With football season having ended, several Florida juniors have announced their intentions to leave school early for the NFL Draft. Other underclassmen have yet to announce but are expected to leave, while some seniors are expected to be high picks as well. Here, we take a look at all of Florida’s potential draft picks.
Name: Alex Anzalone
Position: Linebacker
Status: Declared redshirt junior
Alex Anzalone announced he will declare for the draft in a personal letter on Wednesday.
“Each time (UF QB) Rex Grossman threw a touchdown, I would jump up and down and yell as I ran around the whole house,” the linebacker wrote in the letter on FloridaGators.com.
“As I got older, I remember telling my dad, ‘There’s no way I can ever play for them.’ He insisted that anything is possible and if I really set my mind to something, I could accomplish it.”
While he did get to Florida, Anzalone’s time at UF had its share of obstacles.
The linebacker, who his teammates call Thor, had to battle through two season-ending injuries, undergoing shoulder surgery as a sophomore and suffering a broken arm against Arkansas as a junior.
But despite missing five games in 2016, Anzalone still finished third for the Gators in tackles.
WalterFootball.com called the blonde bruiser one of the 10 best inside linebackers in the draft.
Name: Caleb Brantley
Position: Defensive lineman
Status: Undeclared redshirt junior
Whether it's because he’s making a goal-line stop or simply tucking in his shirt before practice, Caleb Brantley knows younger players look up to him.
“I’m just trying to lead by example,” the lineman said in Spring.
And now, with three seasons under his belt, Brantley can say he made his presence felt.
If the redshirt junior declares for the NFL draft, he’ll have finished his UF career with a season to remember: a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss, 31 total tackles — second best on the defensive line — and a memorable third-down, goal-line stop against LSU running back Leonard Fournette in the heart of Death Valley.
Out of high school, the 6-foot-2, 297-pounder had offers from Alabama, Florida State and a number of other high-caliber programs. But Brantley chose to go to Gainesville, about 60 miles outside his hometown, Crescent City.
Should he choose to enter the draft, most experts expect to see Brantley taken in the second or third round, with ESPN’s Todd McShay saying the lineman could be picked as high as 23rd overall by Denver.
The Broncos, a defense-focused team coming off a Super Bowl win, would be a fitting home for the lineman considering his intolerance of failure.
“Dang, he doesn’t like to lose a play. He doesn’t like to lose a drill. He doesn’t like to lose at all,” said Al Smith, Brantley’s high school coach.
Name: Bryan Cox Jr.
Position: Defensive end
Status: Undeclared redshirt senior
Every team needs a guy like Bryan Cox.
Cox has been a mainstay along Florida’s stout defensive line that has churned out players like Dante Fowler, Sharrif Floyd, Dominique Easley and Jon Bullard over the past few years.
And though he’s not as heralded as those names, the 6-foot-3, 269-pounder has still been a model of consistency when healthy.
In 43 career games, the redshirt senior recorded 98 tackles, 10 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. Cox’s best year came in 2015, when he tallied a career-high 45 tackles along with 3.5 sacks, six hurries and two forced fumbles.
His final season in 2016, however, was hindered by injuries.
Cox started in just five of the 10 games he played in this year and missed three games altogether because of hand and ankle injuries.
Despite the ailments, Cox continued to help lead younger defensive linemen like Jabari Zuniga and CeCe Jefferson this season.
Even offensive linemen have stated Cox’s impact.
“He would really get it all out of you each and every play,” sophomore Fred Johnson said.
“He’s a veteran guy again, and he’s used to playing against SEC opponents all the time. So I really just see it as a place for me. I’m glad that he’s here so I can get better in my technique and hone my skills against him and stuff.”
Name: Jarrad Davis
Position: Linebacker
Status: Undeclared senior
Wondering who the engine was that drove the nation’s No. 6-ranked scoring defense all season?
Look no further than senior linebacker Jarrad Davis.
Davis suffered an ankle injury on Oct. 15 against Missouri, but he played through pain the following two weeks against Georgia and Arkansas before missing the season’s final three games.
But even so, he had an impressive senior campaign.
