Tracking Florida’s transfer portal departures following 2023 season

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday, Dec. 4, and a slew of Florida Gators have already entered their names.

Players have 30 days from Monday to enter their names into the portal without losing eligibility. All undergraduates get one free transfer, and graduate students can enter the portal at any time. Entering the portal doesn’t guarantee a departure from the program, but it is rare to see players return.

Some big names have already left Gainesville, including defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen and running back Trevor Etienne.

Here’s a closer look at which players Florida is losing to the transfer portal this offseason.

CB Jadarrius Perkins

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Jadarrius Perkins was the first Gator to leave the team this cycle. After playing just one snap in the season opener against Utah, Perkins left the team, publicly announcing his decision to transfer on social media.

He thanked former Florida head coach Dan Mullen but failed to mention the current staff, all but confirming his departure came on bad terms. Perkins was vocal throughout the season whenever the Gators ran into trouble, especially when the secondary struggled.

Perkins played two years of JUCO ball with Mississippi Gulf Coast before joining the SEC. He started off the Missouri but moved to Florida after spring camp. He played in all 13 games for the Gators during his Napier’s first season.

OT Jordan Herman

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Reserve offensive lineman Jordan Herman was the second player to leave the team during the regular season, leaving the program in November. He played just 28 snaps for Florida over two years after transferring from Hutchinson Community College.

Herman still has two years of eligibility remaining. Arizona State, Arkansas State, Eastern Michigan and Texas State have all offered him, according to Herman’s Twitter account.

Unlike Perkins, Herman had to wait until Dec. 4 before officially entering the portal.

TE Jonathan Odom

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Jonathan Odom led the next wave of portal announcements, which came immediately after Florida’s season-ending loss to Florida State. Odom posted a graphic to social media on Nov. 26.

Odom spent four seasons with the program but leaves with two years of eligibility left, thanks to COVID and a redshirt. He never found a steady role in Florida’s offense and sat out the rest of the season following Florida’s win over Tennessee.

Several Power Five programs were interested in Odom coming out of high school, but he’s more likely to find a start job at a mid-major or lower after dealing with injuries in back-to-back seasons.

K Adam Mihalek

Next up was kicker Adam Mihalek, who started at Florida as a walk-on, earned a scholarship and eventually lost his starting job to sophomore Trey Smack.

Mihalek is capable, but he was not consistent enough for Napier and the Gators. Two missed field goals and a missed point-after attempt is all it takes to lose a job in the SEC. Still, he’s hit from 52 yards in a game. Some team should give him the chance he deserves.

WR Caleb Douglas

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Caleb Douglas started the year as Florida’s No. 2 receiver, but an injury against Kentucky in Week 5 sidelined him for the rest of the season. With Florida’s young receivers set to enter the rotation next year, Douglas is pursuing other starting options.

On3’s Hayes Fawcett initially broke the news just a day after Douglas tweeted out, “Decisions…Decisions…Decisions #GodsPlan,” on Nov. 28. Douglas officially announced he was in the transfer portal on social media when it opened on Dec. 4.

QB Max Brown

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Reports of quarterback Max Brown’s departure came in just after the Douglas news. Brown reposted a report from On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Nov. 29, all but confirming things. He officially entered the portal on Dec. 4.

Brown joined Napier’s first recruiting class at Florida as a three-star project player who would learn behind Anthony Richardson, Jack Miller and Graham Mertz. After sitting all of his first year with the Gators, Brown saw the field in six games as a redshirt freshman in 2023. He started the FSU game and played most of the second half against Missouri.

With Mertz returning for another year at UF and five-star recruit DJ Lagway joining the team in 2024, Brown is looking for a shot to be the starter somewhere.

WR Thai Chiakhiao-Bowman

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Florida lost another receiver just days after the reported departure of Caleb Douglas. Second-year pass catcher Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman bid farewell to Gator Nation on the final day of November and officially entered the portal on Dec. 4.

He played in Florida’s final two games of 2023 as a special teamer after dealing with injury for most of the year. He finished 2022 with 138 yards on seven catches, playing in 12 games.

Cal and Miami are two of his offers so far.

DL Keenan Landry

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Second-year defensive lineman Keenan Landry announced his transfer intentions just a day before the portal opened. Landry was originally a walk-on at Florida in 2022, before earning a scholarship the following season. The JUCO transfer (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) only made three appearances for Florida, redshirting in 2022.

