Update: Gators LB Dee Finley will transfer

By Adam Silverstein
October 12, 2011

Florida Gators redshirt sophomore linebacker Dee Finley has decided to transfer to another school, the University of Florida officially announced on Wednesday.

“Dee has decided that he would like to pursue other opportunities,” head coach Will Muschamp said in a release. “We wish him the best of luck and we appreciate his time at Florida.”

A four-star defensive back coming out of high school who transferred to the Milford Academy for a year in order to improve his grades and qualify to enroll at UF, Finley was moved to linebacker upon joining the team in 2009.

He appeared in 14 games in his first two seasons, playing in 10 as a freshman but only four as a sophomore. Finley fractured his collarbone against LSU in 2010 and was forced to miss the remainder of the season.

Muschamp praised Finley as a “solid” linebacker and “outstanding” special teamer in the spring, but he has not played much in 2011, slotted as the reserve Will linebacker behind redshirt sophomore Jelani Jenkins

Finley had played in five of the Gators’ six games this year but has only registered four tackles. He missed one game while serving a suspension after being arrested for driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest without violence.

“Although I’ve enjoyed my time here at Florida, I think it’s best for me to move on and get a fresh start somewhere else,” Finley said in the same release. “I plan on finishing the semester here and concentrating on my academics.”

Finley is the seventh player to leave Florida since Muschamp took over the team. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins was dismissed following two marijuana rests in less than 90 days. Defensive end Chris Martin, wide receiver Chris Dunkley, WR Javares McRoy, running back Mike Blakely and tight end Michael McFarland transferred.

15 Comments

  1. Brett says:

    Interesting…

  2. Tractorr says:

    Why can’t we keep a damn team together.

    We are not particularly deep at linebacker and here goes another one.

  3. Ken (CA) says:

    Finley and Will Hill came as a package, supposedly the best linebacker duo ever recruited and they were both huge busts. Neither ever fulfilled their potential and apparently were all hype and ego. Age of entitlement.

    At least here (and other sites that have mentioned him) won’t have half their articles calling him Dee Finley and half calling him Dee Finely anymore. He will just vanish into obscurity and the name will be forgotten…

  4. g8ter27 says:

    At the time, one of the prep rankings (scout I think) had them #1 and #2 rated safeties in the country. Finley never played safety here. Oh well, he must not hve fit into the mold. Hang on because I could see Mack Brown being next.

    • El Meester says:

      Tyler Murphy, too. Also, I’m hearing that we’ve been heavily recruiting TEs this year, telling recruits that we need depth there. Maybe some current TE’s won’t be here next year either…

      • 2-3 TE in this recruiting class. Murphy is probable but not for sure yet.

        • Ken (CA) says:

          While I would hate to lose Murphy with injuries to Brantley, and Driskel probably not 100% yet, that 5 hr meeting with Weis yesterday made it sound like he isn’t going to, although the whole meeting could have been about that and Weis is just playing it close to the vest. In general though, unless we get hammered harder at the QB position, Murphy doesn’t seem like will make a huge difference. Driskel is probably the future and Brissett really showed he could handle the pressure with a very limited package against one of the best defenses in the country.

  5. CeeThree says:

    I wish Dee the best of luck in wherever he goes, and am sorry it didn’t work out for him at UF.

  6. REDD says:

    imo i think this is good dee was always messing up getting penalties, getting arrested , i doubt he would have ever started at UF so this is whats best for him

  7. scooterp says:

    I think the kid deserves a little more respect than what some have written. He postponed his enrollment a year to get his academics together – he desparately wanted to be a Gator. He could have taken the easy way out and chose a school with weaker requirements. Too bad it didn’t work out. I wish him well and he should be of greater value to some other program. Thanks, Dee.

  8. Joe says:

    It’s the Florida Way or the Highway. BOOM!

  9. erng 'n blu says:

    I recall reading somewhere that Champ was super pissed about the blown coverage on the fake punt. He went on to say that there were two individuals that did what they wanted to do and was the reason the fake worked. He also mentioned that those individuals will no longer be playing for us. Was Finley one of them? Or am I dreaming the whole thing?

  10. aziatic41 says:

    If I was Murphy I would transfer. He’s way down on the depth chart and he is certainly not a pro-style quarterback. Driskel and Brissett appears to be the future. I really don’t like this Driskel and Brissett combination because it has all the makings of a quarterback controversy. Its gonna be interesting to see how these guys are going to accept not being the starter moving forward in their careers at UF.

    I really wanted Brissett to redshirt so he’d have an extra year once Driskel graduated to avoid controversy. But Brissett has believed all alone that he could beat Driskel out for the starting job at UF, which is why he chose UF over Miami, FSU and a host of other schools. Maybe moving forward we will have a two-quarterback system for the next few years. And on a positive note, the two-quarterback system worked with Tebow and Chris Leak. So maybe thats the plan with these fine young quarterbacks moving forward

  11. jay d says:

    For the game against auburn..I can see the two freshm…. playing…but for the long term eventually one of them will be benched for the other…until brantley gets better we will see numberous people line up for snaps …but weis doesn’t seem like the type to play more than one qb if he can help it…

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