The Gators officially added former FIU offensive lineman Lyndell Hudson Jr. to the roster Monday. He joined Michigan safety R.J. Moten as newcomers via the spring transfer portal.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — About an hour before Gators head coach Billy Napier arrived for a speaking engagement Monday night with the Fightin' Gator Touchdown Club, he officially added the newest player to the roster.
Florida announced the signing of transfer offensive lineman Lyndell Hudson Jr., a sixth-year redshirt senior who spent the last five seasons at Florida International. Hudson is a 6-foot-5, 318-pound veteran who started 18 games in his career at FIU, according to his school bio.
Hudson grew up in Brooksville, Fla., and played at Central High. He is the fourth offensive lineman transfer the Gators have signed since the end of last season, joining Micah Mazzccua (Baylor), Damieon George Jr. (Alabama) and Kiyaunta Goodwin (Kentucky).
A towering lineman who also competed in track and field in high school, Hudson fits the position profile the Gators have established under Napier and offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.
He was underrecruited in high school but developed into a program stalwart for the Panthers. He started 12 games in 2021 but was limited to four last season due to a lingering injury.
Be like Lyndell. Welcome to The Swamp, @King_Hudson2!#GoGators | #D23AMTEAM pic.twitter.com/4egUAP6jK3
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) May 22, 2023
"He's an experienced player with traits," Napier said. "We've had success with Group of Five players who have experience and have been productive. He's got an 87-[inch] wingspan, which is really unique, a 36 arm. He's got tackle traits. He's played a lot football."
Hudson figures into the mix at one of the offensive tackle spots. While freshman All-American Austin Barber returns and spent spring camp at left tackle, the competition at right tackle appears wide open heading into summer conditioning.
Hudson signed with FIU in 2018 and redshirted his first season. He cracked the lineup in 2019 and started the next two seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, he has played more than 1,500 career snaps, a much-needed addition for an offensive line that lost All-American O'Cyrus Torrence and starters Richard Gouraige, Ethan White and Michael Tarquin from a season ago.
"He brings some experience to the room and certainly creates competition at the tackle position,'' Napier said.
Hudson is the second transfer addition for the Gators from the spring portal period, joining former Michigan safety R.J. Moten.
Moten signed with the Gators earlier this month after spending three seasons in Ann Arbor. The 6-foot, 223-pound Moten is the son of former Gators linebacker Ron Moten, who played at UF in the late 1980s.
Moten started 15 games the past two seasons for the Wolverines, including 10 a season ago. He finished with 31 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and an interception. Moten adds a veteran presence at a position that lost starters Trey Dean III and Rashad Torrence II from last season. Sophomores Kamari Wilson and Miguel Mitchell took most of the safety reps during spring camp.
Napier stressed the importance of adding a player in the secondary earlier this spring.
"That's one of the areas on our team where young players are going to have to play, there's no question," Napier said. "It's a room that we need to continue to develop depth if that makes sense, and ultimately, it's going to be a big part of how good we can be on defense is how good that can be."
Moten instantly provides experience and is a potential starter or critical reserve as Wilson and Mitchell continue to develop.
Meanwhile, the transfer portal remained a topic of conversation for Napier during a session with local beat reporters on Monday night.
He said the Gators "absolutely" still plan to add a fourth quarterback to the roster before next season, but otherwise, the majority of the team is set heading into the summer.
"I think our roster's somewhat stable,'' he said. "We've got a couple of spots left, but, you know, our team is very young, so I think big-picture wise, you've got to be calculated about just filling a spot relative to the player maybe you can add in January if that makes sense.
'We've got a few positional needs from a certain standpoint. If a player were to present himself that we think is good enough that maybe fits right now, we would pursue that player, but ultimately, I do think the winter portal is much deeper, much more talented than the spring portal was." QUOTE OF NOTE I "I think there's some history here when the venue's not available, we play home-and-home, but that's to be determined. One thing I can tell you is it's a phenomenal rivalry. I certainly got a ton of respect for the game, the history behind where it's located, where we play. So, the underlying issue here is the economics, right? It's very beneficial for both teams to play the game there. We've got some things to work through there, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there." – Napier on the future of the Florida-Georgia game in Jacksonville due to upcoming renovations to TIAA Bank Field
QUOTE OF NOTE II "Ultimately, we're trying to create experiences for the player and shape their perspective. The South Africa trip, in particular, because of the service approach, I think is unique because of the perspective it can create for the player and the gratitude that comes with that. You're on the other side of the planet. It's a 15-hour flight. I think there's uniqueness in that for a young person, and now they come back to the States, and they're going to class, and there's a little bit of a vision for what's going on out there. Life after football." – Napier on 13 players making a trip to South Africa earlier this month via the GatorMade program
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