Once again, the Pouncey brothers are Florida Gators
For the second time in just over a decade, a pair of brothers with the surname of Pouncey will be suiting up for the Gators.
Four star cornerback Ethan Pouncey (Winter Park, FL) has committed to Florida’s 2020 class. Pouncey chose the Gators over Texas, where he was once committed and where his older brother Jordan played (more on that in a minute) and had offers from pretty much every top Power Five school. Among them: Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Georgia, Auburn, Michigan, FSU, Notre Dame, Penn State and Virginia.
His frame (6’1, 160) and exceptional ball skills will make it difficult to keep him off the field for very long, and that’s even if CJ Henderson and Marco Wilson both leave for the NFL (for the record: I expect Henderson to leave, Wilson to stay). And if he does wind up starting (or playing extensive minutes) right away due to more holes opening up back there than many had thought, he should be able to make the transition as seamlessly as any freshman defensive back can. He’ll need to bulk up a little bit in his first offseason in Gainesville, but the stars are his ceiling and he could eventually find himself in one of the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.
As for what his commitment means on a macro scale? Well, it gives the Gators their 21st member of Dan Mullen’s second full recruiting class, which now ranks 10th nationally according to 247’s composite rankings. With a few spots still open, Mullen is on track to close out the class with a bang.
But now, Mullen has one fewer slot to fill in that 2020 class, because he just added Pouncey’s older brother, too: wide receiver Jordan Pouncey, a receiver formerly of the Texas Longhorns, via the transfer portal. Despite being ranked as a three star prospect out of high school, the elder Pouncey also boasted a ridiculous offer list, including Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Michigan State.
After never seeing the field in his first two years in the program under Tom Herman, he played sparingly in 2019, catching two passes for 19 yards before pulling the plug on his career in Austin and entering the transfer portal. As a graduate transfer, Jordan Pouncey will be eligible to play right away and will have at least two, maybe three, years of eligibility. With the slew of Gator wide receivers leaving for the NFL after this year, he figures to have a role right away in Dan Mullen’s offense.
Ethan had visited Florida multiple times throughout 2019, but was committed to Texas from August through the final day of October. However, he backed out of that commitment as Jordan decided that he wanted to look for a new home and transferred from Texas. The brothers visited the Swamp for Florida’s 40-17 blowout of FSU last night, came away extremely impressed with the environment and decided that was where they wanted to be. The pair actually made up their minds last night during the conquering of the Seminoles, but decided to wait a day to release their announcement.
The Next Chapter………………… https://t.co/21oI85kG2k
— EVP (@EthanPouncey) December 1, 2019
Now they’re both Gators, and they’ll soon find out for themselves, in real time, what makes that distinction so great.
