With the 120th overall pick in the fourth round, the New York Jets selected Lamical Perine.
Perine appeared in 50 games over his four-year career with 22 starts, finishing his career with 2,485 rushing yards and 3,159 all-purpose yards. Perine shared the backfield with other running backs for three years but took over the starting job as a senior. He finished his career in a big way, posting a career-high 138 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
Perine joins Marcus Maye, Brian Poole, Jonotthan Harrison, and Jabari Zuniga in New York with the Jets.
2019: Appeared and started in all 13 games his senior year with the Gators… Led the team with 676 rushing yards in 132 carries (5.1 avg.) and six touchdowns… A dual-threat back, he also logged 262 receiving yards on 40 catches (6.6 avg.) and five touchdowns… Finished the season tied second among FBS backs with the most receiving touchdowns (5) … His five receiving touchdowns were the most in a season by a Gators back since fullback James Jones achieved that same feat in 1982… One of only two FBS backs in 2019 to finish with at least 40 receptions, 125-plus carries, five rushing and receiving touchdowns, more than 675 rushing yards, and 250-plus receiving yards… Closed his career with a career-high 138 rushing yards against Virginia during the 2019 Orange Bowl.
2018: Played in all 13 contests and recorded one start (Missouri)… Led the team with 134 carries, 826 rushing yards, and seven touchdowns… Caught 13 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown… Ranked first on the Gators in total yards (996) and second in scoring (48)… Tallied a pair of rushing touchdowns against LSU and South Carolina… Notched 100-yard rushing performances at Vanderbilt (23-121) and Florida State (13-129)… Tallied 22 rushes of more than 10 yards… Bought into Dan Mullen’s philosophy to spilt carries with Jordan Scarlett, which kept them both fresh throughout a game and the entire season… Overall, the Gators ranked fourth in the SEC in yards per carry (5.29) and yards per game (213.15) and totaled 2,771 yards rushing on 526 attempts during the season… That mark passed the 2007 Gators (2,602) for the program’s third-highest rushing yardage total since the start of 1990; only the 2008 Gators (3,326) and 2009 Gators (3,105) had higher totals… Also as a team, UF rushed for 200-plus yards nine times, which tied the 2008 Gators for the highest number of times it hit that mark in a season since the start of 1996… Perine (826) and Scarlett (776) are the first pair of Gators with at least 775 rushing yards in a season since Elijah Williams (858) and Terry Jackson (780) both hit that mark in 1995… Was one of three players (Scarlett, Feleipe Franks) who scored at least five rushing touchdowns, which marked the first time UF accomplished that feat since 2010.
2017: Spent the season as Florida’s most consistent running back and offensive player… Played in all 11 contests and started eight times… Led the team with 136 carries, 562 rushing yards and eight touchdowns… Caught 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown… Ranked first on the Gators in total yards (643)… Rushed for 58 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries against Vanderbilt, marking the first multi-touchdown game of his career… With that performance, he became the first UF running back to score three touchdowns in a game since DeShawn Wynn did so against Kentucky in 2005… One week later, he tallied 12 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns against LSU… With those back-to-back performances, he was the first UF player to rush for at least two touchdowns in consecutive games since Mike Gillislee did so against Texas A&M and LSU in 2012… His nine total touchdowns rank as the fifth most a UF running back since 1996 (1: Kelvin Taylor – 13, 2015; 2: Ciatrick Fason – 12, 2004; 3: Mike Gillislee – 11, 2012; 4: Earnest Graham – 11, 2002)… Tallied a career-high 20 attempts on the ground against UAB… Recorded a career-high four catches for 30 yards and his first-career receiving touchdown at Missouri.
2016: Played in all 13 games throughout the season… Finished second on the team with 421 yards on 91 carries (4.6 avg) and one touchdown… Caught nine passes for 161 yards and one touchdown… Had a 17.9 average yards per reception, which ranked second on the team… Was the team’s leading rusher against Kentucky (105 yards) and Missouri (106 yards)… Was one of 14 FBS true freshmen to post multiple 100-yard rushing games and one of eight to post both 100-yard games against a Power Five opponent… Became the first UF freshman running back since Jeff Demps in 2008 to have multiple 100-yard rushing games against SEC Opponents… Overall, he became the 16th UF true freshman since 1955 to rush for 100 yards in a game… Scored his first-career touchdown on a 28-yard reception against Kentucky… Recorded his first rushing touchdown against North Texas on a two-yard scamper in the second quarter… Served as a reserve kick returner as he totaled four kickoff returns for 86 yards (21.5 average)… Notched his longest return of the season (41 yards) against Missouri.