Florida OT David Conner to Enter Transfer Portal
Photo: David Conner (57); Credit: UAA Communications
Redshirt freshman offensive tackle David Conner is no longer with the Florida football program and is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal upon gaining eligibility to do so as an underclassman on April 15, All Gators has learned.
Conner has been removed from UF's 2023 spring football roster.
A native of the Atlanta area, Conner transferred from Decatur (Ga.) Martin Luther King to Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High prior to his senior season of prep ball. Conner claimed in a story with the Palm Beach Post that his relocation to South Florida led to his late emergence as an FBS recruit in the class of 2022.
Conner received scholarship opportunities from Maryland, Syracuse, Arizona and Florida Atlantic, among other schools, before earning an offer from and committing to the Gators under former head coach Dan Mullen in Aug. 2021.
He signed with Florida in the weeks following Mullen's dismissal and Billy Napier's hiring as the program's newest head coach in Dec. 2021 and enrolled at UF the following May.
Conner made his practice debut with the Gators in fall camp as a freshman but was sidelined before his first regular season at the collegiate level began, suffering a thumb injury that required surgery in Aug. 2022. Conner proceeded to redshirt the campaign and did not appear in a game.
Redshirt sophomores Austin Barber, Damieon George Jr. and Jordan Herman, sophomore Kiyaunta Goodwin and freshman Bryce Lovett comprise Florida's projected offensive tackle depth following Conner's exit and entering the 2023 season, with redshirt sophomore tackle/guard Kamryn Waites currently sidelined by a reported Achilles injury.
Additionally, Florida anticipates the enrollment of New Orleans (La.) De La Salle 2023 offensive tackle Caden Jones this summer.
Barber is considered locked into a starting position on Florida's 2023 offensive line, likely at left tackle, after earning first-team Freshman All-American recognition by College Football News for his play in a rotational and spot-starting last season.
On the opposite side of the line, George and Goodwin — offseason transfer acquisitions from Alabama and Kentucky, respectively — have appeared to split first-team reps at right tackle in the media viewing windows of UF's spring camp.
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