After serving as a team captain for Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl, senior linebacker [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] has declared for the 2023 NFL draft.
Burney, a former four-star recruit from the class of 2018, spent five years with the Gators playing at both the STAR position and at linebacker. He made the switch from the secondary in 2019 and was a full-time linebacker by 2020. He appeared in all 37 of Florida’s contests over the past three seasons, starting 18 games, including every game of the 2022 season.
His biggest moment in the Orange and Blue came during the season opener against Utah when he made a game-sealing interception. He also recorded an interception against Georgia and finished the season with a career-high 79 tackles (41 solo).
Forever Grateful🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/Wa6jWn6GNf
— Amari Burney (@amari_burney) December 23, 2022
Burney is the second starting linebacker to depart from the program this offseason, the first being [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag]. It will be hard to replace that level of talent quickly in the Swamp, especially with other linebackers hitting the transfer portal. Fortunately, Florida is expected to add Ohio State linebacker [autotag]Teradja Mitchell[/autotag] through the portal and has [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag], [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Derek Wingo[/autotag] to lean on next season.
Burney could be a late-round pick in the upcoming draft with draft grades as high as the fifth round, but he could wind up as an undrafted free agent as well. His combine and pro-day performances should heavily influence whether an NFL team is willing to give him a shot or not.
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