Gators to Lose Two Offensive Backups to Portal

The Florida Gators are now up to 12 planned departures to the NCAA Transfer Portal.

One of the Florida Gators' recent departures was a depth receiver. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- A pair of offensive depth pieces are now set to leave the Florida Gators.

Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Marcus Mascoll and redshirt freshman receiver Tank Hawkins both on Wednesday announced plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal when it opens on Jan. 2. Both players will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Hawkins' entrance does not come as a surprise after he opted out of the 2025 season heading into the game against Kentucky to preserve a redshirt season. He played in just four games in 2025, recording two catches for 16 yards.

“Tank came up, very professional. He came out and asked if he could preserve his redshirt. Absolutely," then-interim head coach Gonzales said. "I said I 100 percent honor it. So at this point, yes.”

Hawkins, who still practiced and was with the team for games after opting out, was the team's lone midseason opt-out not due to injury. He finished his UF career with 12 catches for 116 yards and one touchdown across 11 games played.

Meanwhile, Mascoll did not play in a single game across his two seasons at Florida. Notably, he made a position change heading into 2025 by moving to center, becoming a depth piece behind All-American starter Jake Slaughter and backups Roderick Kearney and Jason Zandamela-Popa.

"That's my guy. I love this because I'm getting to brag on my guys, but Marcus is awesome," Slaughter said of Mascoll last spring. "Like, he's a really smart kid. It's one of those things where as soon as he gets the confidence, he gets the reps, he knows he can get it out quick, make his ID, make his call and get set, snap the ball and roll, he's gonna be super special."

Hawkins and Mascoll mark the 11th and 12th departures from the Gators ahead of the Jan. 2-Jan. 16 portal window. Most of Florida's departures have come from backups and reserves, but the Gators are notably losing multiple starters and contributors in quarterback DJ Lagway, receiver Aidan Mizell and safety Jordan Castell.

Florida is also working to retain star running back Jadan Baugh, while linebacker Myles Graham recently confirmed he was staying with the program in 2026.

"Roster building. It starts with our current team. I just got the chance to meet with those guys. Retention in these days of the college football world is the most important thing to build a team," new head coach Jon Sumrall said on Dec. 1. "We need those guys to stay, and that's the first recruiting effort I have."

While Sumrall works to retain certain players on the roster, he is also beginning to put work in ahead of the portal's officially opening next month. Of note, the Gators have been linked to a pair of quarterbacks in Georgia Tech's Aaron Philo and Old Dominion's Colton Joseph.

"We will use the transfer portal. If you've studied my rosters the last couple years, I haven't had the resources to keep very many of my good players. They all end up getting poached," Sumrall said. "So I've had to embrace the transfer portal probably more than most, maybe even more than I'd like to at times, by necessity. But we will use the portal to enhance our team and to supplement where there may be holes or deficiencies."

Florida Gators on SI is tracking all of Florida's portal moves here. The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16.