Tag: dismissal

Tracking every transfer/dismissal from the 2022 Florida Gators football team

It’s going to be a busy offseason for the Florida Gators, and Gators Wire is tracking every transfer and dismissal from the program.

Florida head coach Billy Napier expected a decent amount of attrition in his first year as the head coach of the Gators, and the dominoes are beginning to fall.

As the list of departures and potential transfers from the team grows, Gators Wire will keep track of all the movement moving forward in this list. The window for players to officially enter the transfer portal begins on Dec. 5 and lasts for 45 days. Those who have already graduated from the University of Florida are eligible to enter the portal immediately.

While most of the early news will be about those departing the program, Florida is bound to be an active player in the transfer portal market once the national pool is set. The Gators struck gold by bringing in right guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]., and Napier has isn’t blind to the ever-changing landscape of college football.

The transfer portal is the college equivalent to the NFL’s free agency period, and the Gators should be an attractive destination for many heading into 2023.

Here’s a look at every move made by the program and players so far.

Florida LB Diwun Black dismissed from team, enters transfer portal

Another Gator has been dismissed from the football team and is entering the transfer portal.

After losing three players to the transfer portal in as many days, the Florida Gators dismissed junior linebacker [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] on Wednesday, according to Swamp247. Black seemingly confirmed the news via a Twitter post that read “I have officially entered the transfer portal.”

Black joined the program in the summer of 2021 after spending two years at the junior college level. A Florida commit out of high school, the academics weren’t there to get him on campus as a freshman. Rated the top JUCO prospect in the class of 2021, Black finally made his transfer to Florida but struggled to find playing time.

He started off at the STAR position and fought for playing time last year, but he moved to inside linebacker when Billy Napier’s staff took over. He’d fall behind starter [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag], true freshman [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] and sophomore [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] on the depth chart, taking the field for just 38 snaps through the first five weeks of the season (most of which came on special teams).

Injury did slow him down this year, but Black returned to the depth chart last week for Florida’s win over South Carolina. However, he didn’t take the field and James got the majority of the reserve snaps.

Black’s departure is a bit surprising but not entirely unexpected. Napier indicated that he still had much work to do before being a regular player for the Gators following the Tennesee game. Black helped Florida keep hopes alive in the game by recovering an onside kick that set up a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the game, but Napier pushed back when reporters asked if that would earn him more playing time.

Following [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag].’s dismissal, Black took to Twitter in support of his former teammate, writing “let’s be great 1” on a repost of Cox’s announcement. It’s possible

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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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