Southern Miss DL transfer Mason Clinton commits to Florida

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Former Southern Miss defensive lineman Mason Clinton has committed to Florida out of the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Clinton also considered Baylor and Oregon before making his commitment to Jon Sumrall’s Gators.

Clinton spent one year with the Golden Eagles and will have two years of eligibility to play for the Gators. As a sophomore Clinton had 16 tackles, two tackles for loss and one pass breakup.

Before Southern Miss, Clinton played for East Mississippi Community College, logging 27 tackles and two sacks across seven games played. He began his career at Louisiana, where he logged a PBU.

Coming out of the JUCO ranks, Clinton was the No. 37 overall prospect and 11th overall defensive lineman according the On3’s JUCO rankings. Clinton was a one-time Mississippi State commit as well before transferring over to Southern Miss.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pounder now joins Sumrall’s inaugural roster in Gainesville for the 2026 season. He joins fellow defensive linemen Emmanuel Oyebadejo and DK Kalu as Florida’s DL commits so far. Baylor DL transfer Samu Taumanupepe originally committed to the Gators, but flipped to Colorado.

Jon Sumrall is taking over head coaching duties next season after leading Tulane to the College Football playoff in 2025. He’s replacing Billy Napier, who has since taken the same job at James Madison.

Florida will certainly be one of the more followed teams throughout the portal process. Sumrall is looking to immediately find success after a few down years under Napier’s guidance. Doing so through the transfer portal has proven to be effective at other places, and Florida is hoping some of that success rubs off in Gainesville this offseason.

Everything will lead into the Sept. 5 opener against Florida Atlantic. So much will be different compared to this past year’s finale vs. Florida State. Fresh faces, from the roster to the coaching staff, will be running onto the field.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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