Tag: teradja mitchell

Everything Gators LB Teradja Mitchell said after FSU loss

Here’s what Teradja Mitchell had to say about the final game of the 2023 campaign for the Gators.

The Florida State Seminoles were too much for the Florida Gators in Week 13 of the college football season, sending the Orange and Blue to its third-straight losing season with a 24-15 win in the Swamp. The loss ends Billy Napier and Co.’s 2023 campaign with a 5-7 record and no hopes for a bowl game.

Conversely, the win cemented FSU’s perfect 12-0 regular-season record, and while it was an ugly victory, Noles fans hope it will be enough to put their beloved Garnet and Gold in the College Football Playoffs. However, there is still the ACC Championship Game awaiting them next weekend as well.

Following the final loss, linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] spoke with the media about the game, the season and what he sees ahead. While the results were not what the Gator Nation had hoped for, perhaps it was something for the program to build on.

Take a look below at an abridged question and answer with Mitchell from Saturday night’s media scrum.

Gators linebacker Teradja Mitchell talks to media on Monday

Here’s what Florida’s sophomore linebacker had to say on Monday to the press.

Florida football is nearing the end of its regular-season schedule and possibly the finale of the 2023 campaign this weekend in Gainesville. Inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the Gators will host the Florida State Seminoles with a chance at a bowl bid on the line.

Last week, the Orange and Blue missed a chance to seize that elusive sixth win for the second time in three weeks, falling in the final seconds on field goal attempts. The program also lost its starting quarterback Graham Mertz to a broken clavicle, leaving Florida further shorthanded as the fall comes to a close.

On Monday, sophomore linebacker Teradja Mitchell talked to the sports media, answering questions about the Week 12 loss as well as looking ahead to Week 13. Below is an abridged version of his responses to their questions.

2023 Florida Football Position Preview: Inside Linebackers

Ventrell Miller is no longer the man in the middle of Florida’s defense, but the Gators hit the transfer portal and have some homegrown talent that’s ready to take off.

Now that Ventrell Miller and Amari Burney are in the NFL, Florida is looking for its next pair of elite inside linebackers to lead the defense in 2023.

Billy Napier turned to the transfer portal to add some depth at the position and found Teradja Mitchell and Mannie Nunnery. Both should play a big role in Florida’s defense this season, but there’s plenty of homegrown talent to work with too.

Shemar James is coming off an elite freshman season against SEC competition and could blossom in Year 2 of his college career. There’s also Scooby Williams and Derek Wingo in the position room looking for snaps as returning players with experience.

Here’s a look at every inside linebacker on Florida’s 2023 fall roster.

The five top-rated Ohio State inside linebacker recruits since 2000

Here are the best inside linebacking prospects Ohio State landed out of high school. #GoBucks

We have been diving into some of the more highly touted recruits in Ohio State history. We recently discussed the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive tackles, guards, center, defensive ends and defensive tackles. We wanted to look into the history of recruiting inside linebackers.

Some exciting names are on this list. Even though 247Sports‘ recruiting rankings only go back to 2000, there are some memorable names. It is always fun to reflect on how some of these guys performed and whether they lived up to expectations.

This list only confirms the insane wealth of talent Ohio State has had at the inside linebacker position. Some of the guys that just missed the cut are current standout Cody Simon, injury-riddled Trey Johnson and Mark Johnson, who transferred after struggling to see the field.

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Five incoming Florida transfers make 247Sports top-150 rankings

247Sports updated its transfer rankings on Wednesday and five incoming Gators are ranked inside the top 150.

The Florida Gators brought in 10 players through the transfer portal over the winter and four of them made the final update to the 247Sports Top150 transfer rankings.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Caleb Banks[/autotag] is the highest-ranked Gator on the list. The Louisville transfer is No. 82 overall on the Top150 with a transfer grade of 91. Kentucky offensive tackle transfer [autotag]Kiyaunta Goodwin[/autotag] is next up at No. 96, and Memphis defensive line transfer [autotag]CamRon Jackson[/autotag] is just outside the top 100 at No. 110 overall.

Baylor offensive guard transfer [autotag]Micah Mazzccua[/autotag] is No. 138 on the list and former Wisconsin quarterback [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] rounds things out at No. 150. Both have a transfer grade of 90, meaning Florida is bringing in five players of the caliber or better.