TE Andrew Savaiinaea

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:  No appearances

Andrew Savaiinaea joined the Gators as a member of Billy Napier’s transition class at Florida, but he’s leaving the Swamp after just two years as a depth player. Savaiinaea was recruited as a defensive end, but Florida had him switch to tight end ahead of the 2022 season to add some depth.

Savaiinaea announced his departure a day before the portal opened.

DL Chris McClellan

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Second-year defensive lineman Chris McClellan hopped on the trend of announcing his transfer decision a day before the portal opened.

McClellan made an instant impact for Florida as a crucial piece of the defensive line rotations. He made just one start over two seasons, but McClellan was on the field for over 600 snaps as a Gator. Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.6 tackling rating in 2023, which ranks eighth among qualified Florida defenders.

So far, Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Florida State, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma and SMU have offered him. The Sooners have the hometown advantage here.

OL Jalen Farmer

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Florida offensive lineman Jalen Farmer is another member of Napier’s first/transition class with the Gators who is leaving the program after two seasons.

Farmer played in just four games as a reserve guard. PFF gave him a pass-blocking rating over 80.0 in each of his two seasons with Florida, though. He’ll have three years of eligibility to prove himself wherever he lands. Farmer officially entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4, the same day he made his announcement.

RB Carlson Joseph (Walk-On)

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Carlson Joseph capped off the Dec. 4 entries to the transfer portal from Florida. He joined the team as a walk-on in the spring of 2021 and stayed with the program through the 2023 season. Coach Napier rewarded him with three rushes over two appearances.

Joseph has two years of eligibility remaining and is in the portal as a graduate student.

DL Will Norman

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Defensive lineman Will Norman is a rare first-year player on this list. He played in the first four games of the season as a true freshman before redshirting. Norman played mostly in a special teams role, taking just eight snaps on the defensive line.

DL Princely Umanmielen

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Perhaps the most surprising name on this list is fourth-year defensive lineman Princely Umanmielen, who wore the No. 1 jersey for Florida and anchored the front seven all year long.

Umanmielen was among the best pass rushers in the SEC, according to PFF, and he was thought to be a draft prospect before he announced his return to college football. It’s hard to see him transferring down from a starting JACK spot in the SEC, so look for him to end up at an Alabama or Georgia.

S Kamari Wilson

New School: Arizona State University

Florida Stats:

Update (12/16): Wilson seemed like a UCF lean after he thanked the recruiting staff publicly, but he announced his transfer to Arizona State on Saturday, Dec. 16. Former Florida quarterback commit Jaden Rashada welcomed Wilson to the team.

Kamari Wilson will always go down as the player who broke the IMG Academy curse at Florida, but his time with the Gators didn’t prove as fruitful as expected.

The former five-star recruit saw his playing time dip as a sophomore and decided to transfer after the first few games of the year. Conflicting reports surfaced after the regular season concluded, including an apparent family member denying the report, but Wilson took to Twitter on Dec. 7 to clear the record. He announced his official entry into the transfer portal and stated that there was no ill will between him and the coaching staff.

RB Trevor Etienne

New School: N/A

Florida Stats:

Rumblings of Trevor Etienne heading to the transfer portal began shortly after the regular season ended, but he took until Dec. 7 to officially announce his decision.

A devastating loss for Florida, Etienne was viewed as the future of the running back position in Gainesville. However, he’s draft-eligible next year and wants to win before he turns pro. Napier and his staff had time to convince Etienne to stay, but they couldn’t get the job done.

Etienne could still return. Gator fans would rejoice if he does, but that doesn’t seem likely, especially given the language of his announcement on social media. The crown jewel of Napier’s first draft class has all but one toe out of the door in Gainesville. He’ll be one of the most coveted players in the portal this cycle.

S Miguel Mitchell

New School: N/A

Mitchell played in 24 total games with the Orange and Blue, appearing in all 13 games during his true freshman year in 2022 as well as 11 of Florida’s 12 matchups in 2023. The Cotton State product recorded 52 total tackles (27 solo, 25 assisted) — which includes 1.5 tackles for a loss — as well as two passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble.

His career high in tackles came against the Arkansas Razorbacks this fall, against whom he collected six total tackles (two solo, four assisted) along with a pass breakup. Mitchell’s lone collegiate career interception came against the South Carolina Gamecocks two weeks prior, which helped the Gators earn the win that weekend.

The soon-to-be-former Gators safety was a three-star prospect coming out of high school, earning the MVP award in the 2021 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire