Former Ohio State LB Teradja Mitchell goes public with commitment to Florida
Another defender from the NCAA Transfer Portal has made a commitment to the University of Florida.
Teradja Mitchell, a reserve linebacker from Ohio State, just went public with his pledge to the orange and blue. A report surfaced roughly two weeks ago stating the fifth-year senior was joining the Gators once the Buckeyes’ season was over, but now the Virginia Beach native has announced those plans himself.
During his time in Columbus, the 6-foot-2, 232-pound Mitchell accumulated 63 total tackles, including 31 solo, seven tackles for loss and one pass deflection. He played in a handful of games in 2022, including against Georgia in the College Football Playoff, but did not record any stats on the year.
The NCAA provided a blanket waiver this year that will not count bowl games against your redshirt. That means Mitchell will have one year of eligibility with the Gators. He will be in the mix for a starting role and compete with the likes of Shemar James and Derek Wingo.
As a co-captain with the Buckeyes, Mitchell should be able impact UF in the leadership category as well. He was also named a captain for the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game.
According to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Mitchell was a four-star prospect and the No. 35-ranked player overall in the 2018 class. He was tabbed as the No. 5-ranked linebacker as well.
Alabama, Georgia, USC, LSU, Clemson, Notre Dame, LSU and Michigan offered Mitchell out of high school as well.
What Gators fans need to know about the transfer portal
The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.
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The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.
Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. If a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.
The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.
A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
