Blast From the Past: Where Florida's draftees ranked as prospects

With the 2023 NFL Draft coming to a close, the Florida Gators saw seven of its prospects come off the board in the 259-pick draft.

Headlined by No. 4 overall pick quarterback Anthony Richardson, the Gators had three players drafted in the first two rounds, seeing defensive lineman Gervon Dexter and offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence go at No. 53 and No. 59, respectively.

The next Gator off the board was Ventrell Miller, who the nearby Jacksonville Jaguars landed at No. 121. The Bills then grabbed wide receiver Justin Shorter with the No. 150 overall pick. At No. 203, linebacker Amari Burney found his new home in Las Vegas.

Now that the dust has settled, let us revisit where Florida’s draftees ranked as high school prospects in order of how high they were ranked coming into college.

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter

The highest-ranked player of the 2023 Florida draft class is former five-star defensive tackle Gervon Dexter. The Polk County native was the No. 7 player overall in the 2020 class, ranked as the No. 2 defensive lineman and the No. 1 player in Florida.

Right away, Dexter made his impact at Florida known, giving the Gators a reliable man in the middle for three years.

The only defensive lineman ranked above Dexter was Clemson’s Bryan Bresee, who was selected with No. 29 to the New Orleans Saints.

Dexter found his new home at No. 53, going to shore up the Chicago Bears’ trenches.

Wide receiver Justin Shorter

The No. 1 wide receiver in the 2018 class, Justin Shorter looked the part coming out of high school. Shorter made up his mind early to enroll with the Nittany Lions, and didn’t waver until he hit the transfer portal after his sophomore season.

A transfer from Penn State, Shorter came over to Florida after struggling to find his footing with the Nittany Lions. Upon getting to Florida, Shorter excelled as a deep threat, allowing the Gators to take the top off the defense on occasion.

Shorter ended up off the draft board at pick 150, when the Buffalo Bills grabbed him.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson

Despite his outstanding athletic ability, Richardson struggled to stay on the field towards the end of his high school career, causing his ranking to be mid-four star status. The physical tools were always there, but his inability to stay healthy stunted Richardson from being ranked higher as a prospect.

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 Draft ranked as the No. 14 quarterback in the 2020 class. Overall, Richardson was still a blue-chip prospect, ranking as the No. 190 player in his class and No. 29 player in Florida.

Linebacker Amari Burney

A blue-chip prospect in the class of 2018, the Florida Gators had high hopes for the athletic Amari Burney. While he found playing time all over from safety to nickel to linebacker, Burney settled down at linebacker and made an impact over the backend of his Florida career.

Coming out of Calvary Christian in Clearwater, Florida, Burney was the No. 219 overall prospect, No. 28 linebacker and No. 37 player in The Sunshine State.

Burney was taken with the 203rd overall pick, heading to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Linebacker Ventrell Miller

A class of 2017 three-star, Miller came out of Polk County and chose the Gators. Miller was ranked as the No. 502 prospect, No. 57 at his position and No. 69 in Florida.

After a long tumultuous college career littered with injuries, Miller came off the board in the fourth round to the Jaguars.

Offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence

As an overlooked Louisiana talent, Torrence was a low-three-star prospect, causing him to enroll at Louisiana with Billy Napier. As a high school prospect, Torrence ranked as the No. 1536 overall prospect, No. 146 offensive tackle and No. 58 player in Louisiana.

Under Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton, Torrence developed into a star, leaving Florida with a brick before his career was all said and done.

The All-American was taken by the Buffalo Bills with the 59th overall pick, later than some draft experts figured he’d go.

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