With the second transfer portal window of the offseason currently open, the Gators will look to add players to improve their roster heading into fall camp. Athletes have until April 30th to enter their name in the portal.
As of April 26th, Florida has 80 scholarship players on their roster. That means the Gators can add up to five players through the portal if nobody else transfers out of Gainesville. If we do see more departures, Billy Napier will have some more wiggle room, potentially allowing him to be less selective in the portal.
Gator Country provides five positions that Florida could look to improve through the transfer portal.
QUARTERBACK
Billy Napier and his staff want four scholarship QBs for the upcoming season.
“Yeah, I think that process is underway to some degree,” Napier said on if he plans to add a quarterback through the portal.
“I think we’ll know more pretty soon. That’s what I would say in that regard. Yes, we anticipate adding a player to our team at that position,” Napier said after the Orange and Blue game.
Unfortunately for the Gators, there’s not too many options at quarterback in the portal as of now. With just four days left to enter the portal, we should have a better idea of the direction the Gators will go in by the end of the month.
At this point in time, I think it’s going to be difficult to add a starting caliber QB. It’s awfully late in the process as the QB addition would need to learn the playbook before fall camp to have any chance of starting, which would be incredibly hard to do without any live reps. It’s certainly not impossible, but I haven’t seen any names in the portal that would fit the description of an immediate starter at Florida in 2023.
SAFETY
Billy Napier has been vocal about adding at least one safety through the transfer portal.
“I think it’s a position that’s probably a little thin,” Billy Napier said during spring football.
As it stands right now, Florida’s projected starters are sophomores Miguel Mitchell and Kamari Wilson, while the backups are a pair of true freshmen and a redshirt sophomore with no game experience.
This is a position where I could see the Gators taking two guys.
OFFENSIVE LINE
After losing a few key players to injuries, offensive line depth has become a slight concern heading into fall camp. Florida is already looking into adding a tackle, and I suspect they may look into adding a guard as well.
Florida has 16 scholarship offensive lineman as of now, so I would not be surprised to see some of the veteran offensive linemen who have not seen the field decide to move on, creating more room for additions along the offensive line.
WIDE RECEIVER
These last few aren’t necessarily needs, but I could see Florida adding a player if it’s the right fit. With the departure of Xzaiver Henderson, Florida’s depth at receiver took a hit. The Gators will lean on their trio of true freshman quite a bit in 2023, but I could see Napier wanting to add a veteran to the room, helping to bridge the gap for the young and talented receivers.
EDGE
This is pretty much the same situation as receiver. The departure of Antwuan-Powell Ryland hurt Florida’s depth at edge heading into summer. However, the Gators like what they have in freshman TJ Searcy and Kelby Collins, who both made plenty of noise in Florida’s spring camp.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
TIGHT END AND RUNNING BACK
Florida’s staff would prefer to have five scholarship running backs; however, they won’t reach for one with the current state of the room and limited scholarships to give out.
The Gators have five healthy tight ends and could really benefit from a receiving tight end addition. However, I don’t believe Florida’s staff has much interest here; I think the fit would need to be perfect for Florida to make a move at this position.