Jessamen Dunker to Transfer

Will Muschamp met with the media on Wednesday afternoon and the first news on the docket was big. Jessamen Dunker has decided to transfer from the University of Florida.

A highly rated recruit, Dunker was a Parade All-American, out of Boynton Beach high school, Dunker spent his first season in Gainesville redshirting and earned scout team player of the week honors prior to Florida’s game against Tennessee.

Dunker was thought to be the replacement for James Wilson at left guard before he was indefinitely suspended from the team following an arrest for grand theft auto, a third degree felony, last January.

Dunker was pulled over for riding a scooter too close to another vehicle and for driving without without the proper tags. After pulling Dunker over, police realized that the scooter Dunker was riding had been reported as stolen and when he failed to provide his license or documentation showing that he owned the scooter, was taken into police custody.

Dunker was released from jail the following day only to find out that he would be suspended from all team activity indefinitely. Will Muschamp spoke briefly about Dunker at his opening spring press conference.

“He’s been suspended, I haven’t had any communication [with Dunker],” Muschamp said.

With spring practice long and over, it appears the head coach has had some time to communicate with his player and we now have some finality to the situation.

Dunker met with Will Muschamp today and according to Muschamp, Dunker decided to get a fresh start elsewhere.

“He’s got some pretty well-documented off the field issues and he needs a fresh start,” Muschamp said. “He felt like he needed a fresh start and I didn’t disagree with him. We support him and hope for the best for him.”

The school then released a statement on behalf of Dunker

“I’m looking for a fresh start. I’m very thankful for the opportunity I’ve had here to [play for] Coach [Tim] Davis and the entire coaching staff.”

Dunker’s legal battle is still ongoing and he will appear in court again on May, 7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC