Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Evaluating the Class of 2024 Transfers: Receivers earn an A
- Class of 2025 Recruiting Superlatives
- Grading the Gators: Class of 2025 Signees
- UF players to keep an eye on as Transfer Portal window opens
- 35-Game Report Card: Napier’s numbers are still lacking
- Former Florida Player Feedback: 10 Observations
- Parental Perspective: Florida Football Commits Parental RoundTable
On Sunday, Florida may have picked up its most valuable transfer yet when Charlotte (N.C.) 49ers quarterback Deshawn Purdie decided on Florida over offers from Auburn, Georgia, and North Carolina.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder saw action in nine games, starting six, going 100-of-200 for 1,802 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions.
In an interesting twist, Purdie took over the starting job from former Florida quarterback Max Brown – who transferred from UF to Charlotte before the start of the 2024 season.
However, it was another former Gator, support staff member Gavin Pruett, who worked with quarterbacks on the 2023 UF staff under Billy Napier, who really helped the Gators get a foot in the door.
“He was at Florida before he came to Charlotte,” Purdie said of Pruett. “He told me about their character, so I wouldn’t go in there blind on my visit. He gave me some tidbits about them.”
While Pruett may have helped set the table, current UF support staff member Ryan O’Hara closed the deal.
“I’m a big relationships type of guy. I believe in being in a family. He walked me through what to expect from Florida. He talked about how they are as people and how they are developing quarterbacks and that it’s a family atmosphere there.”
The general consensus is that most quarterbacks would try to avoid entering a situation where they are in the same position group and class as a player who is on preseason Heisman lists, but Purdie sees it as a challenge to make both players and the team better.
“I’m a competitor,” said Purdie. “If I get my foot in the door, I’ll fight the rest of the battle from there. I just want an opportunity to fight and compete against the best. We’re going to make each other better and that’s what it’s about at the end of the day.”
According to Purdie, he wasn’t told of a specific role, whether it be first string, second string or otherwise. He said that he was told that all players get the same message.
“They said it’s a competition. That everyone is going to get a chance to compete. That makes everyone better.”
Purdie believes he will report to Florida sometime in mid-January, but was unsure of the exact date.
1 comment