On the other hand, Florida lost two players ranked in the top 150, offensive guard [autotag]Ethan White[/autotag] (No. 131) to USC and defensive back [autotag]Donovan McMillon[/autotag] (No. 143) to Pittsburgh.

The hope is that White’s departure will be offset by Mazzccua, but there’s no clear replacement for McMillon. Fortunately, the Gators focused heavily on defensive backs in the most recent recruiting cycle.

Although they didn’t make 247Sports’ list of the top transfers, Florida is counting on guys like linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag], running back [autotag]Cameron Carroll[/autotag] and offensive tackle [autotag]Damieon George[/autotag] to contribute. There was a ton of roster turnover during the offseason and there are several starting spots up for grabs.

It’s too early to tell how well Florida did in the transfer portal this offseason, but the early returns seem good.

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Florida has one of college football’s 12 most lethal rosters in 2023

Florida has a ton of talent on its roster heading into the 2023 season, but that doesn’t guarantee success.

The Florida Gators finished tied for 12th in 247Sports’ recent list of the most lethal rosters heading into the 2023 season.

247Sports’ Brad Crawford used the site’s team composite ranking to rank the teams. He took the average position of the team’s finish over the past five years and Florida finished with a 12.4 average, the same as Michigan.

Florida finished 14th in the country during the most recent cycle. Losing five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada hurt a class that had a chance to break the top 10. Florida’s first class under Billy Napier in 2022 ranked No. 18 overall, and Dan Mullen brought in the No. 12 class in 2021 and the No. 9 class in 2019 and 2020.

“When Florida is winning national titles, the Gators are one of the nation’s elite recruiting teams,” Crawford wrote. “And while this program has a top-12 roster based on talent heading into coach Billy Napier’s second season, there are certainly depth concerns that the coaching staff must contend with following a disappointing 6-7 finish under the new regime.”

The problem with using this metric to rank teams is that transfers come and go, and the bulk of the Mullen classes has moved on from the program in one way or another. The class of 2020 features some team leaders, such as receiver [autotag]Xzavier Henderson[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag], but much of the class has transferred out or declared for the upcoming draft.

Florida also added a ton of transfer over the past two offseasons. Quarterbacks [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag], running backs [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Cameron Carroll[/autotag], receiver [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag], offensive linemen [autotag]Damieon George[/autotag], [autotag]Kiyaunta Goodwin[/autotag] and Micah Mazzccua, defensive linemen [autotag]Caleb Banks[/autotag] and [autotag]CamRon Jackson[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag]  and cornerback [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] could all play significant roles for the team next season.

Florida could end up playing like a top-12 in the country by the season’s end, especially if the transfers help make up for the talent lost over the past few years, but it’s unwise to think of the Gators as a top-12 program in terms of actual talent heading into the season.

There’s been too much turnover in the program over the past couple of years for this metric to work for the Gators. A team like Michigan has a much better chance of living up to the expectations created by this list.

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The Athletic ponders each SEC team’s biggest spring practice question

The Athletic has published the biggest question for each SEC team ahead of spring practices.

For most college football teams, the spring semester is typically reserved for introspection and self-scouting. Every team’s deficiencies are different, and the off-season allows for early enrollees to join the team and begin to transition from high school to the college game. The Athletic has taken a look at all fourteen SEC programs and determined the biggest question that each team has going into the spring.

For the Orange and Blue, the list of things to improve upon seems to be just as long as it was last year ahead of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first season in charge. Since the end of the 2022 season, the Gators have had a lot of player turnover. This was to be expected as building the roster in Napeir’s image was bound to take a few seasons, at least.

Here is what The Athletic’s G. Allan Taylor had to say about what the Gators’ biggest question is this spring:

Can the defense find answers to solve a brutal three-year stretch?

In the final two seasons under coordinator [autotag]Todd Grantham[/autotag] and one under [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag], the Gators’ defense has ranked eighth or worse in the SEC in points and yardage allowed. Last season it plummeted to dead last in third-down stops. The response was importing two defensive line transfers and three more at linebacker. Watch to see how [autotag]Cam’Ron Jackson[/autotag] (Memphis) and [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] (Ohio State) acclimate, along with the pecking order Toney establishes for three new starters at the safety spots.

