Breaking: Florida Starter Officially Enters The Transfer Portal

Florida starting left guard Richie Leonard IV announced his imminent NCAA transfer portal entry as a graduate student on Friday morning. Leonard exits the program with one season of collegiate eligibility remaining. “I would like to thank the University of Florida for my time there,” Leonard wrote via X. “Glad I can say I am an alumnus of this great institution . With that being said I am entering my name in the transfer portal as a grad transfer.” Leonard signed with Florida as a consensus three-star prospect in the recruiting class of 2020, out of Cocoa (Fla.) High.

He started a pair of games in relief of injured first-team linemen in 2021 and 2022, in addition to significant rotational duties at guard in the latter season. Leonard took on full-time starting responsibilities at left guard in 2023. He appeared in every game and logged 755 snaps along the Gators’ offensive line, a team-high. “Richie is a classic example of a guy who maybe doesn’t pass all the height, length and all of that but when it comes to putting the ball down and playing, he can do his job,” Florida head coach Billy Napier described the 6-foot-2, 310-pound Leonard in Sept. 2023.

Leonard is the third starting offensive lineman to leave UF this offseason, joining right guard Micah Mazzccua in the transfer portal. Center Kingsley Eguakun entered the 2024 NFL Draft. Additionally, the Gators lost backup blockers Jordan Herman and Jalen Farmer via transfer to Charlotte and Kentucky, respectively.

Know Your Opponent: Florida Gators

Kentucky will meet the Gators in Gainesville to tip-off SEC play Saturday.

SEC play is here, and the Kentucky Wildcats will open conference play Saturday on the road in Gainesville, where it will meet the 10-3 Florida Gators for a 12:30 p.m. EST showdown.

The meeting will be the first of two between Kentucky and Florida as the Gators will visit Rupp Arena Jan. 31.

Florida is in its second season under head coach Todd Golden. In his debut campaign last winter, the Gators went 16-17 overall but went 9-9 in SEC play. The team earned a bid to the NIT but lost in the first round to in-state foe UCF.

This season, the Gators have shown improvement as at 10-3, the team is just six wins away from matching its 2022-23 win total.

Florida holds home wins over Loyola Maryland, Florida A&M, Florida State, Merrimack, Grambling State and Quinnipiac. It has won neutral site games over Pittsburgh, Richmond, East Carolina and Michigan.

All three of Florida’s losses this season came in November as it fell to Virginia at the Hall of Fame Series in Charlotte, Baylor at the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn and Wake Forest in Winston Salem during the ACC/SEC Challenge.

Kentucky will look to continue a run of recent dominance over the Gators. UK has won each of the last four meetings between the two teams and nine of the last 10. The Cats have not lost at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center since 2018. Overall, Kentucky leads the all-time series between the long-time conference rivals 108-41.

Here’s a look at three key Gator players to watch, a stat summary, Golden’s full roster and coaching staff.

Players to Watch

Tyrese Samuel: Samuel, a 6-foot-10 graduate transfer from Seton Hall, has helped Florida establish itself as America’s best rebounding team. He leads the team and ranks second in the SEC, averaging 8.8 rebounds while also ranking second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, adding a team-high 1.5 steals per game, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks a game. He is a 64.6 percent shooter from the field, which is the best in the SEC.

Walter Clayton Jr.: Clayton, the 2022-23 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year from his time at Iona, is Florida’s leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points per game. He adds 3.3 assists per game, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals, is a 45.7 percent shooter from the field and 35.1 percent three point shooter.

Zyon Pullin: Pullin, a 6-foot-4 guard and UC Riverside graduate transfer, is averaging 14.1 points per game for the Gators while leading the team and entire SEC with 5.0 assists per game. He adds an average of 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 42.7 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three.

By The Numbers (As of Jan. 5)

Points Per Game: 12th (in country) (86.3 points per game)

Points Allowed Per Game: 243rd (73.7 points allowed per game)

Rebounds Per Game: 1st (45.8 rebounds per game)

KENPOM RANKING: 35th

NET RANKING: 49th

Florida Gators 2023-24 Roster

0 – Zyon Pullin, G (6-4, 206, Sr.)

1 – Walter Clayton Jr., G (6-3, 195, Jr.)

2 – Riley Kugel, G (6-5, 207, So.)

3 – Micah Handlogten, C (7-1, 235, So.)

4 – Tyrese Samuel, F (6-10, 239, Sr.)

5 – Will Richard, G (6-4, 206, Jr.)

10 – Thomas Haugh, F (6-9, 210, Fr.)

11 – Denzel Aberdeen, G (6-5, 190, So.)

12 – Alex Klatsky, G (6-4, 206, Sr.)

13 – Aleks Szymczyk, F (6-10, 250, So.)

20 – Jack May, G (6-4, 195, Jr.)

21 – Alex Condon, F/C (6-11, 230, Fr.)

22 – Bennett Andersen, G (6-2, 190, Sr.)

23 – Julian Rishwain, G (6-5, 200, Gr.)

30 – Kajus Kublickas, G (6-2, 171, Fr.)

33 – Cooper Josefsberg, G (6-4, 195, Fr.)

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Todd Golden

Associate Head Coach: Carlin Hartman

Associate Head Coach: Korey McCray

Assistant Coach: Kevin Hovde

Assistant Coach: John Andrzejek