Davis finished second on the team with 60 total tackles despite playing just nine games. He also racked up six tackles-for-loss, five quarterback hurries, two sacks and four pass break-ups.
The senior hasn’t officially announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft, but as he sat in Florida’s locker room after the Gators’ loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship in December, he all but assured reporters he would be pursuing an NFL career, adding that he'll cherish his time in Gainesville.
“Sometimes I get these little flashbacks, just thinking of the times we had out there. It just makes me realize, you know, I only have a month left,” Davis said after UF’s loss. “I only have so much more time left here as a Gator.”
And when Davis enters the draft, there will be no shortage of suitors pursuing the run-stopping linebacker.
Several mock drafts predict Davis will be selected in the first two rounds. NFL teams are high on him — as one Miami Dolphins scout told the Alligator in Knoxville during UF’s game against Tennessee in September, Davis is one of the most complete linebackers in this year’s class.
At 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, Davis fills gaps well, blitzes the quarterback with ease and is a natural leader who holds teammates accountable for their responsibilities on and off the field.
Look for him to do more of the same at the next level.
“I can say that I left this university with no regrets,” Davis said. “I gave everything I had. Everything.”
Name: Joey Ivie
Position: Defensive line
Status: Declared senior
Joey Ivie didn’t bring any glitz with him when he arrived at Florida in 2013.
But he did play right away despite being rated the fifth-best defensive lineman in UF’s 2013 recruiting class by 247Sports. It was in a rotation at first, but he started by the end of his sophomore season and continued to start in his final two years.
His total tackles increased in every season as a result.
Still, entering the draft, CBS Sports ranks Ivie at No. 35 on its board of defensive tackles, saying he will go undrafted.
Drafted or not, though, Ivie was clear that he’ll try to find a place in the league.
“I am blessed to say I am pursuing a career in the NFL,” he wrote on Twitter.
He leaves a gaping hole behind at defensive tackle, but his spot is expected to be filled by his current backup, Khairi Clark. Behind Clark, the position’s depth is questionable.
Ivie said his motivation to make an NFL roster is derived from his younger sister, Jordan, who died in a car accident in 2015.
“It’s awesome to be in this position right now to be considered for the draft,” Ivie said after the Outback Bowl. “I feel like with my sister passing away, it’s been a lot of encouragement for me to play hard and get better every day for her.”
Name: Marcus Maye
Position: Safety
Status: Undeclared redshirt senior
After Marcus Maye gave UF its third interception against Kentucky in September, the senior earned the honor of signing his nickname on the Gators’ “#GettheBall” whiteboard.
“All day,” he wrote.
But it’s more than just all day. Maye has been a staple of the Florida secondary all year, every year, since his sophomore season in 2014.
Until a broken arm sidelined him against South Carolina this season, Maye hadn't missed more than two consecutive games for Florida.
And he didn’t just show up. He showed out, even when battling difficult circumstances.
“I think Marcus has done an outstanding job and actually got us kick-started in that Georgia game,” coach Jim McElwain said of Maye in 2015.
“Which is great to see because he was mourning the loss of a very close family member that week.”
Since becoming a sophomore, Maye finished each year in the top four for the Gators in tackles, including 2016 with 50 tackles, despite missing four games.
CBS Sports predicts that Maye will be picked in the third round of the draft if he chooses to declare.
Name: David Sharpe
Position: Offensive tackle
Status: Declared junior
During the three-year rebirth of Florida’s offensive line, David Sharpe was the one constant.
From the time he got to campus three years ago, he was ready to play at left tackle. He had both the size — 6-foot-6, 318 pounds — and the notoriety — a U.S. Army All-American who was ranked as a four-star recruit.
And so he played, both under Will Muschamp in six games as a reserve and Jim McElwain as a starter from day one of his sophomore season.
Sharpe reached the pinnacle of his college career in 2016, when he was UF’s only offensive player to start every game. He also got bigger, currently weighing 357 pounds, the most on the team.
Sharpe was the leader of an inexperienced unit that returned only one other upperclassman starter — center Cam Dillard — in 2016. The 2015 rendition of the same unit allowed a nation-worst 45 sacks.
