One of Florida head coach Dan Mullen’s greatest strengths besides being a quarterback whisperer is that he’s an NCAA transfer portal wizard.
He has landed several gems from the portal like wide receivers Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes and Justin Shorter. He’s also beefed up his backfield and pass rush with the likes of Brenton Cox Jr., Jonathan Greenard and Lorenzo Lingard.
CBS Sports’ college football team took turns tabbing new transfers that could help their new program make the College Football Playoff.
David Cobb listed the Gators new defensive linemen Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk immediately. Here’s a glimpse of what he wrote.
Defensive tackles rarely generate headlines, and the focus entering this season is rightly on Florida’s secondary and new starting quarterback Emory Jones. But the Gators would have been in a tight spot at defensive tackle if they hadn’t snagged two proven veterans from the portal. Shelton and Newkirk will help Florida’s defense improve, and that could bring the CFP into play for this team.
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Former defensive tackles Kyree Campbell and Tedarrell Slaton left Florida in dire straights when they declared for the NFL draft. Not many defensive tackles saw meaningful snaps beside Campbell, Slaton and freshman Gervon Dexter. Cobb believes these new additions could potentially be upgrades to Campbell and Slaton.
Shelton racked up 3.5 sacks in seven games last season for Penn State, and Newkirk collected 28 tackles and three for a loss for Auburn. Both players should make an immediate impact for the Gators this season.
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