The second Gator to announce his departure from Florida’s football program is redshirt junior edge defender [autotag]Justus Boone[/autotag].
A four-star recruit out of Sumter High (South Carolina), Boone figured to be a key piece of Florida’s 2021 recruiting class. He was ranked No. 201 overall by 247Sports and No. 183 by On3, and both recruiting services agreed he was the second-best player in South Carolina that year.
Boone played two games as a freshman under head coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, recording two tackles and half a sack in his debut against Vanderbilt and a tackle for loss (TFL) in the Gasparilla Bowl under interim head coach Greg Knox.
His role increased in Year 1 of the Billy Napier era, playing all 13 games for Florida, including two starts. Boone finished the 2022 season with 24 tackles, one TFL, one sack, and a quarterback hurry.
Disaster struck ahead of the 2023 season when he suffered a torn ACL in fall camp. He made a full recovery over the next year and entered the 2024 campaign as a veteran leader of Florida’s defensive front alongside Tyreak Sapp, his competition at the ‘F’ position.
“I can’t even put into words how hard it was,” Boone said in the spring. “It was just very tough. Over my years, I’ve put my head down and I’ve progressed each year, and I’ve worked hard to be in a position that I’ve been put into as far as being a leader, being a part of the defense. To have it kind of stripped away from you in the moment is very devastating, but I can honestly say that I’m at peace with it and I found a lot of peace during my time of rehabbing and while it happened.”
Unfortunately, Boone’s impact wasn’t as great as expected in the 2024 season. Sapp and Jack Pyburn played bigger roles at his position, and Boone saw his snap count decrease. He played the first 11 games of the season, totaling 10 tackles (two solo), 0.5 sacks, 2.0 tackles for loss, one QB hurry and one pass breakup, but it became clear that he was falling down the depth chart in the second half.
Boone should be able to find a new home with a Power Four program. Pro Football Focus gave him a 73.2 overall grade on defense in 2022, and he earned a 68.8 grade this season returning from injury. He posted the best run defense grade of his career this year (75.1) and was the strongest tackler (79.5) in Florida’s edge room.
He is the second Gator to enter the transfer portal, following Andy Jean’s decision earlier in the day. Boone has one year of eligibility remaining.
Florida’s options at EDGE
Both Sapp and Pyburn have a year of eligibility remaining, and Boone’s departure could signal an intent to return for both.
Even if both players were to depart, Northern Illinois transfer George Gumbs Jr. played a significant role in Florida’s defensive front this year, and a number of young players are hungry for more snaps.
Kelby Collins, Kamran James, LJ McCray and TJ Searcy are all set to return, barring any future transfer announcements. Redshirt junior Quincy Ivory, a JUCO transfer ahead of the 2023 season, could also come back.
Four-star recruit Jayden Woods will join the position room this spring, as well.
The Gators are only losing one scholarship player from the position room, specialist Ja’Markis Weston. Walk-on Tyreik Norwood is also out of eligibility.
Walk-ons Titus Bullard, Bryce Capers, Charles Emanuel III and Layne Swafford also of enough eligibility to return to the roster.
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