GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With one month until the NFL deadline, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is the only underclassman to publicly announce that he will enter the NFL draft and forgo his senior season.
“That’s his personal decision," said Florida head coach Dan Mullen on Friday. "Time will tell whether it was a good move or bad move. That’s a personal decision. Our job is to inform, not to say whether it’s a good idea or a bad idea."
According to Mullen, the nickelback is not the only underclassman set to skip his senior year.
"In my estimation, I know we'll have at least one more that will come out for the draft," said Mullen. "But beyond that, I'm not sure."
Jachai Polite is one name that comes to mind immediately.
The Gators pass rusher had a huge part of Florida's turnaround in 2018 after recording 11 sacks on the season and 43 tackles, forcing five fumbles, breaking up four passes and recording three quarterback hurries.
Many experts project Polite to be a potential first-round pick.
However, when asked to clarify who the player he expects to announce to the draft, Mullen was pretty frank about Polite.
"I'm not going to go who it is, but no. It wouldn't be him, but I'm not going to say who it is, but it's not him."
Mullen says Polite is still in the process of making his decision.
“He’s still researching," explained Mullen. "He’s one of the ones that has met with me about gathering information and researching."
The Florida head coach once again stresses how important it is for an athlete to take his time coming to that decision. There are 108 players projected to go in the first round, however, there are just 64 spots available through the first two rounds.
"I mean if you’re a top-10 pick you’re getting $30 million dollars. If you’re a 2nd or 3rd rounder you’re getting $4 million dollars. There’s a big difference between those two numbers," he said. "That’s a lot of money difference. I think guys need to be really educated as to what you’re doing and how it’s going to affect you in the future.
"One of the things you gotta think is when guys come back to college you’re coming back and you come back and you’re trying to up yourself, improve your status and build a foundation for you to better succeed at the next level," added Mullen. "You may have one year to have to do that. If you leave early and you’re not a high draft pack you have to perform for four years, stay healthy for four years before you have the opportunity to get a second contract. If I give you $4 million dollars today or come back and see me a year from now I’ll give you $30 million, which one are you taking?”
Everybody is expected to play in the bowl game against Michigan regardless on whether they enter the draft or not.
"You're playing a great opponent, so I think for guys a great opportunity when you're playing in a New Year's Six bowl, you're playing against a Top 10 team," said Mullen. "Even if you are leaving for the NFL, I don't care if you're a redshirt sophomore or a fifth-year senior, you get an opportunity to go play against a team full of a bunch of NFL talent and go put it on tape what you can do, it's one more chance to go build your resume as a football player."
