A key member of Florida Football’s defense makes a surprise move to the transfer portal

By and large, everyone who entered Florida Football’s transfer portal was either expecting or unsurprising. The Gators’ list of departures consisted of either third-string players or early-season starters who lost playing time.

But a member of Florida’s defense just hit the portal that seems to surprise everyone, considering he had a feeling it was least likely to happen.

According to reports from On3 and Swamp247, Jack Pyburn is headed to the transfer portal.

After injuries derailed his 2023 season, Pyburn saw an increase in snaps in Florida’s first bye week of 2024, finishing the year with 334 snaps.

He only had one sack and five QB hurries this year, but his greater value came in the run game. Pyburn had 60 total tackles this season and wasn’t afraid to blow up a pulling guard or tackle to disrupt a running play.

Of all the members of Florida’s roster who felt they were bought into the culture Billy Napier was trying to build, Pyburn was at the top of the list. The Jacksonville native spoke before this year’s game against Georgia about what the game meant to him:

“I can tell you it means everything to me. Since I grew up, there hasn’t been a Georgia/Florida game that I can’t remember not being at. I’ve been to every single game since I remember Florida.” /Georgia grew up in this environment and really knows what this game is like.

But in the age of the transfer portal and NIL, anything is possible. It’s unclear at this point why he’s transferring, but right now it feels like a shock to perception to lose a guy who truly cares about the Gator logo.