Former Florida EDGE now at LSU appears to throw shade at the Gators

The transfer portal in college football is both a great and absolutely horrendous thing. Players are able to transfer whenever they see fit and play for as many teams as they want to. For some players, they see it as a way to get a fresh start, and apparently, for former Gator EDGE rusher Jack Pyburn, he felt he needed one away from Gainesville.

After the Jacksonville native spent three seasons with the Gators, Pyburn decided to enter the transfer portal and ended up with the LSU Tigers. Pyburn grew up just about an hour away from the Swamp, so his picking the Gators for his college career seemed like a no-brainer; however, apparently, he never felt at home in Gainesville.

In his three seasons with the Florida Gators, Pyburn spent two as a backup and then last season started eight of the 12 games. As an EDGE rusher, Pyburn was put in different positions of either going after the quarterback, being used to stop the run, or even dropping back into coverage. Apparently, Pyburn didn't feel he was being utilized the way he should of, which caused him to transfer.

"I just feel like I needed a new opportunity to showcase who I am and what I'm about, and honestly, to prove myself right, knowing who I am as a player and a person," Pyburn said at LSU media coverage day.

Pyburn said he felt he wasn't being dropped into coverage as much as he should have been and was only being used to stop the run. He felt the Gators didn't see him as athletic.

Someone may want to tell Pyburn that sometimes, when playing for a team, you have to do what the coach wants from you in that moment because it is what is best for the team. The Gators needed help in the run game, and dropping into coverage wasn't necessary for Pyburn on defense. Of course, players will always feel like they can do more, but sometimes doing what is best for the team is all that matters.

Pyburn throws shade at Florida for its lack of tradition and guys in the NFL

Pyburn went as far as saying the reason he chose LSU was for the deep tradition at the school and the number of guys they have sent to the NFL. Again, someone may want to remind him that Florida has a lot of tradition and has also sent plenty of guys to the league.

Out of 380 guys drafted to the NFL, the Florida Gators have had 375 of those guys actually play in NFL games. That seems like a pretty good stat, and who knows, if Pyburn had stayed another year, he could have been added to that number as a Florida Gator, but now we will never know.