Former UGA DB Jalen Kimber commits to the Gators, breaks down decision

On Saturday, the Gators reeled in another addition from the transfer portal, as former Georgia cornerback Jalen Kimber announced his commitment to Billy Napier’s program.

Kimber, a native of Mansfield, Texas, just entered the portal on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond started prioritizing him and did not even need a full week to seal the deal.

“Coach Raymond, to be honest,” Kimber told Gators Online when asked about why UF won out. “He is a great DBs coach. I know he can develop me into a great DB. He just always kept it real with me and let me know what it was. That’s one of the main things for me: being truthful and honest.

“It’s a big campus,” Kimber added. “I like how everything is pretty close; it’s not too spread out from the football facilities. Everything is kind of right there, so it’s not going to be too hard to figure things out when I get there.”

While the majority of his conversations are with Corey Raymond, Kimber says he is starting to grow closer to UF’s head man as well.

“Coach Napier seems like he has a great personality,” Kimber said. “He’s a good person and true to his word. He let me know how excited he was to get me. He’s ready to build a great secondary with me in the back end.

“I’m just ready to show everything I can do and show everybody what they have been waiting for.”

This past season, the redshirt freshman entered the fall as a starter but registered just one tackle after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury. He underwent season-ending surgery on Sept. 23

During his first year in Athens, Kimber saw action in UGA’s games against Arkansas, Tennessee and Cincinnati, registering one tackle. He also earned a spot on the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll.

With Kimber in the fold, UF is receiving a player who will be in the mix for a starting job later this year.

Kaiir Elam recently departed for the NFL, while Avery Helm and Jason Marshall are likely the projected starters heading into spring. Then you have Jaydon Hill, who was on pace to start before suffering a preseason injury that sidelined him all fall.

Losing a projected first-round pick like Elam is always difficult to place; however, UF certainly has capable players at cornerback and adding a player like Kimber only strengthens that room.

Kimber was an All-American in high school

As a recruit, the 6-foot, 170-pound Kimber was the 10th-ranked cornerback and 122nd-ranked player overall in the On3 Consensus. He was a member of the 2022 class and suited up in the All-American Bowl as well.

In addition to the Bulldogs, Kimber earned offers from Florida, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Auburn, Texas and Texas A&M among others.

The former blue-chip prospect visited for the Gators’ Orange and Blue Game on April 19, 2019; however, he ended up committing to Kirby Smart’s program the following week.

After teaming up with the Bulldogs, Kimber shut down his recruitment and then early enrolled less than a year later.

More on the NCAA Transfer Portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

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 and everything is off and running. 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. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle.

Stay tuned to Gators Online.