One of the major recruiting victories for Florida head coach Dan Mullen on the early national signing day last December was successfully landing a trio of four-star prospects from one high school in Lakeland, Florida. Now, it turns out one of those touted recruits will begin his college career at a junior college instead of with the Gators in Gainesville.
Offensive lineman Deyavie Hammond announced on his Twitter account he will not be attending Florida due to not qualifying for NCAA academic standards. Hammond did not announce where specifically he will be starting his college football career but he did confirm he plans to attend a junior college for the next two seasons. The expectation is he will then look to transfer to an FBS program, although time will tell if the door to Florida is still open by the time that decision is made.
Hammond is the second four-star recruit in Florida’s Class of 2019 to start off at a JUCO program this year. Last month, linebacker Diwun Black enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College because he needed to focus on some academic setbacks before being able to enroll at Florida. Mullen voiced his support for Black with a show of support on Twitter.
Florida has also seen two additional departures from the Class of 2019 with four-star quarterback Jalon Jones accused of sexual assault and former five-star cornerback Chris Steele transferring after enrolling early for spring practice.
Mullen may have some work to do with his staff in putting together its next recruiting class after the way this Class of 2019 has unfolded.