Florida football: Breaking down a wild Gator offseason

The 2019 Florida football offseason has been anything but normal. From the Chris Steele scandal to being identified around the country as “Transfer U”, this article will break down what happened around the Florida program in the past eight months.

The Gators’ 2018 campaign ended with extreme momentum, as the Gators won 4 straight games and earned a convincing victory in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl over a solid Michigan squad. A promising offseason looked to be ahead for the Gators.

The beginning of the offseason was typical. Florida’s stars such as defensive end Jachai Polite, offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, linebacker Vosean Joseph, and running back Jordan Scarlett all declared for the NFL Draft shortly after the bowl game.

But key contributors such as wide receiver Van Jefferson, running back Lamical Perine, defensive tackle Adam Shuler, defensive end Jabari Zuniga, and linebacker David Reese all decided to return to Florida. Then, coveted graduate transfer defensive end Johnathan Greenard chose to leave Louisville and come to Florida as well.

So, the offseason was off to a good start. Dan Mullen also hired Torrian Gray to coach the defensive backs at Florida following Charlton Warren’s decision to go to Georgia. Gray was a good hire as he had NFL experience, and had coached at Florida in the 2016-2017 season where he had success with early-round draft picks Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson. The Gators also signed a top 10 recruiting class in February.

Additionally, spring practice went well for UF, and the Gators felt good about the depth they had on both sides of the ball. The Gators were even tagged as a College Football Playoff dark horse. The offseason was a success up to the end of spring practice.

One aspect of Dan Mullen’s first season that fans appreciated was the lack of off the field drama. During the season, it felt like the players played and the coaches coached without off the field legal issues and drama in general. However, following spring practice, things began to unravel.

It all started with incoming recruits Jalon Jones and Chris Steele. Jones was a four-star quarterback prospect who looked to be Florida’s QB of the future. Steele was rated as a five-star cornerback by Rivals and was the Gators’ highest-ranked incoming prospect. Jones and Steele were assigned to be roommates at UF.

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Jones mysteriously entered the transfer portal on April 30 and nobody outside of the program understood it. There was speculation that maybe there was just too much competition at QB for Jones and so he transferred to get a better opportunity elsewhere. But the story came out soon after Jones’ decision.

The story is long and confusing but here’s a general idea. In early April, Jalon Jones was accused of sexual battery by two Florida students. According to The Gainesville Sun’s Zach Abolverti, Chris Steele asked the Florida staff to switch his dorm due to Jones’ behavior. The staff declined his request because there were not available dorm rooms but they promised to move him over the summer.

Steele and his family did not take the staff’s decision well and Steele entered the transfer portal on May 9th. His decision sent shockwaves throughout the nation and Steele’s decision was declared an epic fiasco and the absolute fault of Dan Mullen and his staff.

Now, I won’t discuss this too much, but this story is a little fishy. If the UF staff was truthful and there were no open dorms, then it seems like promising a move over the summer was all they could do. There are a limited number of football dorm rooms after all.

Steele also transferred not once but twice following his departure from UF. He first transferred to Oregon on May 14 but then decided to transfer again to USC on June 4th. These transfers do make me question Steele’s decision making. It’s possible that Steele was just homesick and used the Jalon Jones scandal as a way out. However, I still believe the blame should fall on the Florida staff because no matter what, Steele did not feel comfortable at the University of Florida and that is an issue.

The Gators have also been named “Transfer U” by fans across the country because of the numerous Gator players who have transferred this offseason. A total of nine players have transferred this offseason including Jones and Steele.

The other seven are wide receiver Daquon Green, center T.J. McCoy, defensive end Antonneous Clayton, defensive end Malik Langham, linebacker Kylan Johnson, linebacker Rayshad Jackson, and cornerback Brian Edwards.

However, excluding Steele, these players were not expected to make major contributions to the team this year. It is always good to have depth at every position.

But these players made the decision that was best for them and you cannot fault them for that. Suggesting that these players transferred because of a culture problem within the program is laughable and those who suggest this idea are uneducated about the situations of these players.

Additionally, the fact that Florida is labeled “Transfer U” doesn’t make sense. Since the beginning of last season, four SEC schools have had more players enter the transfer portal than Florida.

Arkansas leads the pack with 23 players, followed by Auburn with 13 players, LSU with 13 players, and South Carolina with 12 players. Since the beginning of last season, 11 Gator players have entered the transfer portal.

The final piece of this wild offseason consists of the problem at Florida regarding violence against women. Dan Mullen has been heavily criticized in the past week for having three players and one coach are all no longer with the program for violence against women this offseason.

The first was quarterback Jalon Jones who was accused of sexual battery by two Florida students in early April. The two students did not pursue a criminal case against Jones but Jones still transferred.

Then later that month, then-assistant director of player personnel Otis Yelverton was arrested for cyberstalking his girlfriend and threatening to blow up her car. He was not charged as the evidence was “legally insufficient to form the basis for a prosecution” but he is still no longer on the Gator staff.

In May, cornerback Brian Edwards was also arrested for grabbing his girlfriend by the neck during a fight. His case was dropped as well due to insufficient evidence but Edwards decided to transfer. Finally, defensive back John Huggins was dismissed from Florida on August 10 for reasons that have not yet been specified. However, Huggins had an incident in October where Huggins was accused of choking a student during a tutoring session. Huggins was already disciplined with a suspension last season for this accusation but was not charged.

All three of the players and the one coach that has had any kind of issue regarding violence against women are no longer with the Florida Football program. That is a fact and the notion that Dan Mullen is not holding his players accountable for criminal activity is ignorant. I am a believer that you are responsible for your actions in life. Dan Mullen has not created a culture problem. Some of his players and staff have made terrible decisions and every one of them is gone as a result of these decisions.

On a brighter note, the Gators did receive good news on August 9 when former five-star defensive end Brenton Cox transferred from Georgia to Florida. Cox will be a redshirt sophomore next season and will be a defensive force in the future for Florida defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. But as of now, it looks like Cox will sit the 2019 season out.

There have also been rumors of former four-star defensive back and LSU transfer Kelvin Joseph wanting to make a transfer to Florida. Joseph is expected to transfer to Florida in the next few weeks. Joseph would also sit for a year and then have a key role in the Gators 2020 campaign.

The Gators begin their 2019 campaign on August 24 against Miami in Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.