Florida Gators Football

HEIGHT: 6'3½"

WEIGHT: 304

HAND: 10⅛"

ARM: 32½"

WINGSPAN: 80¼"

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40-YARD DASH: N/A

3-CONE: 7.57

SHUTTLE: 4.51

VERTICAL: 32"

BROAD: 9'1"

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POSITIVES

— Violent, heavy hands with snap and jolt on contact.

— Pops out of his stance to create space off the line and get to his spot first.

— Relentless, aggressive mentality as a finisher sets the tone for the unit.

— Plays thick and heavy into double-teams with the power to reset the line.

— Has the balance and grip strength to seal off lanes on drive and base blocks.

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NEGATIVES

— Heavily reliant on the two-hand strike leads to a feast-or-famine result in pass protection.

— Middling arm length can delay his ability to press and get defenders off his edges.

— Will get caught off-guard, out-leveraged and stoned on the move due to high pad level.

— Throws himself into blocks and can whiff for glaring losses.

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2023 STATISTICS

— Four starts at center

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NOTES

— Born March 23, 2001

— 3-star recruit from the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— 30 career starts at center

— Was the lone returning starter on the offensive line in 2023

— Missed eight games in 2023 due to an ankle injury

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OVERALL

Kingsley Eguakun is a three-year starter with 30 career starts at center in Florida's balanced (52-48 run-pass split), multiple run scheme centered around inside zone, duo and counter concepts. Eguakun has a stout, thick and sawed-off build with solid athletic ability and adequate play strength.

Eguakun is a scrappy, charged-up blocker with good initial burst out of his stance and heavy, stubborn hands to deliver jolt on contact. He flashes the body control and balance to sustain, but his lack of length and raw power led him to overcompensate with an ultra-aggressive approach that leads to whiffs and glaring losses.

In pass protection, Eguakun is a heavy two-hand striker who looks to end the fight quickly and can do so with authority in spurts. But adept, skilled rushers can set him up and access his edges with ease.

Overall, Eguakun brings a brawler's mentality at the pivot with the initial burst and pop to end the fight quickly and generate some splash finishes. But his lack of size and feast-or-famine approach will make it difficult for him to carve out more than a backup role, especially without positional versatility.

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GRADE: 5.7 (Backup/Draftable — 6th-7th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 210

POSITION RANK: IOL30

PRO COMPARISON: Cody Wallace

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn

Visit B/R's NFL Scouting Department hub for scouting reports on all of the top prospects.

Legendary running back Emmitt Smith is not happy with his alma mater.

After the University of Florida eliminated its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department and fired the 13 employees that previously made up the department, per Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun, Smith took to social media to say he was "utterly disgusted" by the decision:

pic.twitter.com/NkMvqkkHJa

— Emmitt Smith (@EmmittSmith22) March 3, 2024

"We cannot continue to believe and trust that a team of leaders all made up of the same background will make the right decision when it comes to equality and diversity," Smith wrote. "History has already proven that is not the case."

Smith also called on fellow athletes to speak up about the decision.

"Instead of showing courage and leadership, we continue to fail based on systemic issues and with this decision, UF has conformed to the political pressures of today's time," he wrote. "To MANY minority athletes at UF, please be aware and vocal about this decision by the University who is now closing doors on other minorities without any oversight."

Brockway noted the university's decision came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 267 into law in May 2023. The bill banned state funding for DEI programs at public universities in Florida.

The Florida Board of Education also made a decision in January to prohibit DEI spending at Florida College System Institutions.

The decision from the University of Florida in particular has led to plenty of backlash seeing how it is one of the state's most prominent colleges with more than 55,000 students.

Smith lends a notable voice to such backlash after he played for the Gators for three seasons from 1987 through 1989. He was an All-American and the SEC Player of the Year in his final collegiate season with 1,806 yards and 15 touchdowns from scrimmage in 11 games.

That was enough to convince the Dallas Cowboys to select him with a first-round pick in the 1990 NFL draft.

Smith won three Super Bowls and a league MVP during his Hall of Fame career in the NFL.

