Tag: Mordecai McDaniel

Three Gators cut from team by Napier, fourth on thin ice

Three Gators are no longer with the team after Billy Napier informed them of his decision.

At some point, this moment had to come for Billy Napier and the Florida Gators. On Wednesday, the first-year head coach informed three players that they were no longer on the team, according to 247Sports. Safety [autotag]Mordecai McDaniel[/autotag], defensive lineman [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] and receiver [autotag]Fenley Graham[/autotag], who switched to the position during the offseason after playing in the secondary for the past two seasons, are expected to enter the transfer portal as a result.

Receiver [autotag]Marcus Burke[/autotag] was initially removed from the updated roster as well, and the sports information director told several reporters that he was also cut, but that turned out to be a miscommunication after team leaders went to Napier in hopes of reversing the decision. Napier obliged, but the three remaining cuts still came off as a bit of a shock, both to the team and the fanbase.

Graham was a fan favorite. One of the many former Lakeland Dreadnaughts that have come to Florida, his willingness to switch positions earned him praise from wide receivers coach [autotag]Keary Colbert[/autotag] during the spring and it was believed that he’d be in the conversation to be a kick returner in the fall. But these cuts reportedly had little to do with talent and where they were at on the depth chart and more about who was buying into the new culture.

McDaniel is another name that many expected to see contribute in some fashion this season after playing in all 13 games last year and 10 as a freshman. Thomas was a three-star recruit who saw action in just a single game as a freshman, so his cut is less surprising, but it still sends a message to the team. At the same time, doing this after the spring has given Napier enough time to earn the respect of his players.

First-year coaches are able to make these cuts of scholarship players thanks to an NCAA bylaw, but they can still stay on scholarship at the school until they graduate. Most players test the portal, though, and find new opportunities. The only problem is that the May 1 deadline has come and gone, so these players need a waiver to be eligible at another school in the upcoming season.

Florida is down to 87 scholarship players following the move. That means there’s a chance that two or more players are cut.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Mordecai McDaniel

This is a prospect player profile for safety Mordecai McDaniel of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Mordecai McDaniel

Position: Safety

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 195 lbs

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

High School: St. John’s College High School

Twitter: @HunnitBandCai

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

A four-star product of St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., which was established in 1851, McDaniel originally committed to a different Southeastern Conference (SEC) East Division program, Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers.

Courted by defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, he pledged to the Knoxville-based outfit on August 21, 2019. Slightly less than four months later, on December 13, he flipped to the Gators, thanks, in large part, to the efforts of cornerbacks coach Torrian Gray and safeties coach Ron English.

Signing his National Letter of Intent (LOI) just five days after flipping, McDaniel’s speed jumps off the screen while watching his film. Also a member of the track and field team during his days as a St. John’s Cadet in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), he won the District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) 55-meter dash with a blazing time of 6.54 seconds.

McDaniel played both cornerback and safety during his prep career, and is listed as a cornerback on 247Sports, but many around Florida’s program project him to focus on the safety position in Gainesville.

With Shawn Davis and Brad Stewart, both seniors, projected to start at the safety positions for defensive coordinator Todd Grantham in 2020 and two more seniors, Quincy Lenton and Donovan Stiner, listed on the two-deep depth chart, there appears to be a path to significant playing time for McDaniel beginning in 2021.

As a true freshman, it is likely we will see him contribute on special teams.

Overall, McDaniel is the thirteenth-highest rated of the Gators’ 21 enrollees in the 2020 cycle and the ninth-highest on the defensive side of the football.

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