Florida football suffers massive blow with Chris Steele in transfer portal

Days after losing Jalon Jones to the transfer portal, Florida football is suffering an even bigger blow with Chris Steele following suit.

The excitement surround Chris Steele this spring was immense. The four-star recruit and top-50 player in the 2019 class was working with the first-team defense this spring and many expected him to come in and contribute right away.

At least that was the thought.

On Thursday, though, the incoming freshman entered his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal which comes as a surprise given the fact that he was expected to have such a big role with the Gators, a presumed top team in the SEC title race.

Dan Mullen has now lost two incoming freshman to the transfer portal as Jalon Jones made the announcement last week after rumors of issues off the field had surfaced.

So where do the Gators go from here after losing their top-ranked 2019 signee? They still have a solid defense with C.J. Henderson and Trey Dean expected to be the starting cornerbacks, but the depth took a major hit. There was no guarantee that Steele would be a starter right away, but he would have been in the two-deep this fall with the ability to work his way in with the ones.

The reason for his transfer is reportedly the fact that he was uncomfortable rooming with Jalon Jones, a fellow early enrollee, this spring after he was accused of sexual assault.

The Gators will have a tough time replacing him but with the way Mullen has been recruiting in Gainesville, they will find another elite cornerback in the 2020 class.