walk-on punters Ara Emerzian and Jacob Watkins are on Florida’s 2023 roster, but both were listed as seniors. If they don’t return, kicker Trey Smack is the only other leg left to turn should something happen to Crawshaw.
Smack beat out Adam Mihalek for the starting placekicker job early in the season. Mihalek has since entered the transfer portal.
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