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Florida redshirt sophomore Aaron Gates is the latest member of the Gators' secondary to announce his entry into the transfer portal. On3's Hayes Fawcett first broke the news.
A four-star recruit out of high school, Gates joined Florida as a member of the class of 2023. He played in four games on special teams as a true freshman before redshirting. He made his debut against South Carolina on special teams, stopping a two-point conversion and intercepting a lateral on the game's final play to secure the win.
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Gates stepped into a larger role in 2024, starting five games at the STAR (nickel back) position and playing in five total contests. He finished fifth on the team in tackles-for-loss with four and recorded 27 total tackles (14 solo). Gates also broke up three passes, recovered a pair of fumbles and had one quarterback hurry.
He'd leave the Ole Miss game with an injury, ending his season. That injury ended up being a torn ACL, but he recovered in time to be ready for the 2025 campaign.
"Aaron's on schedule," Napier said over the summer. "Still in the brace a little bit, and any time a guy's an ACL guy, as you get into training camp, we'll be monitoring his volume closely. But, he's been a full participator here as of late. Those guys, typically, there'll be a day or two we will pull him. But yeah, he's had an incredible road back. I think he's been a really good example to everybody of how you attack the rehab process, and looks great."
Gates' swift recovery surprised even himself.
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"I would just say I surprised myself a lot throughout the process," Gates said. "Kind of every step I took, it was a different phase and it was a surprise of how my body was handling it," said Gates. "So I've just, it hasn't really had that moment with like, 'Oh yeah.' But it's just every process, every step, has been a surprise, and I've just been taking it a day at a time."
He played in the first four games of the season, logging seven tackles, but a shoulder injury against Miami sidelined him again. Gates stayed out for the rest of the year, giving way for Sharif Denson — who is also in the transfer portal — to hold down the STAR position.
Florida Gators in the transfer portal
Florida has lost 23 players (20 scholarship) to the transfer portal this offseason, including Gates. For an up-to-date list of players in the portal, check out Gators Wire's tracker.
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On offense, quarterback DJ Lagway, running back KD Daniels, wide receivers Tank Hawkins, Aidan Mizell, Mike Peterson Jr. (walk-on), Muizz Tounkara, Eugene Wilson III and Jackson Wade (walk-on), offensive linemen Devon Manuel, Marcus Mascoll, Noel Portnjagin and Enoch Wangoy and tight end Hayden Hansen are departing.
Defensive lineman Michai Boireau, Tarvorise Brown (walk-on), linebacker Grayson Howard and defensive backs Jordan Castell, Josiah Davis, Sharif Denson, Jamroc Grimsley and Teddy Foster are also gone.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators football DB Aaron Gates announces transfer portal entry
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