Drafting the Florida Gators' Roster Ahead of 2026 Spring Game

Ahead of Saturday's Spring Game, Florida Gators on SI's Cam Parker and Inside the Gators' Mark Wheeler teamed up to do an honorary draft of the Florida Gators' 2026 roster.

How it worked was each team had to fill a 22-man roster with each player having to have played that position in spring camp to be selected for that spot (i.e., TJ Dice Jr. can be selected at either tackle spot but cannot play center). Additionally, there was no pressure to select certain positions early, with only one quarterback and one running back available for each team (i.e., if Aaron Philo is taken by one team, the other is under no obligation to take a quarterback right away and can wait until the very end).

Additionally, players who have battled injuries in spring and are unknowns for the game (Dallas Wilson, Myles Graham, etc.) were not available to take.

With that being said, here is a look at how the draft played out, what the teams look like and why each team made the picks they made.

The Draft

Round	Orange (Cam)	Blue (Mark)
1	JACK Jayden Woods	WR Vernell Brown III
2	DL Brendan Bett	DL Joseph Mbatchou
3	RB Jadan Baugh	WR Eric Singleton Jr.
4	CB Ben Hanks III	CB Cormani McClain
5	OL Harrison Moore	OL Caden Jones
6	LB Aaron Chiles	S DJ Coleman
7	OL Knijeah Harris	STAR Kanye Clark
8	S Bryce Thornton	WR Micah Mays Jr.
9	DL Emmanuel Oyebadejo	DL Jeramiah McCloud
10	CB Dijon Johnson	LB Jaden Robinson
11	DL DK Kalu	OL Eagan Boyer
12	OL TJ Shanahan Jr.	LB Ty Jackson
13	S Cam Dooley	OL Bryce Lovett
14	QB Aaron Philo	TE Luke Harpring
15	TE Amir Jackson	DL LJ McCray
16	WR Bailey Stockton	OL Jason Zandamela-Popa
17	WR TJ Abrams	JACK KJ Ford
18	WR Davian Groce	S Lagonza Hayward
19	OL Emeka Ugorji	CB J'Vari Flowers
20	OL TJ Dice Jr.	OL Desmond Green
21	LB Myles Johnson	RB Duke Clark
22	STAR Dylan Purter	QB Will Griffin

The Teams

Offense

Position	Orange (Cam)	Blue (Mark)
QB	Aaron Philo	Will Griffin
RB	Jadan Baugh	Duke Clark
WR	Bailey Stockton	Vernell Brown III
WR	TJ Abrams	Eric Singleton Jr.
WR	Davian Groce	Micah Mays Jr.
TE	Amir Jackson	Luke Harpring
LT	TJ Dice Jr.	Caden Jones
LG	Knijeah Harris	Desmond Green
C	Harrison Moore	Jason Zandamela-Popa
RG	TJ Shanahan Jr.	Bryce Lovett
RT	Emeka Ugorji	Eagan Boyer

Defense

Position	Orange (Cam)	Blue (Mark)
JACK	Jayden Woods	KJ Ford
DT	Brendan Bett	Joseph Mbatchou
DT	DK Kalu	Jeramiah McCloud
DE	Emmanuel Oyebadejo	LJ McCray
LB	Aaron Chiles	Jaden Robinson
LB	Myles Johnson	Ty Jackson
STAR	Dylan Purter	Kanye Clark
CB	Ben Hanks III	Cormani McClain
CB	Dijon Johnson	J'Var Flowers
S	Bryce Thornton	DJ Coleman
S	Cam Dooley	Lagonza Hayward

Breaking Down Team Orange (Cam)

I decided, because of the question marks at offensive line and what we’ve heard at press conferences and from the scrimmages about the defensive line, to prioritize that first with Jayden Woods, arguably the top player on the team besides Jadan Baugh, and Brendan Bett, who has garnered praise for being a spark for energy on defense. Emmanuel Oyebadejo was also hard to pass up despite other options available because of his size and his ceiling, and DK Kalu has been a pleasant surprise, with Gerald Chatman highlighting his play in camp on multiple occasions.

Jayden Woods headlines the Gators' defense. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

I will give Mark credit for his receivers, and ceding him Vernell Brown III, Eric Singleton Jr., and Micah Mays may not be my wisest decision, but I think I balanced that well with Ben Hanks III, who has arguably been Florida’s top corner in camp, and veteran players in corner Dijon Johnson and safeties Bryce Thornton and Cam Dooley.

Because I have Baugh and because of my lack of established deep-threat receivers, I decided to prioritize speed, yards after catch, and the rushing game. Bailey Stockton and Davian Groce give Florida versatile options, while Aaron Philo reportedly had a strong rushing performance in the second scrimmage. It also helps that established veteran Knijeah Harris, system-familiar center Harrison Moore, and guard TJ Shanahan Jr., who has also been praised for his aggressiveness, are leading my interior line.

Breaking Down Team Blue (Mark)

First off, I’ll give Cam credit for building one of the stronger rosters over the 6-8 times I’ve held this draft. There were at least three occasions where he picked the player I intended to take with my next pick.

Good job!

These two teams were being picked to play one game, and then disbanded. So, we are living in the here and now – and not overly concerned with upside or down the road potential.

This is a what have you done for me lately type of draft.

That is why I looked for positional value.

For example, I took Kanye Clark in the seventh round. Is Clark one of the 14 best players on the squad? Maybe not. But he is the only Star that Jon Sumrall has praised several times. The dropoff from him to the other two makes him more valuable and definitely sets him apart from the other two Stars.

Kanye Clark has been a pleasant surprise this spring. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

The same for wide receivers. Just this week, the coaches have talked about four or five being ready to play. I think I got the top three.

Orange squad’s Ben Hanks III may have had the best spring of the cornerbacks, but he is but one player. That means we are going to see Bryce Thornton and/or Dylan Purter matched up against one of my top three. I like my chances there.

In what probably looks like the biggest shock, since Orange took Aaron Philo, I could wait around and select my quarterback last. My options were Tramell Jones Jr. and Will Griffin. Jones Jr. has a year of experience on Griffin, but they both have had the same amount of time in this offense. Plus, I like Griffin more as a runner to move around or take off to avoid Woods.