{"id":390489,"date":"2026-01-06T05:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/390489\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T05:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T05:06:29","slug":"meet-the-new-gators-players-uf-has-landed-from-the-portal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/390489\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the new Gators players UF has landed from the portal"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE \u2014 New Gators\u2019 coach Jon Sumrall<\/a> inherited a four-win team with a roster in need of a massive overhaul.<\/p>\n

The transfer portal, which opened Friday, allows programs to accelerate the rebuilding process and replace departing players \u2014 more than 20 in Florida\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

After signing a\u00a02026 recruiting class<\/a> ranked 16th nationally while he still coached the Green Wave to CFP berth, Sumrall and his staff <\/a>turned their attention to the 15-day transfer portal window Jan. 2-16.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at who the Gators have signed:<\/p>\n

Washington during the early signing period.<\/p>\n

WR Bailey Stockton (committed Jan. 5)<\/p>\n

Vitals: 5-11, 185 pounds<\/p>\n

Resum\u00e9: Stockton, the brother of Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton, was a 3-star prospect in the 2023 class who attened the Prince Avenue Christian School with Philo.<\/p>\n

Role: Stockton 38 receptions for 439 yards and a touchdown in two seasons, including 21 catches for 233 yards during 11 appearances in 2024.<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Gators have vast potential on the perimeter. Leading receiver Vernell Brown III<\/a> and 6-foot-3, 213-pound Dallas Wilson return for their sophomore season. The Gators also welcome Davian Groce, rated the nation\u2019s No. 4 \u201cathlete\u201d and No. 47 overall recruit, out of Frisco, Texas.<\/p>\n

DT DK Kalu (Jan. 5)<\/p>\n

Vitals: 6-4, 309 pounds<\/p>\n

Resum\u00e9: Kala was a 3-star prospect<\/a> out of Fort Bend Ridge Point in Missouri City, Texas, rated the nation\u2019s No. 99 defensive tackle prospects in the 2023 class.<\/p>\n

Role: Kalu recorded 11 tackles, including .5 for loss, and a quarterback hurry during nine games as a redshirt sophomore in 2025.<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Gators lost Caleb Banks<\/a> to the NFL and nose tackle Michai Boireau to the transfer portal. Baylor transfer Brendan Bett stepped in to produce (40 tackles, three sacks), while the emergence of true freshman Jeremiah McCloud (13 tackles) and Joseph Mbatchou (11) offer the Gators interior defenders to build around. UF also signed Kendall Guervil<\/a>, a 4-star prospect out of Fort Myers, where he tallied 88 stops, including 12 for loss, in 2024.<\/p>\n

TE Lacota Dippre, James Madison (Jan. 5)<\/p>\n

Vitals: 6-3, 252 pounds<\/p>\n

Resum\u00e9: Dippre was an unrated prospect out of Lakeland High in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, who spent 2023-24 at Charlotte, his final season on the defensive line.<\/p>\n

Role: Dippre caught 17 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns in 2025 during 13 appearances with a CFP qualifier.<\/p>\n

Outlook: The departure of two-year starter Hayden Hansen leaves UF with only two experienced scholarship tight ends, senior Tony Livingston and redshirt sophomore Amir Jackson, who decided not to enter the portal. True freshman tight end Micah Jones, out of Madison, Miss., returns, but 3-star 2025 signee Cameron Kossman transferred. UF has yet to sign a tight end for the 2026 class. Kekua Aumua of Hawaii changed his commitment to Washington during the early signing period.<\/p>\n

S DJ Coleman, Baylor (Jan. 4)<\/p>\n

Vitals: 6-1, 210 pounds<\/p>\n

Resum\u00e9: Coleman was a 3-star prospect<\/a> out of Mesquite (Texas) Horn High School rated the nation\u2019s No. 88 safety in the 2023 class.<\/p>\n

Role: Coleman recorded 46 tackles, including 6.5 for loss, two interceptions, four pass breakups and two quarterbacks hurries during 12 games in 2025. He had 89 tackles and 13 pass breakups during 35 games in three seasons with the Bears.<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Gators lost three-year starter Jordan Castell but re-signed senior Bryce Thornton, a two-year starter who recorded 56 tackles in 2025, second on the team to linebacker Myles Graham, along with a team-leading six pass breakups, five quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.\u00a0 Drake Stubbs of Jacksonville was the nation\u2019s No. 6 safety prospect<\/a> in the 2025 class, but managed just three tackles in eight appearances. UF signed two 4-star safeties in the 2026 class, 2025 Under Armour All-American Kaiden \u201cKD\u201d Hall of Milton, on the Florida Panhandle, and Dylan Purter of Alabama, who flipped his commitment from LSU.<\/p>\n

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE \u2014 New Gators\u2019 coach Jon Sumrall inherited a four-win team with a roster in need of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[2662,2808,3342,399,83201,2558,398,396,397,99],"class_list":["post-390489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-college-sports","tag-florida","tag-florida-gators","tag-football","tag-gainesville","tag-latest-headlines","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}