Tag: Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr

Former Florida EDGE transferring to this ACC program

Florida lost three players to the spring transfer portal, and one of them decided on their new program Thursday.

Former Florida edge rusher [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. is transferring to Virginia Tech, according to a social media post he put out on Thursday.

Powell-Ryland is an Old Dominion State native that considered joining the Hokies out of high school. The 6-foot-2-inch, 233-pound pass rusher spent three years with the Gators, appearing in 27 games and making five starts.

His playing time increased after Brenton Cox Jr.’s dismissal from the team following the Georgia game. Powell-Ryland’s best performance came the following week against Texas A&M when he recorded a career-high six tackles (four solo), a sack and forced a fumble.

He was expected to be a starter in 2023, but Princely Umanmielen’s shift to the edge moved him back on the depth chart.

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Powell-Ryland should compete for a starting job at Virginia Tech in the fall. He could see time at defensive end or outside linebacker and will be a major pass-rushing threat for the Hokies regardless of where he lines up. Pro Football Focus gave him a pass-rushing grade of 82.1 last season.

He leaves Florida with 34 career tackles (14 solo), 7.5 tackles for a loss (34 yards), 4.5 sacks for 28 yards, three forced fumbles and a pass deflection.

Powell-Ryland has two years of college eligibility remaining, but he could leave for the draft after a year if things go well.

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Florida losing WR Xzavier Henderson to transfer portal

Florida’s third spring transfer is a big one. Wide receiver Xzavier Henderson, who started 11 games for the Gators in 2022, is hitting the portal.

Florida wide receiver [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] is entering the NCAA transfer portal, according to a report from Swamp247.

Henderson started 11 games for Florida last year and was expected to step into a bigger role with [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] moving on to the NFL. 247Sports’ Jacob Rudner said that sophomore [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] and freshman [autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag] had strong springs behind Henderson, which may have influenced the decision to leave.

[autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] is the clear leader of the receiver room, but [autotag]Marcus Burke[/autotag], Douglas and Jean are all young players showing promise.

Henderson leaves Florida with 835 career receiving yards and five touchdowns on 73 catches over 35 games. His best game in the Orange and Blue came against Georgia when he hauled in five receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Receivers coach Billy Gonzalez reported strong spring scrimmage performances from Henderson, and head coach Billy Napier also spoke highly of him during the spring. The transfer is somewhat surprising, but he’s not the first player to leave the team during the second portal period of teh year.

Offensive lineman [autotag]David Conner[/autotag] and edge rusher [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. were the first two Gators to leave the team in the spring. Following Henderson’s departure, Florida will have five open scholarship spots to hand out to transfers.

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Florida EDGE Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. to enter transfer portal

After three years with the Florida Gators, edge rusher Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. is hitting the transfer portal.

Florida edge rusher [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. is entering the transfer portal, according to a social media post he sent out Friday afternoon.

Powell is the second Gator to leave the team following the Orange and Blue Game. Offensive lineman [autotag]David Conner[/autotag] officially entered the portal on Thursday after leaving the team during spring practices.

He didn’t give a reason for his decision, but playing time was likely a factor for the rising fourth-year junior. [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] switched to the edge after [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. was dismissed from the team last season, and he’s the expected starter heading into the summer.

Powell would have been competing for secondary snaps with redshirt sophomore [autotag]Justus Boone[/autotag] had he stayed, and a trio of true freshmen led by [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] are hungry to take away snaps too.

Over three seasons in Gainesville, Powell recorded 34 total tackles (14 solo), including 7.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks, through 27 games played. He started five times for Florida in 2023 and played snaps in all 13 games.

Although the Gators are losing a consistent piece of its defense, the line is loaded with young Napier-recruited talent ready to take off, so this might have been the best move for both parties.

Still, the announcement is surprising from a player who seemed to have bought into Napier’s system.

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Depth Chart: Florida dealing with injuries ahead of Texas A&M game

We know Florida will have to make up for the loss of Brenton Cox Jr. this week, but that wasn’t the only change made to the depth chart ahead of Texas A&M.

There were a number of notable changes on the weekly update to Florida’s depth chart, most of which had to do with injuries and departures from the team.

