![Florida Gators edge Titus Bullard (17) looks on during fall football practice at Sanders Indoor Practice Fields at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, August 7, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01keshrgj45re80x2bb6.jpg "Florida Gators edge Titus Bullard (17) looks on during fall football practice at Sanders Indoor Practice Fields at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, August 7, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]")
From 1997 through 2000, Thaddeus Bullard appeared in 44 games with the Florida Gators before he spent some time in the Arena Football League. Bullard would go on to be more famously known as the WWE wrestler Titus O’Neil, and he still lives in the Tampa area.
Bullard’s son Titus has already been a member of the Gators for the past two seasons, and on Monday, they picked up a transfer from UCF that will put a pair of brothers in the Orange and Blue for 2026.
TJ Bullard commits to the Gators
Florida has picked up the commitment of UCF linebacker TJ Bullard, brother of Titus and son of Thaddeus. TJ Bullard appeared mostly in special teams for UCF in 2025, and he took 101 special teams snaps this year and has taken 235 over three seasons with the Knights. He did take 22 defensive snaps in 2025 and had one tackle.
TJ originally announced plans to enter the portal back on December 19.
It’s the type of pickup that isn’t going to create shockwaves or move Florida up any transfer portal rankings lists, but it is the type of pickup that is necessary in the modern world of college football. Even if Bullard only plays on special teams in 2026, the Gators need guys willing to take on that role for minimal NIL money. The reality with modern roster building is that guys 50-85 on the roster aren’t going to be four and five-star studs who are “waiting in the wings,” making players like Bullard necessary.
It also opens the door for Titus and TJ to be on the field at the same time. Titus came to Florida as a walk-on, and as of now, it would appear he is still on the roster. Titus has taken eight snaps over the past two seasons, but it would not be shocking to see him morph into a special-teams role in 2026.