Florida EDGE Jayden Woods will enter transfer portal

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Florida freshman edge defender Jayden Woods plans to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

A consensus four-star recruit who signed with Florida as part of the 2025 class, Woods made an immediate impact for the Gators’ defense. He appeared in all 12 games, starting two, and recorded 28 total tackles (12 solo), 5.0 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception, one pass breakup, three quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery as a true freshman. He’s the first Florida true freshman to lead the team in sacks since Johnnie Church in 1992.

Woods made the Freshman All-SEC Team, making him one of the more important losses for the Gators this offseason. With success in the SEC and three years of eligibility remaining, he’s considered one of the more coveted players in the transfer portal this cycle.

“Jayden Woods is a unicorn, man. They don’t make them like that,” Billy Napier said. “I think just an incredible upbringing. Can’t say enough about his family, his grandmother, his dad, his grandpa. I mean, just phenomenal, and just a different level of focus and maturity and physically.

“And, listen, he came from a very well-coached high school team. You know? The detail. That was one of the things that impressed me, watching it in the evaluation process, with the technique that he played with on the edge, but also on the second level as a stack backer. Yeah, the mindset is different. He’s got incredible focus and discipline. I think all our players will tell you the same thing. He’s got a bright future in front of him.”

Woods made good on that as soon as he got on campus, proving himself as one of the most physically gifted players on the roster.

“Jayden Woods, true freshman,” strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles said over the summer. “I know we’ve talked a lot about Jayden, but Jayden is an impressive young man. He continues to break almost every record we have for his position.”

Interim head coach Billy Gonzales spoke highly of Woods, too, as the season came to a close.

“He’s done a fantastic job; he’s only getting better, he’s learning the little techniques that coach Mike Peterson does an incredible job as far as mentoring him,” Gonzales said. “He’s an explosive, explosive, explosive athlete. And I think that’s probably one of the unique things when you start talking about some of his traits. He plays at a high level, his energy level is extremely high and the will to compete is at a high level as well.”

Florida Gators in the transfer portal

Florida has lost 24 players (21 scholarship) to the transfer portal this offseason, including Woods. For an up-to-date list of players in the portal, check out Gators Wire’s tracker.

On offense, quarterback DJ Lagway, running back KD Daniels, wide receivers Tank Hawkins, Aidan Mizell, Mike Peterson Jr. (walk-on), Muizz Tounkara, Eugene Wilson III and Jackson Wade (walk-on), offensive linemen Devon Manuel, Marcus Mascoll, Noel Portnjagin and Enoch Wangoy and tight end Hayden Hansen are departing.

Defensive lineman Michai Boireau, Tarvorise Brown (walk-on), linebacker Grayson Howard and defensive backs Jordan Castell, Josiah Davis, Sharif Denson, Jamroc Grimsley and Teddy Foster are also gone.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators football EDGE Jayden Woods to enter transfer portal

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