The news of Jayden Woods hitting the transfer portal is a significant blow to the Florida Gators ahead of the 2026 season. Woods was coming off a solid freshman campaign and could have been the anchor for an EDGE unit that could have been in the top half in the SEC next year.
But as they say, when one door closes, another door opens, and the departure of Woods just means an incoming freshman at EDGE will need to step up sooner rather than later.
KJ Ford now becomes a key player for the Gators in 2026
If you rewind to this past summer, the saga to try and land a top-rated EDGE for the class of 2026 was winding. Eventually, the Gators did get the commitment of KJ Ford out of Texas and were able to retain his commitment even after Billy Napier was fired.
Ford is considered a composite top 150 player in the country and is the 16th-ranked EDGE from the class of 2026. He had been on the radar of the Gators for a while, and when we profiled him back in July, we said:
“We noted from his sophomore film that he could benefit from a bit more explosiveness, and he needed to showcase that he could be "the guy," given that he got to play with the five-star prospect Colin Simmons.
Safe to say that Ford has made that leap, and his explosiveness jumps out immediately in his film from his junior campaign.”
Even with that, Ford still has the profile of a guy a team would typically bring along a bit more slowly, while he adds the size needed to hold up in the SEC. And the Gators had a roster makeup prior to Woods hitting the portal that would have allowed Ford do just that. An EDGE group of Woods, Kamran James, LJ McCray, and a potential transfer portal add would have enabled Ford to rotate in here and there, but it wouldn’t have forced him to be “the guy” in 2026.
But now, depending on what Florida does in the transfer portal itself, Ford might need to be a day-one impact player for the Gators. It’s not saying he can’t do it; it’s just harder for a true freshman to do it at EDGE compared to some other positions. Even Woods, who had a higher profile than Ford, still has a leap to make to be one of the true impact players in college football.
This is also the new reality of college football, where guys better be ready to step up right away because the old days of hanging out in the weight room for a couple of years before being unleashed are long gone.