The decision is finally official for Florida football’s redshirt freshman offensive lineman [autotag]David Conner[/autotag], who entered the NCAA’s transfer portal on Thursday, according to Swamp247. The 6-foot-5-inch, 295-pound trench warrior first departed the program on April 10 and finally followed through with his entrance into the portal 10 days later.
Conner was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle, signing his letter of intent on Dec. 15, 2021, during the nascent days of Billy Napier’s tenure in Gainesville. He saw no action his freshman year after suffering a thumb injury during fall camp in 2022 that required surgery, subsequently taking a medical redshirt for the season.
It appears that the young lineman also dealt with a previously undisclosed knee injury of unknown severity, offensive line coach Rob Sale told Swamp247.
“Yeah, you know he had a thumb, right, and then he had a little knee deal, and so he’s doing a good job trying to get back, get back healthy,” Sale said on March 7. “But then he had to go straight to the scout team, so, he’s working.”
The one-two-punch of ailments presumably set Conner back in his development a bit further than he and the team were comfortable with, resulting in his search for greener pastures.
Conner’s departure adds salt to an already wounded offensive lineman room, with the long-term loss of Micah Mazzcua to a shoulder injury and Kamryn Waites to a torn Achilles tendon. Meanwhile, Jalen Farmer has had limited reps in spring camp while Bryce Lovett was out the first two weeks of spring with an injury.
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