Florida football: Gators offer huge SEC OL in the transfer portal

Florida football has started to hone in on the players that they want to go after in the transfer portal, and are making contact with guys that they hope to make Gators this offseason.

One of the latest players to receive an offer from Billy Napier and the Gators is a huge offensive lineman who is transferring away from Sam Pittman and Arkansas.

Devon Manuel, a sophomore offensive lineman originally from Sunset, Louisiana, is looking for a new home after spending two years in Fayetteville.

While he doesn’t have a ton of experience on the field, he would be a valuable part of the Gators’ transfer class.

Florida football: Stack up the bodies

The trenches in SEC football games, to put it lightly, are not a safe place. You get beat up and bruised on every snap, making it incredibly important to have good depth at those positions.

When you get the chance to add a body as massive as Manuel through the transfer portal, you have to go for it.

Devon stands at 6’9”-310 and is a menacing sight to see on the offensive line. If he gets his hands on you, good luck getting past him.

While at Arkansas he only appeared in one game and has three years of eligibility left. That lack of experience does raise a couple of red flags and will make teams a little more cautious as they go after him in the portal.

But the Gators’ coaches see something that they like on Devon’s tape, as they were one of the first teams to extend him an offer.

Napier knows that he has to do a great job in the transfer portal in order to flip the Gators’ roster and win some games next year.

Building up depth in the trenches is a big part of that.