One of the harsh lessons in the world of recruiting is that no matter how stout one looks on film and no matter how high one’s star rating may be, there is always going to be the lingering doubt of whether or not a player is going to be a bust in college. Sometimes, a player’s star rating is even across the board, so if that player misses, then everyone missed.
But sometimes, as was the case with Jamonta Waller, their star rating is all over the board, and it causes some pretty severe online wars
Two years later, it looks like the people who sold low on Waller were right all along.
Jamonta Waller has hit the transfer portal
If you don’t remember Waller, he was the EDGE out of Mississippi who was a near-unanimous top 100 player, who both Rivals and ESPN had as a five-star at one point. But On3 had him rated as a three-star prospect. He committed to Florida in June of 2023 but wound up flipping to Auburn by November of 2023.
In between, Florida fans, us included, were perplexed as to why On3 had Waller graded as a three-star at the time. The main knock against him was his size, and in our profile of Waller, we did note his size could be a limiting factor once in college:
“So why is there such a disconnect surrounding him? On film, he is a nightmare for opposing linemen to try and block. His main calling card is as a speed rusher around the edge, but he does have the ability to shed blocks and cut inside to disrupt plays.
His overall disengagement moves are limited, but he utilizes quick stutter steps to set linemen up the wrong way before blowing by them. When locked up, he is lightning quick at being able to take a step back to break away before continuing his pursuit.
For our money here at Hail Florida Hail, we see Waller closer to a four-star prospect. His size is a concern that makes it hard to trust him as a can’t-miss five-star. With normal weight gain, Waller would match the size of Scooby Williams, the smallest EDGE player listed on Florida’s roster right now.
Once in college, is he going to have the strength and power to disengage when he’s going to be locked up by 340-pound left tackles as opposed to the 250-pound guys he’s abusing right now?”
Invisible Man
Once Waller made it to campus at Auburn, he was essentially never seen on the field again. He played 10 snaps against Alabama A&M in 2024, and that was it. He had a foot injury towards the end of 2024 that hindered him in the spring, and he didn’t take a single snap in 2025.
Like Florida, Auburn fired its head coach and has a new staff in town. And like Florida, it is not shocking to see guys who haven’t played in two years hit the portal.
Is there still potential for Waller? We would like to think so, given how dominant he looked in high school.
But until then, he still has a long way to go to look like the player we all argued about online.