Gators earn commitment from Southern Miss DL Mason Clinton

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Florida football earned a commitment from Southern Mississippi junior defensive lineman Mason Clinton on Monday.

Clinton’s decision comes within days of losing a commitment from Baylor defensive lineman Samu Taumanupepe, effectively putting Florida in the same position it was at the start of the weekend.

The Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native checks in at 6-feet-5-inches and 300 pounds with two more years of eligibility remaining.

Clinton signed with Louisiana as an unranked recruit in 2023 but only played in one game before redshirting and leaving the program. He ended up with East Mississippi CC, recording 27 games and two sacks over seven games as a redshirt freshman.

247Sports gave him a three-star grade, and On3 ranked him the No. 29 overall JUCO player in the country as he reentered the transfer portal. Southern Miss picked him up and played him in all 12 games this season. Clinton recorded 16 total tackles (six solo), 1.5 tackles for a loss, and one pass deflection.

Pro Football Focus gave Clinton a 58.5 overall defensive grade over 204 graded snaps. Further broken down, Clinton earned a 55.8 run-defense grade, a 69.4 tackling grade, a 59.1 pass-rushing grade and a 72.9 grade in coverage.

Florida 2026 transfer portal additions

The Gators are adding more than two dozen players via the transfer portal this cycle, even with the loss of Taumanupepe.

On offense, Georgia Tech quarterback Aaron Philo, Cincinnati running back Evan Pryor, Eastern Carolina running back London Montgomery, Auburn wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., Georgia Tech wide receiver Bailey Stockton, Wake Forest receiver Micah Mays Jr., James Madison tight end Lacota Dippre, Georgia Tech tight end Luke Harpring, Georgia Tech interior offensive lineman Harrison Moore, Stanford offensive lineman Emeka Ugorji and Penn State offensive linemen Eagan Boyer and TJ Shanahan have committed.

On defense, Florida has earned commitments from Baylor defensive lineman DK Kalu, Jacksonville State defensive lineman/edge defender Emmanuel Oyebadejo, UCF linebacker TJ Bullard, UCLA cornerback Kanye Clark, Kentucky cornerback Cam Dooley, Baylor safety DJ Coleman and Mississippi Gulf Coast (JUCO) safety Elijah Owens.

The Gators are also adding a pair of special teamers from Tulane, kicker Patrick Durkin and punter Alec Clark, and Louisiana long snapper Carter Milliron.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida football gets commitment from transfer portal DL Mason Clinton

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