Following his decision to transfer to the University of Georgia for the 2024 college football season, running back Trevor Etienne took a shot at the University of Florida on Friday.

During an appearance on Real Talk (h/t On3.com's Nick Schultz), Etienne explained his rationale behind transferring and didn't speak glowingly about his former school:

"For me, it was like, does the good outweigh the bad? I've been with Florida for two years. I went through that whole process of rebuilding, it's kind of still rebuilding. I felt like there was a lot of uncertainty, so like, a lot of questions were unanswered. There's a lot of unknown going on. I felt like, I can stay here and do what I've been doing for another year or two, or bet on myself and take a chance somewhere else.

"Pretty much to sum it up, it was like, I can either be Running Back 2 on a losing team, or go somewhere—I wanted to play in December, too. That also played a big part in me transferring. So I said, I can stay Running Back 2 on a losing team or go somewhere and possibly be Running Back 1 and win a natty."

Etienne, who is the younger brother of current Jacksonville Jaguars and former Clemson running back Travis Etienne, spent his first two collegiate seasons at Florida.

The 19-year-old enjoyed two productive years with the Gators, rushing for 719 yards and six touchdowns in 2022, followed by 753 yards and eight touchdowns, plus 21 catches for 121 yards and a score last season.

While Etienne was an important part of Florida's offense, he finished second on the team in rushing to Montrell Johnson in both 2022 and 2023, which speaks to Etienne calling himself the Gators' RB2.

Additionally, Florida has finished with a losing record in each of the past three seasons, including a 5-7 mark in 2023, which saw it miss out on a bowl game for the first time since 2017.

Conversely, Georgia is a combined 32-2 over the past three years, and it won national championships in 2021 and 2022.

The Bulldogs were undefeated and the No. 1-ranked team in the nation entering the SEC Championship Game last season, but they lost to Alabama and were left out of the College Football Playoff.

However, Georgia is returning a ton of talent in 2024, including quarterback Carson Beck, who is viewed as an early Heisman Trophy contender.

Two key players who will not be back next season, though, are running backs Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, who both entered the 2024 NFL draft.

Edwards led the Bulldogs last season with 880 rushing yards and also rushed for 13 touchdowns, while Milton ran for 790 yards and 14 scores.

Georgia's leading rusher aside from Edwards and Milton in 2023 was Roderick Robinson II, who accrued only 196 yards.

That means Etienne will likely have a massive role in 2024 and could potentially be the Bulldogs' No. 1 running back.

That will not only allow him to play a lot for a team with national title aspirations, but it should significantly help his NFL draft stock as well.

HEIGHT: 6'1"

WEIGHT: 189

HAND: 9¼"

ARM: 30⅞"

WINGSPAN: 73⅜"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.41

3-CONE: 6.4

SHUTTLE: 4.05

VERTICAL: 42"

BROAD: 10'9"

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POSITIVES

— Great long speed. Really gets going once he is striding out.

— Very good length. Comes in handy when fighting off DBs or extending for the ball in the air.

— Great ball skills. Comfortably adjusts to the ball. Shows flashes of rare ability to make acrobatic catches.

— Detailed route-runner, particularly on deeper routes. Understands how to use head fakes and body positioning to set DBs up.

— Often used as a jet-sweep player to great effectiveness.

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NEGATIVES

— More of a build-up speed runner than someone with instant burst.

— Below-average ability to throttle down and explode back to the ball.

— Inconsistent flexibility and explosiveness. Clunky getting in and out of his breaks more often than not.

— Below-average play strength.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 12 G, 65 REC, 965 YDS (14.8 AVG), 4 TD

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NOTES

— Born Sept. 9, 2000

— 3-star recruit in Arizona State's 2019 class, per 247Sports

— Transferred from Arizona State to Florida in 2022

— 33 career starts (22 at Florida, 11 at Arizona State)

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OVERALL

Ricky Pearsall is a vertical slot receiver with the speed and ball skills to be a weapon.

