Report: Gators DT Elijah Conliffe Will Not Return to Football Program

The Florida Gators will be without another upperclassman defensive tackle as they enter the 2020 season.

The Florida Gators will be without senior defensive tackle Elijah Conliffe in 2020, according to a report from Gators Territory's Zach Abolverdi who has since confirmed the report with UF director of football communications Skip Powers. According to Abolverdi, Conliffe remains in school on scholarship, however, will not count against the program's 85-man limit.

Conliffe first joined the Gators in 2017 as a consensus four-star strong side defensive end, before moving to defensive tackle with the Gators. He was ranked as the No. 12 player in Virginia and No. 310 nationally.

Since joining the program, Conliffe has started two games, playing in eight and 11 games, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The senior defensive tackle would go on to miss his junior season due to an undisclosed injury and has recorded 15 tackles in his career, along with a fumble recovery in 2018.

Florida will now have three upperclassmen at the defensive tackle position this year, including, Kyree Campbell, Tedarrell 'TJ' Slaton and Marlon Dunlap Jr. The team will also be bringing in five-star recruit Gervon Dexter, Lamarr Goods and Jalen Lee at the defensive tackle position.

Prior to this season, the Gators lost two veteran defensive tackles after they ran out of eligibility in Adam Shuler, who now plays for the Arizona Cardinals and Luke Ancrum, they are now without three, including Conliffe, veterans from 2019.

Florida will now have to rely on their other veterans along with the players they are bringing in to provide pressure up the middle of the defense, along with playing aggressively in the run game.

Conliffe, however, was never expected to start for the team this year as both Campbell and Slaton have been improving.