An already rough day for Florida has just turned even worse.
Just a few short hours after it was announced that QB Will Grier would transfer, Florida has dismissed defensive lineman Alex McCalister from the team, according to multiple reports. Officially, McCalister is being kicked off for “an unspecified violation of team rules.” What exactly that means, I don’t know, but in currently working to find out. In any case, McCalister plans to enter the NFL Draft (as opposed to transferring.)
The junior some Florida fans referred to as A-Mac was hoped to be an important piece of the Gators’ front seven next year with the departure of Jonathan Bullard. Without him, Florida will need some more production out of youngsters like Cece Jefferson to step up and produce. It’s not a matter of pure talent in the front seven, though, as fellow defensive lineman Caleb Brantley and linebacker Jarrad Davis recently announced that they’d be coming back. But McCalister played a key role in the Gators’ success on defense in each of the last two years, and so it’s sad to see him go.
I ended the article about Grier this way, and I’ll say it again: he’s a good kid who made a mistake. I believe in second chances, and I hope he gets one with an NFL team. And if/when he does, I’ll be rooting for him.