Following the departure of JACK linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. is now listed as the starter with [autotag]Lloyd Summerall III[/autotag] and David Reese behind him. Summerall should be the No. 2, but he is coming off an injury.

Nickelback Kamar Wilcoxson’s third-string spot at the STAR position was left blank this week.

Wide receiver [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] might be the most notable addition to the injury report. Florida’s leading receiver is listed as questionable for Saturday’s contest with a lower-body injury. Shorter ranks in the top 10 for receiving yards among SEC players and has hauled in a pair of touchdown passes this year.

Expect sophomore [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] to receive an increased workload if Shorter can’t go.

Tight end [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] is also dealing with an injury and won’t play on Saturdays. An Instagram post that was later deleted sparked some fear that he’d be out for the rest of the year, but Billy Napier said there’s still hope for him to return this year.

“Keon, I don’t know where that got blown out of — that’s wild,” Napier said with a smile. “Keon’ got a little bit of a knee (injury). Nothing long-term there. It’s very much to be determined based off his rehab and recovery right now. We don’t expect him to be available this weekend, but long-term no issue there.”

Inside linebacker [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] is questionable to play as well, but the corps of [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] and [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] should hold up with true freshman [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] and sophomore [autotag]Derek Wing[/autotag]o behind them.

Linebacker [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag], tight ends [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore [/autotag]were all listed as out once again. Napier provided an update on Moore following a shoulder surgery that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

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Florida dismisses starting EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.

Billy Napier addressed the dismissal of EDGE Brenton Cox Jr. after the shocking news broke on Monday morning.

Florida JACK linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. has been dismissed from the team.

Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online was first with the report, and head coach Billy Napier confirmed the news during his weekly press conference.

“Brenton, we’ve kind of decided to move on here. I think that being a football player at the University of Florida is a privilege. There are certain expectations and standards that come with that. Brenton’s now been here in his third year. Obviously, he’s done a lot of good things for the University of Florida and we wish him the best.

“Sometimes, you have to make decisions in the best interest of the team. Certainly, Brenton, we’re going to do everything we can do to help him with his transition. But it’s as simple as that, I think that we’ve decided to move on.”

Napier was asked if Cox threw a punch at the end of the Georgia game, but the head coach said he was unaware of such events. He declined to go into specifics, calling the decision a “cumulative effect.”

As far as replacing Cox in the starting 11, Florida’s already mildly prepared for the loss. [autotag]Lloyd Summerall III[/autotag] and [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag]. have seen plenty of time on the field, and Napier expects to lean on those two heavily for the rest of the season.

“We’ve been playing a handful of players in that position the entire year. So, AP and Lloyd and those guys will do a really good job. They’ve been playing in each and every game for the most part. I know Lloyd was out this past week, but we’ll just continue in that direction.”

Napier declined to answer most follow-ups regarding the topic, citing his earlier decision to keep that kind of information “in-house.”

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Depth Chart: Florida OL O’Cyrus Torrence ready to return against Georgia

Florida’s weekly depth chart is out, and it looks like right guard O’Cyrus Torrence will be back on the field against Georgia.

The Florida Gators will welcome back their right guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] on Saturday when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs.

UF released its weekly depth chart on Wednesday, and Torrence is no longer listed on the injury report with the lower-body issue that kept him out of the LSU game. He tried to play against the Tigers but didn’t feel well enough during pre-game warmups to take the field. Getting him back will provide a massive boost to Florida’s running game against what might be the best defense in the country.

That’s not the only change in the offensive line rotation. [autotag]Josh Braun[/autotag] is no longer with the team after announcing his intentions to enter the transfer portal in December upon graduating from UF. [autotag]Richie Leonard IV[/autotag], who was already ahead of Braun in the rotation, is now listed as the team’s backup at both guard positions.

The defensive unit remained mostly untouched through the bye week. JACK linebacker [autotag]Lloyd Summerall III[/autotag] is questionable with an upper-body injury, but he’s still listed as Florida’s third-string option behind [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr[/autotag].

Linebacker [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] is still on the injury list with a lower-body issue. He missed Florida’s game against LSU and should be out against Georgia. True freshman cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] is also unlikely to play after missing the past two games.

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