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Gators Recruiting Live: Transfer portal recap

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr01/21/26NiebuhrOn3

Welcome to the Gators Online transfer portal wrap-up show, with Blake Alderman, Corey Bender and myself. Wednesday morning, we went live on YouTube to dissect Jon Sumrall’s first transfer portal class as Florida Gators coach.

Thus far, UF has signed more than two dozen transfers in January (about 20 more than last year). The Gators currently have the No. 12 transfer portal class in the On3 Rankings. And during our show, they actually added to the haul, something Blake teased to several minutes earlier.

Here were the topics we discussed …

Breaking down the Florida Gators’ transfer portal class

—General portal thoughts/overall takeaways: The guys each gave their quick thoughts on how things had shaken out thus far for Sumrall and Co.

—Two best transfer additions on offense: Blake and Corey shared one pick, but went different ways with the other. A bunch of time was spent examining the critical pickup of Georgia Tech transfer QB Aaron Philo.

—Two best transfer additions on defense: The focus was on the defensive line and secondary pickups. One player both are extremely high on is Jacksonville State defensive line transfer Emmanuel Oyebadejo.

—Two sleepers in the class: Each pointed out players that haven’t gotten as much attention as they might deserve. Blake’s focus was on the offensive line. Corey also mentioned some of the Florida Gators’ offensive line work in the portal.

—Biggest loss: The crew discusses the best targets that got away..

—Biggest impact transfer in 2026 for an incoming transfer: Blake and Corey came through with picks that might surprise you, with neither selecting Philo.

—Grading the class: For the most part, Blake, Corey and Keith praised the work of the Florida Gators staff. Overall, they like this group, but also pointed out one area they would have liked to see the Gators do more.

—Is the roster better now than it was to close the 2025 season? The three were of the opinion that yes, the Florida Gators probably are in a better spot today.