Here are all of the Gators who have entered the transfer portal

Florida lost several commits after the hire of Billy Napier, and a number of Gators have entered the transfer portal following the coaching change.

Players now have the luxury of a one-time transfer exemption, giving them the option to move on to a new program without any delay in eligibility. A coaching change can provoke players to transfer, and Florida is losing some of its top producers just as Napier gets settled in Gainesville.

Entering the portal isn’t a guaranteed departure from the team, though. Many players do so to keep their options open when the situation becomes uncertain. Napier could wind up wooing some of these guys back after meeting with them.

Here’s a look at every Gator that’s entered the transfer portal since Napier was hired on November 28.

DL Dante Zanders

AP Photo/Matthew Hinton

Entered transfer portal: November 29

Zanders, formerly Lang, was the first to enter the transfer portal after Napier’s hire was announced. Just a day after naming the new coach, the former three-star tight-end-turned-defensive-lineman decided to pursue other options. He had offers from UCF, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Iowa State among others as a recruit.

Zanders appeared in all 12 regular-season games for Florida this year in a reserve role. He finished the year with six tackles (two solo), 0.5 sacks and 0.5 tackles for loss.

OT Gerald Mincey

Entered transfer portal: November 29

New school: Tennessee (committed December 10)

Mincey entered the portal on the same day as Zanders but has found a new home much quicker. Although it’s not official yet, Mincey posted on social media that he was committing to the Tennessee Volunteers. A former three-star, Mincey has a ton of potential and was thought of as one of the more promising young linemen for Florida.

He played his first game in the 2020 Cotton Bowl and appeared in nine games this season.

EDGE Khris Bogle

Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun/USA TODAY NETWORK

Entered transfer portal: December 1

Edge rusher Khris Bogle entered the portal after learning of Brenton Cox Jr.‘s intention to return for another year. A four-star defensive end coming out of high school, Bogle’s production as suffered behind Cox on the depth chart.

Napier would probably like to keep Bogle on board, but 247Sports already has crystal ball projections for both Michigan State and Kentucky in place for him. Bogle leaves Florida with 69 total tackles (26 solo), 12 tackles for loss, eight sacks and one forced fumble in 35 games played over three seasons.

EDGE Lloyd Summerall III

AP Photo/Ron Jenkins

Entered transfer portal: December 2

Summerall, an edge defender himself, left days after Bogle announced his entrance into the transfer portal. Like Bogle, Summerall came to Florida as a four-star recruit and limited production has dropped him to a three-star transfer prospect.

Summerall only has eight career tackles in three seasons at Florida, but it’s hard to replace the depth lost in the defensive front with him and Bogle leaving. Landing him was a big win for Dan Mullen over Miami at the time, so the Hurricanes could be a name to watch in this race.

WR Jacob Copeland

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Entered transfer portal: December 9

Jacob Copeland hinted at some unhappiness throughout the year after not getting enough targets, but he still finished the year as the Gators’ leading receiver. With a new coach in town and only a little time left for Copeland to elevate his NFL draft stock, Florida’s No. 1 receiver thanked Gator Nation and entered the portal.

Copeland isn’t expected to play in Florida’s bowl game and could wind up at any elite university. He was a top 100 recruit in high school and was courted by Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Clemson and Georgia before committing to Florida.

He finished the season with 39 receptions for 607 yards and four touchdowns (all career-highs).

LB Mohamoud Diabate

Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun

Entered transfer portal: December 10

After losing one of the team’s top offensive producers to the transfer portal, Florida lost its leading tackler in the same way. Mohamoud Diabate stepped in as the team’s leading linebacker after Ventrell Miller went down, but it appears he’s weighing options with change abound at Florida.

Diabate is a Rhodes Scholar candidate and chose his words carefully throughout the season, but it became clear that he was unhappy with the defensive scheme at times. If he does move on, Diabate will leave Florida with 176 total tackles, 73 solo tackles, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, on interception, two pass deflections and three forced fumbles over three seasons.

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