Transfer Portal Tracker: Graham Staying, Baugh Weighing Options and More
,With the NCAA Transfer Portal opening on Jan. 2, more news is emerging from the Florida football program this week regarding players making decisions about whether to stay or leave the program ahead of the Jon Sumrall era, which is soon to begin.
The floodgates opened Monday when quarterback DJ Lagway announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal. Following were a number of Gators, including safety Jordan Castell and wide receiver Aidan Mizell, to name a few. By the end of Tuesday, 10 Florida players were already planning to leave, with that number expected to grow in the coming days.
Myles Graham Staying
In the midst of players leaving, Florida received some major news on Tuesday regarding linebacker Myles Graham, who announced that he will return for his junior season. Retaining Graham is a huge win for Sumrall and Florida, as they were able to keep the UF legacy from hopping in the portal and sticking things out in Gainesville.
A former four-star recruit from Buchholz High School and son of former Gator running back, now Santa Fe High School coach Ernest Graham, has been nothing short of stellar for Florida since he arrived in 2024.
Graham earned green-dot caller honors ahead of this season — making him the play-caller of the defense — which is typically handed out to the captain of that side of the ball. After making a strong freshman season, Graham took a significant year-two jump, which included more than doubling his tackling total. Starting all 12 games, Graham recorded 76 total tackles, 36 solo, four passes defended, two sacks, eight quarterback hurries and seven tackles-for-loss.
“We loved him, man. He was intense, he told us straight up that he wasn’t going to back down,” Graham told Florida Victorious. “He was ready for the challenge and we loved him. I feel like a lot of guys bought into that.”
Jadan Baugh Portal Update
Earlier this week, On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Gators running back Jadan Baugh and Florida were deep in conversations about negotiating a new NIL package that would keep Baugh around. On Wednesday, GatorsOnline Zach Abolverdi broke a report that Florida has now gone from feeling good about where they are with retaining Baugh, which included doubling his 2025 NIL salary, to a much more uneasy feeling.
With uncertainty brewing, other powerhouses, including Texas, Ohio State and Georgia, have started to pitch offers and the conversations between said programs and Baugh have grown. Last week, Texas hired former Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, who helped recruit both Baugh and running back Ja’Kobi Jackson. Now, Juluke is trying to recruit the duo over to Austin, where the Longhorns have pitched a significant offer to Baugh that would reunite him with his old coach.
Regarding Georgia and Ohio State, both are making pushes as well. The Bulldogs heavily recruited Baugh, an Atlanta native, out of high school to play linebacker, but backed off when he made his intentions known that he wanted to play running back. Georgia was also Baugh’s first offer back in 2021.
Ohio State has shown these last few seasons that they are more than capable of bringing in high-profile running backs out of the portal and are willing to spend money if needed. In 2024, the Buckeyes went out and grabbed Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss. This season, they snagged former West Virginia back C.J. Donaldson, who has accounted for 10 touchdowns this season.
Wednesday Portal News
Four more Gators announced their decisions to enter the upcoming transfer portal on Wednesday and increasing the total number of transfers to 14.
Grayson “Pup” Howard
After an injury-riddled season, linebacker Grayson Howard has decided to enter the transfer portal. After recording 18 tackles as a freshman at South Carolina, Howard transferred to UF in January 2024. He emerged as a key contributor for the Gators that season — totaling 37 tackles along with a pass breakup, a sack and a forced fumble. In 2025, Howard dealt with an undisclosed injury throughout the year, which limited his production. In total, Howard played in just three games and recorded four total tackles.
Tank Hawkins
Tank Hawkins becomes the third Gator wide receiver to enter the portal. This decision was already figured to happen after Hawkins decided to sit out the remainder of the season on Nov. 8, to preserve his redshirt status. After hauling in 10 catches for 100 yards and one touchdown in 2024, Hawkins only recorded two catches for 16 yards in 2025.
Marcus Mascoll
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Marcus Mascoll announced he will enter the transfer portal. A former four-star recruit, Mascoll did not appear in a game during his two seasons in Gainesville.
Jameer Grimsley
Redshirt freshman cornerback Jameer ‘Jamroc’ Grimsely announced Wednesday night that he will be entering the transfer portal. Grimsely originally enrolled at Alabama, but transferred following the retirement of Nick Saban.
Grimsely appeared in five games in his two seasons at UF, where he made one career start against Mississippi State this season and recorded one tackle. He will have three more years of eligibility.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC
