Brien Taylor Jr. entering transfer portal

Brien Taylor Jr., a defensive lineman who played two seasons for the Florida Gators, plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, per Pete Nakos of On3. Taylor just completed his senior season.

Before landing at UF, he played two seasons at Blinn College in Texas. He hopes to receive a junior college waiver to get another season of eligibility, according to Nakos.

The 6-foot-4.5, 295-pound Taylor recorded 24 tackles (15 solo), 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2025. He played 284 snaps. The previous year, Taylor played in 10 games while recording 14 tackles (five solo) 1 QB hurry and 2 tackles for loss.

Here are Taylor’s game-by-game results per his official bio at FloridaGators.com:

• vs. LIU: Saw action in the season opener at DL, recording 14 defensive snaps and one tackle.
• vs. USF: Played a total of 33 snaps (31 defensive and 2 special teams), recording two tackles (one solo). 
• at No. 3 LSU: Saw action in 16 snaps, 15 on defense and one on special teams… Made a season high three tackles… Earned a season high PFF Defense grade of 80.7 and a Tackle grade of 74.0. 
• at No. 4 Miami: Made three tackles (one solo) for the second week in a row on 27 defensive snaps… Earned a PFF Tackle grade 74.7.
• vs. No. 9 Texas: Recorded three tackles (two solo), 1.5 sacks for 11 yards and two quarterback hurries on 24 defensive snaps… Led the team in sacks…Earned a PFF Defense grade of 76.3 for second on the team.
• at No. 5 Texas A&M: Played 25 defensive snaps… Credited with one solo tackle… Earned the fourth best PFF Run Defense grade on the team with 71.2.
• vs. Mississippi State: Made one tackle off of 24 defensive snaps… Earned a PFF Defense grade of 74.5 and a Run Defense grade of 78.1.
• vs. No. 5 Georgia: Recorded three tackles (one solo) off 35 snaps (31 defensive and 4 special teams). 
• at Kentucky: Played 19 snaps (15 on defense and four on special teams).
• at No. 7 Ole Miss: Totaled three tackles (two solo) in 39 snaps played (38 on defense and one on special teams).
• vs. No. 20 Tennessee: Played a total of nine snaps on defense. 
• vs. Florida State: Played 16 snaps on defense and recorded one tackle. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database, and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request, and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. If a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship, and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The window for FBS players to enter the portal opens Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16.