Florida Announces Signing of JUCO DL Brien Taylor Jr.

Junior college defensive lineman Brien Taylor Jr.'s transfer to Florida is now official. He's signed with the Gators.

Florida announced the signing of its first transfer acquisition early Wednesday morning, in the former of junior college prospect, defensive lineman Brien Taylor Jr. of Blinn College.

Taylor joined UF's commitment class on Dec. 11, immediately following his official visit to campus earlier this month. He chose Florida over transfer offers from programs such as but not limited to Tennessee, Georgia, Oklahoma State and Auburn. 

"The whole town is invested into Gator football and I’m ready to contribute to a rebuild," Taylor said in his pledge, referencing Florida's five sold-out games in 2023 despite the team's underwhelming 5-7 (3-5 SEC) record.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Taylor, a native of Houston, Texas, is considered the No. 3 defensive lineman and No. 9 overall prospect by the 247Sports composite JUCO prospect rankings for the class of 2024. He accumulated 39 total tackles, two sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in 13 appearances with Blinn College.

He's one of five defensive front contributors in Florida's 2024 recruiting class, alongside fellow transfer, Joey Slackman of Pennsylvania, and high school prospects, LJ McCray of Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland, Amaris Williams of Clinton (N.C.) High and Michai Boireau of Hampton (Ga.) Creekside. 

Taylor was the second prospect to make their commitment to Florida official around the dawn of the Early Signing Period, following legacy Gators commitment, linebacker Myles Graham. 

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