With Billy Napier fired and Jon Sumrall hired, the Gators suffered a mass exodus of players to the transfer portal. In total, 34 players for Florida hit the portal, and almost all of them have found a new home by this point.
But while losing 34 players has required Sumrall to restock the cupboard, the actual loss of returning production isn’t as high as that of numerous other Power Four programs.
Florida retained more production than others
There are seven Power Four programs that watched at least 30% of their total snaps from 2025 hit the portal. Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Auburn, Colorado, Michigan State, California, and Penn State all met the threshold of 30% of their total snaps departing for a new home. Of those, Colorado is the only program that didn’t undergo a coaching change ahead of 2026.
Seven Power Four teams lost at least 30% of their total offensive + defensive snaps to the transfer portal this season 🏈🌀
— Cody Nagel (@CodyNagel247) January 21, 2026
Iowa St — 62.56%
Oklahoma St — 53.01%
Auburn — 39.35%
Colorado* — 37.15%
Michigan St — 34.32%
California — 33.66%
Penn St — 31.93%
* No coaching change pic.twitter.com/uUvjEm2fuE
Notably not on that list despite losing 34 players was Florida.
The Gators did lose 29.5% of their total snaps on offense, mostly due to DJ Lagway and Hayden Hansen departing. The defense lost just 20.5% of its total snaps from 2025, with Jordan Castell being the most notable name to leave.
Add it all together, and Florida had 25% of their total snaps from 2025 wind up in the portal for 2026.
Still holes to plug
Florida lost some players who could still go on to be great players, but they seemingly have solutions to soften those blows. Eugene Wilson and Aidan Mizell left, but Florida’s wide receiver room still feels stacked. Likewise, Ja’Kobi Jackson, KD Daniels, and Treyaun Webb all left, but Florida still has Jadan Baugh to bolster the running back room.
In truth, the biggest holes Florida has to fill heading into 2026 are more due to graduation rather than anything that left in the portal. The offensive line saw Austin Barber and Jake Slaughter graduate, and the defensive line saw Caleb Banks, Tyreak Sapp, and George Gumbs Jr. also graduate.
Florida has tried to fill in the trenches via the portal, but this will still be an area that has question marks entering 2026.