You, the reader, would be forgiven if your immediate guess was the quarterback room. To be honest, that was my first thought before reading Taylor’s assessment of the defense. While the quarterback room has undergone a lot of change recently, Napier has said that they will be looking to add another player to the room, joining the competition between Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and Las Vegas Bowl starter [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] — the latter also a former Buckeyes transfer.

Defensively, the situation is not as clear. Toney was publicly questioned at times last season for the reasons Taylor outlined, but it’s not really fair to judge Toney for mistakes made by individual players, especially when Toney didn’t bring in most of the guys on the field last season.

The upcoming Orange and Blue spring game will be played on Thursday, April 13. We’ll have to wait until then to get our first look at how the new additions to the team have adjusted to Napier’s expectations.

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Florida add Houston transfer linebacker Mannie Nunnery

The Gators added yet another transfer linebacker from the portal on Monday. Welcome to the Swamp, Mannie Nunnery.

Florida added former Houston linebacker [autotag]Mannie Nunnery[/autotag] on Monday, according to a post he made on Twitter. The school later confirmed the news, making Nunnery the third linebacker to join the Gators via the transfer portal this offseason.

Nunnery joined the Cougars as a member of the 2019 recruiting class and played in 31 games over four years with the team, including a redshirt season. After seeing action in just two games as a freshman, Nunnery started getting snaps in 2020. He took 25 snaps in the slot as a sophomore but ended up spending most of his time lined up in the box. By 2021, he emerged as a key special teams player and started receiving even more opportunities on defense.

He finally broke out in 2022, playing in nine games for the Cougars and finishing the year with a 73.2 defensive grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

Nunnery joins a linebacker room that desperately needs some depth. Aside from fellow transfers [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] (Ohio State) and [autotag]Deuce Spurlock[/autotag] (Michigan), Florida has only junior [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag], sophomores [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] and Scooby Williams and true freshman [autotag]Jaden Robinson[/autotag]. The Gators expect Nunnery to play WILL linebacker for them.

Out of high school, the 247Sports composite ranked Nunnery at No. 94 among outside linebackers in the class of 2019. He was No. 1,326 overall and No. 174 out of the state of Texas.

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Florida moves up in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings after All-American commits

After an All-American committed to the Orange and Blue, the Gators have moved up two spots in 247Sports’ 2023 recruiting rankings

On the heels of Caden Jones‘ Jan. 7 commitment, the Florida Gators have moved up in 247Sports’ 2023 recruting rankings, going from No. 13 to No. 11. They jumped over Texas A&M and Oregon on their way to their new ranking.

Jones announced his commitment at the All-American Bowl broadcast live on NBC last Saturday. The 6-foot-8-inch offensive lineman chose the Orange and Blue over the Aggies and Houston Cougars. Despite being from New Orleans, Napier was able to pry Jones from schools closer to home and make another addition to his 2023 class, which now has 21 members.

The smaller class was strategic for Napier, as he needs scholarships open to be active in the transfer portal. Prioritizing quality over quantity was a point of emphasis Napier made in his opening press conference and subsequent open letter to the fan base. The roster turnover along the offensive line, paired with his size and ability, make Jones a contender for early playing time.

Florida’s 21-member 2023 class joins transfers [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag], [autotag]CamRon Jackson[/autotag], [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Banks[/autotag] as the new faces in Gainesville. It doesn’t look like Napier is stopping just yet. Even though multiple members of the 2023 class have already enrolled early, there is still room for the class to grow with national signing day scheduled for Feb. 1.

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Ohio State football offseason transfer portal tracker

A look at the comings and goings of Ohio State football players and the transfer portal for the 2023 offseason. #GoBucks

Now that the book has been closed on the season for the Ohio State football program — in disappointing and dramatic fashion — we’ll be taking a forward look toward next season. We’ve already taken an extremely early look at the schedule for 2023, and now it’s time to focus on the roster.

Specifically, now that there’s nothing more to play for, you can bet that we’ll start to get news on OSU players that enter the transfer portal. We’ve already experienced a few putting their names in to keep options open, but don’t be surprised if we hear about a few more.

So, to make it easy to keep tabs on, we’re kicking off our Ohio State football offseason transfer portal tracker and will update it as new players enter, and any developments with those already announced as looking at other programs.

Here’s where things stand just after the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Be sure to check back often as things tend to happen pretty quickly. First, we’ll focus on the guys looking to leave the program.

NEXT … Ohio State players entering their names into the transfer portal