Pearsall is on the skinnier side at 6'0⅞" and 193 pounds, which is why Florida often deployed him from the slot and put him in motion. The Gators did their best to keep hands off Pearsall at the line of scrimmage.

Doing so helped unlock Pearsall's speed. He does not have the instant top gear that elite speed threats do, but he keeps a great pace once he gets to stride out. That should be enough to make Pearsall dangerous on seams, posts and deep crossing routes in the NFL.

Pearsall's best routes all attack down the field. He does not have the speed control or flexibility to thrive on curls, digs, comebacks and other sharp routes, but he can manipulate DBs in space and attack with an explosive crossover step. That shows up best when Pearsall can run posts and deep over routes, allowing him to attack the DB vertically and to one shoulder before snapping back across their face.

Pearsall shows impressive ball skills as well. His one-handed catch in traffic against Charlotte in 2023 stands out, but he made a number of other acrobatic catches over the years. Even besides the extraordinary catches, Pearsall is reliable.

At the same time, Pearsall does lack the size and strength to be a dominant ball-winner in contested-catch scenarios. Bigger, stronger cornerbacks can corral Pearsall at the catch point before he even gets a real chance to go up for the ball.

Pearsall's long speed and hands give him the tools to blossom into a useful NFL receiver. However, his slight frame and uninspiring change-of-direction skills could give him a steep learning curve early on. Pearsall should be used similar to how the Jacksonville Jaguars deploy Christian Kirk.

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GRADE: 7.1 (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter — 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 73

POSITION RANK: WR14

PRO COMPARISON: Kenny Stills

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen

Visit B/R's NFL Scouting Department hub for scouting reports on all of the top prospects.

D'Antre Robinson wasted no time putting his name, image and likeness money to good use.

The Florida Gators freshman defensive lineman posted a video on his YouTube channel that showed him surprising his mother with a new house:

Nick de la Torre of On 3 noted Robinson initially committed to Texas but ended up enrolling with Florida in December after he was released from his national letter of intent. He signed a deal with Florida Victorious, which is one of the school's collectives that is involved in NIL.

While the details of the deal were not released, de la Torre noted On 3's NIL Valuation system estimates Robinson at $111,000.

Robinson was a 4-star prospect and the No. 261 overall player in the class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

He will look to help turn a Florida program around that is coming off three consecutive losing seasons.

The NCAA is investigating Florida football's 2022 recruitment of ASU quarterback Jaden Rashada, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

Rashada backed out of his commitment to Miami in November 2022 in order to sign a letter of intent with Florida. He was released from that agreement one month later after the $13 million NIL deal he made with a collective fell through.

The NCAA informed Florida of its investigation on June 9, 2023, according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press.

Steve McClain, a spokesperson for Florida, told ESPN Florida "will continue to cooperate with the NCAA."

"We hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and integrity on and off the field," McClain said. "Because we follow NCAA policies about maintaining confidentiality, we are unable to offer additional comments."

Florida head coach Billy Napier has previously said he was "not allowed to" discuss the details of what led to Rashada requesting a release from his national letter of intent in January 2023.

"I think the reality is the current structure of NIL with third parties being involved, with agents being involved, with marketing representatives, with lawyers, with collectives, very fluid, and I think a very unique dynamic," Napier said in February 2023.

Rashada signed an NIL contract with the Gator Collective, a group not officially affiliated with Florida, after flipping his commitment to the Gators.

According to The Athletic's Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples, the Gator Collective's contract promised Rashada $13.85 million over four years for "minimal NIL services such as posting on social media and autographing items."

That would have been the largest known NIL deal ever offered to a college player. After it fell apart, Rashada requested his release and the Gator Collective dissolved.

The NCAA's investigation is part of a larger trend of preventing colleges from using NIL deals to attract players during the recruiting process.

Last week the NCAA announced Florida State had violated ethical conduct rules by offering a prospect an NIL opportunity during recruiting. The NCAA subsequently levied a series of penalties against FSU including fines, reductions in football scholarships and recruiting opportunities, and a one-year separation from the collective involved in the deal.

Florida running back Trevor Etienne announced Thursday he's entering the transfer portal.

