Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are several takeaways from the beat reporters at today’s practice.
The Seattle Seahawks were back at work today at the VMAC after getting Sunday off. It was an eventful day at the team facility, with roster moves, big returns and one very notable absence all part of the story.
Here are several takeaways from the beat reporters at today’s practice.
The Seahawks announced a pair of roster moves today, two hours before they are set to begin another training camp practice.
The Seahawks announced a pair of roster moves today, two hours before they are set to begin another training camp practice.
First, the team has activated rookie outside linebacker Tyreke Smith from the PUP list. Smith played his college ball at Ohio State, totaling seven sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in 30 games. Seattle selected him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. The nature of Smith’s injury has not been disclosed by the team as of yet.
The Seahawks also signed defensive tackle Antonio Valentino, who spent his 2021 season at Florida after four years at Penn State. Valentino went undrafted after his Senior season and joined the Giants as an UDFA but was waived in May. Valentino will have his work cut out for him to make the initial 53-man roster. Seattle’s interior rotation is stacked and there’s not much room below Al Woods, Poona Ford and Shelby Harris.
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The Gators are slowly rebuilding through recruiting and filling positions of need first.
Recently, ESPN took a look at how new head coaches are choosing to rebuild the programs they take over, and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first go around with the Florida Gators is an easy case study to look at it given the school’s history and membership in the perenially strong Southeastern Conference.
Identifying positions of need is the first step in ESPN’s assessment, and the list is unsurprisingly long. Running back, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line and linebacker it reads. Only two of those holes (running back and offensive line) would be filled in the first six months of Napier’s tenure, though.
He had just weeks to scramble and piece together a recruiting class that had prospects jumping ship left and right. Napier ultimately snagged five-star safety, [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag], from Georgia’s grasp and also landed four-star linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag]. Four-star running back [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] is another nice addition, but the group is still considered weak in a conference that routinely boasts the nation’s top recruiting classes.
New coach Billy Napier has his hands full trying to remake this roster as the previous staff went 6-7 last season with lackluster recruiting over the past few classes. The Gators finished the 2022 recruiting cycle ranked No. 32 overall, last in the SEC.
Napier then turned to the transfer portal, bringing in a trio of offensive players that already know his scheme. [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], the Sun Belt Conference’s Freshman of the Year, is sure to add to the run game behind four-star Louisiana transfer [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] and fellow interior offensive lineman [autotag]Kamryn Waites[/autotag].
Still, it’s been hard to fill the holes left in the receiving core by [autotag]Jacob Copeland[/autotag] (Maryland) and [autotag]Kemore Gamble[/autotag] (UCF). The transfer portal, in general, has hurt more than it’s helped this offseason. Sure, guys like [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] have a chance to make an impact early, but it doesn’t replace the departing starting talent. Not to mention those who have graduated or turned pro.
The coaches lost quite a bit to the portal and weren’t able to fill every hole… Defensive linemen [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Valentino[/autotag] and [autotag]Daquan Newkirk[/autotag] are all gone as well, so the defensive staff has some work to do in the front seven to replace the production they had from last season.
It’s not the total overhaul some programs have seen, such as LSU or Oklahoma. In fact, Napier is taking a fairly traditional approach to rebuilding the Gators considering the modern game’s transfer rules. Landing a strong recruiting class in 2023 seems to be the path he’s headed down, but there are questions about whether or not Florida can keep up in the NIL space with some of the nation’s top programs.
As ESPN suggests, there’s still plenty of work to do for Florida to be “rebuilt,” but Napier is addressing the issues one by one. That attentiveness is what got him the gig, and he’s been successful in the past.
The New York Giants have signed DB Michael Jacquet and waived DT Antonio Valentino as part of their latest roster moves.
The New York Giants continued adding defensive backs to their paper thin roster on Thursday, signing cornerback Michael Jacquet III.
The 25-year-old Jacquet originally signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana in 2020. He spent the first year-plus of his career in Philly before being released in late October of last year.
Roughly two weeks after his Eagles release, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound Jacquet signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, he appeared in just one game for the Jags, taking three snaps on special teams. The remainder of his time was spent on the practice squad.
In eight career games (two starts), Jacquet has recorded 18 tackles (12 solo, six for a loss), one QB hit, 1.0 sacks, one forced fumble and three passes defensed. He earned a PFF grade of 60.0 in 2021 and a PFF grade of 46.2 as a rookie in 2020.
In order to create room for Jacquet on their 90-man roster, the Giants also announced that defensive tackle Antonio Valentino had been waived.
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The New York Giants have officially signed 13 undrafted rookie free agents ahead of their three-day minicamp.
The New York Giants will hold their three-day rookie minicamp beginning on Friday and that meant the arrival of many players on Thursday. It also meant the time had come to officially sign some contracts.
Following the NFL’s schedule release, the Giants officially announced the signing of 13 undrafted rookie free agents — many of whom we had been made aware of previously.
The 13 signees were as follows:
In addition to those 13 players, the Giants have invited a slew of others for tryouts. And while those names have not yet been released, it’s expected that several NFL veterans will also be trying out for a spot on the 90-man roster.
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Didn’t watch the draft or catch all of the undrafted free agent signings that relate to UF? Gators Wire has got you covered.
The 2022 NFL draft has come and gone and another crop of talent is headed to the pros from Gainesville. Three players heard their names called over as many days of the draft, but several more former Gators are finding deals as undrafted free agents.
There’s no guarantee that any of the recent signees make it on an opening day roster or even a practice squad for that matter, but it’s the opportunity most of these players have been working toward for most of their lives. Squandering this chance to fulfill the dream of being an NFL athlete is something they aim to avoid.
There could be more to come too. While names like linebacker [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] are already locked up, players such as offensive lineman [autotag]Stewart Reese[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Rick Wells[/autotag] are still available.