But led by Sharpe at left tackle, the Gators’ offensive line improved enough to rank No. 71 this season.
Even so, his decision to leave school early for the NFL draft was a moderate surprise. The junior isn’t viewed as a particularly elite prospect, though he could have been told otherwise by advanced evaluators, much like safety Keanu Neal was a season ago.
However, for right now, CBS Sports doesn’t even list Sharpe as an available prospect at tackle.
As for a replacement, his starting spot will likely be assumed by either his official backup, Kavaris Harkless, or — more likely — starting left guard Martez Ivey, who played left tackle in high school.
Name: Jalen Tabor
Position: Corner
Status: Undeclared junior
Jalen Tabor almost didn’t play for Florida.
Back in 2014, he was set to enroll at the University of Arizona after committing to the Wildcats on national TV during the Under Armour All-America Game.
But with just four days until he was to enroll, the five-star corner decided to attend Florida instead.
He arrived in Gainesville as the top-ranked recruit in his class and quickly got on the field. However, for two years he lived in the shadow of Vernon Hargreaves. And even when Hargreaves left, Tabor was more-or-less on par with his counterpart Quincy Wilson.
Hargreaves and Wilson are touted talents, to be sure, as is Tabor. But because of playing with them, Tabor was never able to separate himself and forge an elite image.
Even still, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller has him pegged as the first pick of the second round in the 2017 NFL Draft. And while Tabor hasn’t announced whether he’s departing school early yet, it would be shocking if he decided to stay.
Filling in for him and Wilson will likely be some combination of Duke Dawson and Chauncey Gardner or current UF commits Elijah Blades and Marco Wilson, brother of Quincy Wilson.
Name: Johnny Townsend
Position: Punter
Status: Undeclared redshirt junior
Johnny Townsend still has another year of eligibility left at Florida, but don’t be surprised if Florida’s booming punter leaves for the draft.
He’s that good.
Townsend led the nation in average yards per punt at 47.9 and was named a semifinalist for the 2016 Ray Guy award, given to the nation’s top college punter.
And aside from his nation-leading punting skills, Townsend has also shown willingness to participate in punt coverage after his kicks, frequently running down the field to contain returners. He even saved a long return from extending during the Outback Bowl on Monday when he tackled Iowa punt returner Desmond King in the second quarter.
“I look at where I was my freshman year and I look at where I am now, and I’ve made a lot of great strides,” Townsend said after the SEC Championship game in December.
NFL scouts think so, too. Many mock drafts have Townsend ranked among the top three to five collegiate punters, and if a team is looking to fill a need on special teams, Townsend would be a smart pick in the later rounds.
But the Florida punter is still weighing his options.
“If I come back next year, I’m just gonna work even harder and progress as much as possible,” Townsend said.
Name: Quincy Wilson
Position: Cornerback
Status: Declared junior
Wilson went from, “Woah, who is this kid?” in 2015 to an almost surefire first-rounder in 2017.
In fact, many mock draft experts, including Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, predict the 6-foot-1, 213-pounder will be the first cornerback selected come April 27.
Playing opposite Jalen Tabor all season, who saw that coming?
Part of the reason for that is the secondary logjam created by players like Tabor and Vernon Hargreaves over the last couple years.
But make no mistake: Wilson has produced when he’s played.
In 39 career games at UF, he amassed six interceptions, 14 pass breakups, 84 tackles and a forced fumble.
But he especially showcased his talents his junior season.
Three of his six interceptions came this year, including a pick-six against Missouri. He also added 33 tackles and six pass breakups, tied for second most on the team.
Durability was never a question either because Wilson was the only defender to start all 13 of Florida’s games.
The Gators will without a doubt miss the smack-talking corner (remember the “ducks don’t pull trucks” comment about Tennessee?) next season but should still remain elite defensively.
Not only is nickel corner Duke Dawson returning for his senior season, but Wilson’s brother, Marco Wilson, is a Florida commit and four-star cornerback according to 247sports.com.
DBU takes a hit losing Wilson, but if his brother is anything similar, UF will be just fine.
Senior linebacker Jarrad Davis leads his team out of the tunnel before Florida's 32-0 win against North Texas on Sept. 17, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.
