The transfer portal for the spring has mostly fleshed itself out, and the Florida Gators haven't been super active in the spring portal. This continued a theme we saw in the winter, where Florida mostly sat on its hands rather than go out and attack the portal.
That doesn't mean Florida didn't find talent out there, and there are the three biggest additions in the portal on top of the three biggest losses Florida had from their roster.
Harrison Bailey is an important addition for the Florida Gators
The search for a backup QB was an adventurous one for Florida. Billy Napier and crew thought they had landed Charlotte QB Deshawn Purdie to backup DJ Lagway. But it turned out Purdie wants a shot at being a starter, something he wasn't going to get in Gainesville, so he transferred back out.
Florida quickly pivoted and landed Harrison Bailey, the former Tennessee and Louisville QB. Bailey fits the perfect profile of a veteran backup, and while behind-the-scenes reports indicate he fell behind Aidan Warner during the spring camp, the actual spring game made it clear Bailey is a capable QB who could come in if needed to lead a few drives.
J. Michael Sturdivant
Probably the biggest name Florida grabbed out of the portal, J. Michael Sturdivant had plenty of flash in his game while at UCLA. Most Gator fans saw clips of his performance against Southern Cal, when he had five catches for 117 yards, and were excited about the upside that he brings.
The question for Sturdivant is whether he will be consistent. He had just 22 catches off 40 targets in 2024. Both his reception rate (55%) and his yards per route run (0.95) were among the bottom third in the country.
Tommy Doman
It's telling how little Florida did in the transfer portal when a punter is among the biggest additions, but here we are.
In fairness to Tommy Doman, he is a solid punter the Gators got from Michigan. His leg isn't quite as strong as Jeremy Crawshaw's, but Doman did have fewer punts returned on him than Crawshaw.
Doman also had 17 punts downed inside the 20 against just three touchbacks in 2024.
Jack Pyburn highlights the departures
We can squabble and poke fun at Jack Pyburn wanting a pay raise despite just one career sack in three seasons with the Gators, but he is a player where the box score doesn't tell the whole story.
One of the reasons for Florida's defense turnaround in 2024 was the improved play of the defensive line, and a lot of that started as Pyburn started to get in the rotation.
His willingness to crack a pulling guard or tackle on a run play was unmatched, and he came up with more big stops than he will probably get credit for in the long run.
D'antre Robinson
Robinson was a late departure in the spring portal and quickly wound up at UNC. Given the lack of depth along defensive tackle, even if Robinson wasn't expected to be a starter, he was still going to be a key rotational piece in the trenches for the Gators.
Florida did pivot and pick up Brendan Bett from Baylor, who played 202 snaps for Baylor in 2023 before being ruled academically ineligible for 2024 after his family claims Baylor's academic advisors screwed some things up.
Gregory Smith III
One could argue that T.J. Searcy, Kelby Collins, and Ja'Keem Jackson are the bigger losses for Florida given their upside potential, but much like Robinson leaving hurts because of the lack of depth at defensive tackle, the lack of depth at safety makes Gregory Smith III leaving tough.
Smith took a ton of first-team reps with Florida during spring camp and was even named "Most Improved" by the end of camp. But he opted to hit the portal, and after being linked to UNC, he is now looking like he might wind up at Purdue.