Transfer Corner Commits to Florida

Former Southern Miss cornerback Micheal Caraway Jr. has announced his commitment to Florida.

Gators secondary coach Will Harris continues to add to his position group with a commitment from Michael Caraway Jr. out of the portal. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Three-star transfer portal cornerback Micheal Caraway Jr., formerly of Southern Miss, on Friday announced his commitment to the Florida Gators, via his personal X account. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Im Home🏠 #GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/wgmyMyiGKB

— mcarawayjr._ (@mcarawayjr) January 17, 2025

Caraway spent nearly a month in the transfer portal after entering on Dec. 27 before ultimately committing to Florida after a recent visit.

As Florida’s top two cornerbacks have declared for the 2025 NFL draft in Trikweze Bridges and Jason Marshall Jr., Caraway Jr. will have the opportunity to immediately compete for playing time as a veteran player with three years of playing experience.

At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, he has the prototypical measurements to match up against SEC receivers and has experience as a boundary and slot corner. Florida's primary returning boundary corners Dijon Johnson and Devin Moore battled injuries last season. Additionally, starting slot corner Aaron Gates suffered a torn ACL late last season, leaving the Gators with just Sharif Denson at the position going into the offseason.

The redshirt senior has also proven to be a reliable tackler, finishing fourth on his team in solo tackles last season.

Through three seasons at Southern Miss, Caraway Jr. racked up 70 tackles while finishing with seven passes defended. While Southern Miss’ website does not display how many games he started last season, Caraway J.r started four games in 2023, and one game in 2022.

Before attending Southern Miss, the Mississippi native spent two seasons in community college with a year Pearl River Community College in 2021 after spending a year at Southwest Mississippi Community College in 2020.

Based on the timing of Caraway Jr.'s entrance to the transfer portal, he could benefit from the NCAA’s recent rule change that provides extra eligibility to athletes that played at junior colleges. As it stands, he has one year of eligibility remaining.

As a redshirt freshman at Pearl River Community College, Caraway Jr. was a MACCC All-Conference Second Team Selection. He was rated a three-star prospect in the transfer portal class of 2022, and the tenth-best defensive back prospect.

As it stands, Caraway Jr. is the fourth transfer portal addition Florida has made in this cycle. He joins a class that includes former Michigan punter Tommy Doman, former UCLA receiver J. Michael Sturdivant and former UMASS edge rusher Kofi Asare.

The Gators initially signed former Charlotte quarterback Deshawn Purdie and held a pledge from former UAB safety Adrian Maddox, but the two have since departed from the program.

Gators Illustrated is tracking all of Florida's portal moves here and is keeping count of the Gators' roster numbers here.