Dan Mullen confirms dismissal of Gators transfer cornerback

Former JUCO and Texas A&M cornerback Elijah Blades is no longer with the Florida Gators program, Dan Mullen confirmed on Monday. The news first leaked out on Sunday, reported first by the Athletic.

A minor injury early in the season kept Blades on the bench and he only played in three games for the Gators.

“We dismissed him from our program,” Mullen said Monday. “He’s no longer with the team. I met with him and dismissed him from the program yesterday.”

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound California native recorded two tackles in Florida’s loss at Kentucky and one in the win over Tennessee. He’s also credited with a pass defended versus the Wildcats.

At Texas A&M in 2019, Blades made six starts and played in seven games total. He posted a career-high four tackles versus Clemson, including a sack for a loss of 16 yards.

Out of Muir High School in Pasadena, California, Blades ended up taking the JUCO route to a D-I program and attended Arizona Western C.C. He turned into one of the top junior college prospects in the nation with more offers coming out than when he went in.

Blades had heart set on Gators

After getting his degree from College Station, Elijah Blades only visited one potential transfer spot. The four-star prospect had at one point been committed to the Florida Gators under Jim McElwain and he wanted to see that vision through.

“They needed somebody to come in and step in now, they needed an older guy,” Blades said after announcing his transfer decision. “I feel like it’s the right decision, I’ve been wanting to come here. [Defensive coordinator Todd] Grantham has been wanting me here, I know Grantham, I’ve known [head coach Dan] Mullen since Juco. Honestly, I wasn’t really trying to go nowhere else.”

Blades saw an opportunity to play right away but that opportunity didn’t quite meet expectations. He’s listed behind redshirt freshman Avery Helm on the depth chart.

“Coach Mullen wants somebody to come and compete, just give him a dog,” Blades said in August. “On the other side we’ve got Kaiir, Jaydon [is] down right now, then we got a lot of young pups. It’s time to step up. So the role, just come in and be that dog.”

Gators prepping for LSU

Coming off a dominant win over Vanderbilt, the Florida Gators could put another nail in Ed Orgeron’s coffin this weekend. LSU is reeling at 3-3 but Dan Mullen’s squad still has to go out and win a big one on the road in Death Valley.

Kickoff between LSU and Florida is set for noon ET. The Gators are 10-point favorites in Vegas.