The Jaden Rashada saga is currently in the midst of its craziest plot twist yet. (Photo via Under Armour All America Game)
UPDATE Saturday 11:15am: Jaden Rashada has officially missed the deadline to enroll of Friday at 11:59pm. He could, in theory, be given an extension and enroll over the weekend or even on Monday, but I’m told this is extremely unlikely. He also could just skip the spring semester and enroll at Florida in the summer; I am told this is also extremely unlikely.
UPDATE Friday 7:00pm: a source close to the situation has told me that the Rashada family had set “mid-day Friday” as their own deadline to get Jaden enrolled at Florida. That deadline- though I do not know exactly how hell-bent they are on sticking to it- has come and gone. The deadline for the add/drop period at the University of Florida is at 11:59pm Eastern time tonight.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Rashada family would be willing to spend their Friday evening continuing to work things out after a week of doing so, and after they had set mid-day Friday as their goal to get things done. Also, in theory, UF could grant Jaden an extension to its add/drop policy through Monday, which would give both parties the weekend to resolve things.
Neither feels especially likely. With each minute that passes, the likelihood that Jaden Rashada enrolls at Florida dwindles.
This story is still fluid and will be updated as more information becomes available.
(Original story begins below.)
Back in the wee hours of one November morning, highly-touted QB Jaden Rashada shocked the world of college football by flipping from the Miami Hurricanes to the Florida Gators.
Fast forward two months later, and Rashada is back on the market, according to On3Sports. Or is he?
Jaden Rashada requested to be released from his letter of intent, according to an article from On3. Assuming the story gets taken down (and why I say that will become clear very shortly), it reads like this: the situation with Rashada had begun to head south weeks ago, according to sources at On3, but things really began to unravel in recent days. It culminated on Wednesday with Rashada speaking to Florida AD Scott Stricklin and requesting to be released from his letter of intent.
Except: Jaden Rashada’s father reached out to multiple reporters at 247Sports, including Brandon Huffman and Blake Alderman, declaring that this was not accurate. Making matters even crazier, Jaden apparently then reached out to Hayes Fawcett, who creates recruiting commitment graphics for On3, with a simple message: “Where did y’all get this” with three crying laughing emojis at the end of it.
Additionally, a source reached out to me confirming that “while Jaden is frustrated, he has not asked to be released from his letter of intent.”
Late Wednesday night, Jaden’s father, Harlen, spoke to 247Sports and provided this update: “Jaden hasn’t enrolled yet, he’s in the Bay Area. We’re having a conversation with Florida Thursday in regards to his enrollment, but I’d like to think if he’s not enrolled by Friday there will be some changes there to proceed as planned.”
Harlen Rashada added: “We’re working through some things right now with Florida and hoping they get resolved soon. Jaden has been excited about the next chapter of his academic and athletic career and is eagerly anticipating early enrollment in Gainesville.”
The buzz around Jaden Rashada began earlier this week. Move-in day for new Gator signees was this past weekend, and Jaden, who had flown all the way across the country from California to participate in the All-America game in Orlando, was not there- even though he had indicated he would simply make the two hour drive from Orlando to begin his life as a Florida student. That triggered some alarm bells, and launched an array of rumors into the thermosphere.
What I do know about the Jaden Rashada saga is this. The situation that caused the holdup was squarely focused on an NIL deal. Multiple sources, none of which know each other to any notable degree, have confirmed to me that Florida’s NIL Collective, Gator Collective, was not the problem that caused the delay. Gator Collective, in fact, was working in the background to try to mend fences well before move-in day. A source tells me that Rashada’s holdup was because of an “external force,” i.e. one that is neither related to the University of Florida nor Gator Collective.
I do not know the exact details regarding what, exactly, went down with the NIL deal or who, or what, is to blame for the delay. I do not imagine that very many people do. I do imagine that more clarity would come out at some point in the future, but guessing or speculating any further is not going to be beneficial to anybody involved here.
How the situation will ultimately be resolved is up in the air. It is possible that he enrolls at Florida, and it is possible that he does not. At this point, it feels best to wait for official news from either the Rashada camp or the University of Florida itself before declaring this saga over one way or another.
As this is still a developing story, more information will be added to this page when it becomes available.
