USC transfer offensive lineman Jason Zandamela to visit Florida

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•04/25/24

Florida will get a visit from the top available interior offensive lineman in the NCAA transfer portal, with USC‘s Jason Zandamela telling On3’s Hayes Fawcett he will visit on Friday and Saturday.

Zandamela is a true freshman who enrolled at USC for the spring semester.

He’s already looking for a potential change, though, trying to get closer to his home of Clearwater, Fla. To that end, he has already taken a visit to UCF.

Florida will be hoping to get into the mix, too. Friday’s visit will be a good place to start with the former four-star prospect and Under Armour All-American.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive lineman from Clearwater, Florida was ranked as one of the top offensive linemen in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Coming out of high school, Jason Zandamela held 30-plus scholarship offers and was named an Under Armour All-American. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, he was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 118 overall player in America.

He was enrolled at USC for the spring of 2024 and was expected to compete for playing time along the offensive line as a true freshman in the 2024 campaign. Jason Zandamela is originally a native of Mozambique, Africa, and he was a former rugby player. He actually never even heard of football before coming to America in 2020. In his junior campaign, he helped block for an offensive unit that averaged 7.8 yards per carry and 198.2 yards per game on the ground.

Florida loses a cornerback to the portal

Florida cornerback Ethan Pouncey has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned. He will have multiple years of eligibility remaining.

He is a cousin of former Florida offensive linemen Mike Pouncey and Maurkice Pouncey.

After not playing during the 2020 season, Pouncey played in 11 games in 2021 then just three in 2022, when he took a redshirt. He also did not play in 2023.

In 14 games played, Pouncey has just six career tackles.

Pouncey played high school football at Winter Park (Fla.) High School, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 178 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

On3’s Wade Peery also contributed to this report.