With that said, let’s take a look at each member of the 2021 Florida Gators football team that currently finds himself with an NFL team.
Will Florida be adding some depth soon from the transfer portal?
247Sports’ Blake Alderman logged a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Florida Gators for Maryland transfer [autotag]Darrell Jackson[/autotag] on Thursday.
Jackson and his mother will be in Gainesville for the Gators’ Orange and Blue game and things have been trending in the right direction since he entered the portal. Alderman’s crystal ball is the lone projection for the Gators on 247Sports as of now and it’s unclear how many other schools have pursued him to the degree UF has.
Gators head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] noted Florida’s lack of depth in a press conference earlier this week before laying out a plan to be “very aggressive” in the portal. [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] took the same approach last year bringing in [autotag]Tyrone Truesdell[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Valentino[/autotag] and [autotag]Daquan Newkirk[/autotag] to fill out the defensive line.
Mama I Just Want To Make You Smile🧡 #GoGators #UFuture🐊💙🧡 pic.twitter.com/fXjQWzwNf7
— BIG PRODUCTIONS🎱🖤 (@95productions1) April 14, 2022
Napier’s staff worked quickly to get in touch with Jackson, so he figures to be a high priority on the recruiting board. They already seem to be in a good spot with him and there are rumors that Jackson would like to return to Florida after graduating from Gadsden County High.
If the process lingers on, the Gators plan on bringing him in for an official visit.
247Sports ranked Jackson a three-star recruit out of high school and has yet to give him a transfer designation. He was the No. 90 defensive lineman on the 247Sports composite. He started in all 13 games for the Terrapins as a true freshman, totaling 22 tackles throughout the season.
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Florida redshirt sophomore DT Lamar Goods plans to enter the portal after only registering a single tackle during his career.
Florida redshirt sophomore defensive tackle [autotag]Lamar Goods[/autotag] announced on Instagram Friday that he plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal with spring practice set to conclude next week with the Orange and Blue Game.
“I wanna start by thanking everyone at the University of Florida and that I appreciate and care for all that you have done for me,” Goods wrote. “But after long and hard talks with my family I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal. I am excited to see where this next chapter in my life takes my academic and football career but will always be proud that I was a gator thank you GATOR NATION.”
He played sparingly during his career with Florida, recording only a single tackle. During spring practices, the media has seen Goods leave early on multiple occasions for reasons unknown.
The Gators are looking for contributors at the defensive tackle position beside a player named [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] this spring. Former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] and defensive line coach [autotag]David Turner[/autotag] brought in graduate transfers [autotag]Daquan Newkirk[/autotag], [autotag]Antonio Valentino[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyrone Truesdell[/autotag] as a quick fix to supplement their struggles to recruit the position.
It’s a problem new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and defensive line coach [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] will have to address via the transfer portal themselves after spring ball wraps up and new names enter the portal.
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This Gator just got an invite to Orlando for the Hula Bowl All-Star Classic.
It was not exactly a spectacular season for Florida football’s defensive unit in 2021, but despite some poor overall performances, there were still some players who stood out for their outstanding efforts. Among those on this year’s Gators squad was defensive tackle Antonio Valentino, who earned an invitation to the Hula Bowl, a once-annual all-star game hosted in UCF’s Bounce House this year.
Valentino came to Florida by way of the transfer portal from Penn State last offseason, where he went by his former surname, Shelton. The 6-foot-3-inch, 312-pound redshirt senior made good use of his final year of eligibility in Gainesville, starting in eight of the 12 games he played in while amassing 23 total tackles — three of them for a loss, including a sack — along with five quarterback hurries. His presence on the defensive line was seen as “stalwart” by the Hula Bowl’s social media team.
The @NFL scouts better be ready for the stalwart interior DL power and instinctive run stopping from @FloridaFootball DT Antonio Valentino @_groovy55. @DraftDiamonds are found at the #HulaBowl @SAGECards @draftguyjimmy @scott_nfl @SEC #GreatToBeAFloridaGator pic.twitter.com/wBcv0c6t0M
— Hula Bowl (@Hula_Bowl) December 22, 2021
This year’s Hula Bowl will be played on Jan. 15, 2022, at the aforementioned Bounce House in Orlando, Florida. The event dates back to 1946 when it was first established, though the inaugural game was not played until Jan. 5, 1947. Originally, the matchup featured a team comprised of college players from the continental United States against a local Hawaiian Islands team. In 1960, it morphed into a collegiate all-star game that would only invite NCAA student-athletes.
The game was played in the Hawaiian islands until 2008 when the series went dormant, then revived again in 2019 — once again in the Pacific archipelago — for a 2020 and 2021 game, before moving to Central Florida for this year’s game. According to the official website, the Hula Bowl plans on remaining in Florida for the foreseeable future, inviting NCAA college football players from all divisions, along with international players from Japan, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
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Despite the fact that not all of these guys are among the most famous or talented the program has to offer, their performances will dictate a lot about this season.
Much has been made of the remodeling Gators football underwent this offseason, and rightly so. The offense was a raging success under the stewardship of draft-eligible players who went pro and the defense was so tragically overmatched that a touch-up is necessary to field a passable team this year.
That being the case, the identity of this Orange and Blue squad is still fluid. A single matchup against a much weaker non-conference opponent is hardly educational about how they’re going to fare in the choppier waters of the SEC.
One of the oddities of football, though, is that because of the intrinsically co-dependent nature of play, the best players aren’t always the most important in defining the identity of a team. To that end, let’s take a look at the players on the 2021 Florida roster who have the potential to radically shift the way this team functions for better. Despite the fact that not all of these guys are among the most famous or talented the program has to offer, their performances will dictate a lot about this season.
