Exclusive: WR transfer set to Join Gators to end busy portal week
Florida is hosting some more transfer players to end the ‘Contact Period’ week of portal visits
Florida is hosting former Alabama wide receiver Malik Benson on campus for a visit that started early Saturday morning. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, a Kansas native, finished the 2023 season for the Tide with 13 receptions for 162 yards and a touchdown. Benson signed with the Crimson Tide as the No. 1 ranked Junior College recruit in the country within the 2023 recruiting class. Coming out of Hutchinson Community College, he picked Alabama over a laundry list of other schools.
Five-Star 2025 CB Names Florida in Top 8
Composite five-star cornerback and class of 2025 Mission Viejo (Calif.) High cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. named Florida among his top eight schools on Friday, via On3 Sports. Washington, Georgia, Oregon, Southern California, LSU, Penn State and Arizona round out Lee’s list of contending programs, trimmed from an offer sheet consisting of at least 20 scholarship offers. Florida entered the race for Lee’s playing services by extending an offer in Oct. 2023, while Corey Raymond was employed as the Gators’ secondary coach.
Raymond was relieved of his duties the next month, but UF remained in Lee’s favor after its December hiring of Will Harris to oversee the position. Like Lee, Harris hails from the Los Angeles area originally, having grown up in Pasadena and played college football at Southern Cal in the mid-2000s. Lee is considered the No. 5 cornerback and No. 23 overall prospect in the class of 2025 by the 247Sports composite rankings. A 6-foot-3, 180-pound cornerback, Lee has recorded 87 tackles with five for loss, one sack, four interceptions and 16 pass breakups over two varsity seasons with Mission Viejo. A threatening kick returner, Lee averaged 28.9 yards per attempt over 13 tries in 2023. He also scored four touchdowns as a receiver.
As Florida closes the book that was the 2024 recruiting cycle and opens that of the 2025 class, it already possesses one commitment to build around, in the form of Tampa (Fla.) Plant running back Waltez Clark.
What to make of Florida’s offensive line room
Florida’s offensive line was a disappointment after a promising year one under Billy Napier, ranking 66th in pass block and 52nd in run block in the 2023 season, according to Pro Football Focus. The Gators are down six offensive linemen from last season’s squad, including starters Micah Mazzccua (transfer), Richie Leonard (transfer) and Kingsley Eguakun (NFL).
Roster attrition is not a necessarily a bad thing, especially considering the offensive line was a weakness for Gators in 2023. The problem is finding quality offensive linemen through the transfer portal that can make a positive impact on your team. It’s risky relying on the transfer portal for success in the SEC, but Florida doesn’t have much of a choice ahead of a critical 2024 season as they need to bolster one of the most important position groups in college football.
OFFSEASON ADDITIONS
Florida has added two offensive linemen to date through the transfer portal: San Diego State’s Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson and Arkansas’ Devon Manuel.
At the surface, both look like welcomed additions to the roster. Crenshaw-Dickson is a 6’6, 310-pound senior that has 2,410 career snaps across 36 starts. During the 2023 season, Crenshaw-Dickson allowed just nine pressures and three sacks while playing both left and right tackle. His pass blocking grade of 80.0 ranked T-34th amongst qualifying FBS tackles, according to PFF.
Manuel, a 6’9, 310-pound offensive tackle, logged 417 snaps with the Razorbacks last season, allowing four sacks, two QB hits and two QB pressures across 195 pass blocking snaps. Manuel also posted a run blocking grade of 69.9, which was the 2nd highest grade on the Razorbacks. Manuel will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Crenshaw-Dickson and Manuel graded out higher than any offensive tackle on Florida’s roster outside of Lyndell Hudson, who logged just 176 snaps in 2023.
Here’s the comparison via PFF.
Crenshaw-Dickson: 73.5
Lyndell Hudson: 72.0
Devon Manuel: 70.1
Austin Barber: 64.1
Kam Waites: 61.3
Damieon George: 60.2
Florida also added four offensive linemen through the high school ranks including Flecther Westphal, Mike Wiliams, Marcus Mascoll, and Noel Portnjagin. However, I wouldn’t count on any of the freshmen to contribute heavily in year one given how the roster is shaking out.
POSITION CHANGES?
Florida now has a mess of returning tackles including Austin Barber, Kamryn Waites, Damieon George to go along with the two latest additions. Ultimately, the best two tackles of this group will win starting positions. However, as an offensive line coach, you want to try and get your best five offensive lineman on the field.
With the current state of the room, I think it’s best to move Waites and George inside, or at the very least have them ready to play both guard and tackle. Both Waites and George have experience at guard and could provide much needed depth there following the departure of starting guard Richie Leonard. If neither land a starting spot at guard, I see Waites and George as flex pieces that can fill in pretty much anywhere across the offensive line in case of injury. With the addition’s Crenshaw-Dickson and Manuel as well as the return of Austin Barber, I do not see a clear path to playing time at tackle for Waites and George. I also think their play styles better suit them for guard, so the switch seems like a no-brainer to me.
Another move I would consider making is moving Austin Barber inside. If the goal is to get your five best offensive linemen on the field at the same time, this might be a switch worth looking into.
Barber switched from right tackle to left tackle in 2023 and was not as successful. Barber posted an offensive grade of 64.1 at left tackle last season after recording a grade of 79.3 in 2022 while primarily playing right tackle.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Austin had to play guard at some point in his career, maybe not here at University of Florida, but at some point in his career,” Offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton said ahead of the 2023 season. “He’s smart, he’s athletic, he plays with the right mindset. And so, again, we try to train guys that can do more than one thing that are not one trick ponies, and he’s excelling right now. And he’s taking a step forward into being a leader for us and that’s something that we needed.”
Here’s a look at what Florida’s offensive line could look like if the 2024 season started tomorrow.
Manuel, Barber, Slaughter, Harris, Crenshaw-Dickson
OR
Crenshaw-Dickson / Manuel, Waites/George, Slaughter, Harris, Barber
It could also be neither of these options. After all, portal season is not over yet. I think it’s in Florida’s best interest to target an interior offensive lineman in the transfer portal. There’s no telling how Florida’s offensive line will shake out in 2024, but the Gators are adding valuable pieces to the puzzle ahead of spring camp.
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