Florida State Loses Veteran Linebacker to NCAA Transfer Portal
News is moving at a furious pace to begin the week with recruiting ongoing and the NCAA Transfer Portal's spring window opening on Saturday. Florida State will need to shed four to five scholarship players to get to the 85-man limit prior to fall camp. It didn't take long for the Seminoles to have their first departure of the period.
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On Monday, news broke that redshirt senior linebacker Brendan Gant was entering his name into the portal as a graduate transfer. Gant is coming off a notable 2022 campaign where he moved down from safety to linebacker while playing a big role in Florida State's improvement on special teams.
The Florida native recorded 33 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one pass breakup, and one recovery while appearing in 12 games. He was named one of the team's special teams MVPs alongside former tight end Wyatt Rector following the season.
Gant originally signed with Florida State as a member of the 2019 class under former head coach Willie Taggart. He played a sizable role early in his career, appearing in 13 games, with one start, as a true freshman. That ended up being his most productive season statistically as Gant recorded 35 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in 2019.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound linebacker saw his role begin to diminish during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That forced Gant into a rock and a hard place as he weighed playing a new position versus exploring the transfer portal. He ended up sticking around and becoming an important piece for the Seminoles.
During his four years in Tallahassee, Gant totaled 112 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 43 appearances, with six starts.
Despite his ascension, Gant was still in line to play a rotational role in 2023 behind starting linebackers, Tatum Bethune and Kalen DeLoach. Plus, redshirt sophomore DJ Lundy is showing positive signs after shedding some weight while redshirt freshman Omar Graham Jr. is beginning to realize some of his potential. Redshirt junior Stephen Dix Jr. returned to the team after missing last season with an upper-body injury.
The amount of experience and depth returning at linebacker likely played a factor in Gant's decision to move on. Entering his final year of collegiate eligibility, he's probably looking for an opportunity where he can consistently display his talent between the lines.
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