Trevor is the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars running back and former Clemson star Travis Etienne. While the Tigers were among the teams that pursued him, he opted to head to Gainesville coming out of high school.

Etienne was a 4-star recruit and the No. 190 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2022. In two years with the Gators, he ran for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

It sounds as though Thursday's decision was a long time coming.

Trevor Etienne going to the transfer portal might have been the worst kept secret in college football. Last week, #Jaguars RB Travis was telling me about how he felt his brother wasn't a good fit for Florida and Billy Napier. First two words that came to mind were "Uh, oh!"

— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) December 7, 2023

The Louisiana native is now the 13th-best player in the portal, per 247Sports. Power Five programs in need of immediate help in the backfield are likely to have him on their radar.

For Florida head coach Billy Napier, Etienne's departure creates more work ahead of the 2024 season. ESPN's Tom VanHaaren noted that 14 Gators players have now entered the portal.

Turnover like this is becoming increasingly common, even for teams toward the top of the college football pyramid. Not all of the players going out the door were going to be big roles for Napier next year, either.

Etienne is unquestionably a big loss, though, and Florida may need to respond in kind by dipping into the portal for a replacement.

Florida Gators football icon Tim Tebow will speak with his former team prior to its in-state rivalry game against No. 5 Florida State on Saturday.

"I'm always open to always talking to the team," Tebow said on a Friday Zoom call, per Mark Long of the Associated Press.

"I just would always want them to know first that it's never about me. Saturday isn't about me. It's about them.

"It's an amazing opportunity, and it's something that if they can harness three hours of excellence, they will have a chance to be one of the more remembered Gator teams because they get a chance to knock off an undefeated FSU team. That doesn't happen all the time."

Head coach Billy Napier asked Tebow to speak beforehand to the 5-6 Gators, who ended the season 3-5 in SEC play. A win at least makes them bowl-eligible, although it's been tough sledding for a team that has now lost four straight.

Florida, the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame will be honoring Tebow, a two-time national champion and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, in Gainesville after the first quarter, per Long.

Perhaps a little motivation from Tebow could go a long way toward the Gators knocking off the undefeated Seminoles. Kickoff will occur at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at 7 p.m. ET.

Five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray has committed to the Florida Gators, he announced Saturday, per Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

McCray chose Florida over Auburn, Florida State, Georgia and Miami.

"My family left it up to me. We had a lot talks about this and that," McCray said. "Really where my gut was telling me to go and where I wanted to be."

McCray is a 6'6", 260-pound defensive line prospect out of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. He's one of the top defensive line prospects in the class of 2024 alongside Missouri commit Williams Nwaneri and Ohio State commit Justin Scott.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote of McCray:

Must keep progressing after being utilized heavily as a tight end during freshman and sophomore seasons, but should be viewed as one of the top overall prospects in the 2024 cycle given his enormous ceiling. Will likely need a developmental year or two before he's ready for a full-time starting role, but could be deployed early on in collegiate career as a situational defender. Bonafide NFL upside as his best football looks to be well ahead of him.

Florida boasts the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in 2024. In addition to McCray, the Gators have landed commitments from five-stars in quarterback DJ Lagway and cornerback Xavier Filsaime.

The only two teams with better recruiting classes for 2024 are the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes.

When Billy Napier took the job as head coach of the Gators in 2022, there was an expectation that he would restore Florida as one of the best college football programs in the country.

Bringing the program back to prominence starts with recruiting, and Napier has done a solid job in that regard since landing the head coaching gig.

"I wouldn't say there is a limit," McCray said when talking about the Gators potential. "I feel that way. I've been around them and the guys they bring around the program and I feel like they have the ability to do it (win a National Championship) with the plan they have and the guys they have right there and the aura around the program."

The Gators are currently second in the SEC East this season with a 5-2 record and they are 4-0 at home. They've defeated the likes of No. 17 Tennessee and South Carolina to retain a spot atop the standings.

Things are certainly looking up for the program, and maybe the Gators will return to being among the SEC's elite in the near future.