Keep an eye on where Carlos Del Rio-Wilson lands.
Things have been in flux for Florida football this spring as Billy Napier and his army of staffers begin to revamp the program with the aim of restoring glory to the Orange and Blue. As what happens with every change in management there will be some expected casualties that come with the installation of a new philosophical approach to the game.
Fortunately, the college football transfer portal has been a boon for players stuck in dead-end positions who have plenty to offer to other schools. After the addition of [autotag]Jake Miller III[/autotag] from the portal from Ohio State, the quarterback room began to feel a bit claustrophobic. True freshman dual-threat thrower [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag] felt the pressure and entered the transfer portal on April 19 to begin seeking greener pastures.
But Del Rio-Wilson has not been out of the media’s eye, as NBC Sports EDGE’s Crissy Froyd listed him as one of her five quarterbacks to watch in the transfer portal. Here is what she had to say about the former Gator.
With coaching changes typically come some level of movement and the situation at Florida has proven no different in regard to that since [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] took [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s spot back in December. Junior passer [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag], who recently landed at Arizona State, was among the quarterbacks to enter the portal. Del Rio-Wilson followed, announcing his intentions transfer in April after he was unable to break into the rotation last year and after athletic sophomore quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] put on a standout performance in the spring.
The former four-star prospect still has all four years of eligibility remaining after taking a redshirt in 2021, and has a lot of untapped potential as a player who was Sports Illustrated All-American‘s fifth highest-graded passer at the 2020 Elite 11 Finals. Del Rio-Wilson attempted just two passes in Florida’s spring game this year, and it quickly became evident it would be in his best interest to look for other opportunities as Florida also brought on Ohio State redshirt freshman transfer Jack Miller, who wasted little time grabbing the backup spot to Richardson.
Napier praised Del Rio-Wilson’s work ethic, calling him a “first-class” player, but was understanding of his decision.
“I think he just observed spring practice and felt like a change of scenery would be good for him in terms of competing and finding an opportunity to play,” Napier told reporters. “And I can relate to that. I was a quarterback, and you want to play. You want it to be your team at some point. I respect that decision and we’re fully supportive and help him with everything he can do going forward.”
Both parties go their separate ways on mutual terms and Del Rio-Wilson has a chance to thrive in another place.
The signal-caller out of Cartersville, Georgia, appeared in the Orange and Blue game as a backup on the Blue team, only to attempt a pair of incomplete passes while getting sacked twice. He was a four-star dual-threat prospect in the 2021 class and was ranked No. 146 overall nationally, No. 17 at his position and the No. 16 prep in his state during recruitment.
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