On Thursday, Florida earned a trio of crystal ball predictions from experts at 247Sports in favor of USC interior offensive lineman [autotag]Jason Zandamela[/autotag].
The former four-star recruit out of high school entered the transfer portal after three weeks of spring practice with the Trojans, and he is in Gainesville on an official visit with the Gators this weekend.
Florida beat reporters Blake Alderman and Jake Rudner submitted their crystal predictions with a confidence level of eight (out of 10).
Zandamela is from Mozambique and grew up playing rugby. He moved to Clearwater, Florida, to play high school football at an international academy.
On3 also predicts Zandamela to UF
Nick de la Torre of Gator Online submitted an On3 recruiting prediction machine pick for Zandamela in favor of Florida on Saturday morning.
Florida’s proximity to Clearwater is one of the main reasons the Gators are favored so highly. Zandamela told Gators Online that being away from his support system was a struggle at USC.
“I was 2,000 miles away from home. I’m from Clearwater. You gotta be close to your support system,” Zandamela said. “I need to be close to my family. I need to be closer to the people I love to be the best athlete that I could be.”
UCF is the other program Zandamela is considering, but the opportunity to play in the SEC (and the perks that come with it) might overrule the work the Knights have done.
Portal Summary
A consensus four-star recruit out of high school, Zandamela was ranked No. 46 overall and No. 1 among interior offensive linemen in the class of 2024 by 247Sports.
As a spring transfer, he lands at No. 31 overall on the On3 transfer portal industry ranking. He’s also ranked second among interior linemen in the portal.
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