Florida LT D.J. Humphries declares for NFL Draft

By Adam Silverstein
January 4, 2015

Florida Gators junior left tackle D.J. Humphries announced Sunday night that he would forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.

“GATOR NATION This has been the best 3 years of my life,” he wrote on Twitter. “But now, I feel it’s time to move on! I’ll always be a gator for LIFE! #FairwellUF”

Humphries is the fourth Gators underclassmen to leave for the draft. Juniors defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. and running back Matt Jones and redshirt junior offensive linemen Tyler Moore are Florida players that have already decided to the program before their eligibility has expired.

The No. 2 overall prospect coming out of high school in 2012, Humphries was named UF’s permanent starter at left tackle in 2013 but only played the first seven games of the season as a knee injury derailed his campaign. He returned to that role in 2014 and steadily improved throughout this past season after rehabilitating from a high-ankle sprain that cost him two games.


There are other Gators still with a decision to make. Juniors defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard and linebacker Antonio Morrison both planned to submit their paperwork to the NFL to gauge their draft stock before making decisions. Morrison appeared to seriously injure his knee in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl on Saturday. The severity of the injury and whether that affects his decision-making process remains to be seen.

Former Florida head coach Will Muschamp repeated throughout his tenure that he would advise players to stay in school unless they were projected to be selected in the first round of the draft. Only Fowler holds such a projection heading into the 2015 draft this spring.

With Humphries now off the roster, the Gators only have eight scholarship linemen returning in 2015 as both Nolan Kelleher (back) and Drew Sarvary (post-concussion issues) are retiring from the sport due to injuries.

Redshirt senior-to-be Trip Thurman, redshirt sophomore-to-be Roderick Johnson and sophomore-to-be David Sharpe would be the leaders of the unit next season.

Florida has not confirmed or announced any draft declarations as of press time.

17 Comments

  1. Oldflyer says:

    Hard to see it. I hope he is getting honest advice; and good luck

  2. Gatorfever says:

    Stupid decision. Wasn’t even a pro stud candidate at UF. Another year would have definitely helped.

  3. Brandon says:

    Fowler is the only underclassmen that should declare for the draft. Other guys would definitely benefit from another year at UF.

  4. G2 says:

    Maybe he just wants to bail on the doomster fire? The second meltdown and rebuild in the past 4 years. I don’t think he is ready either but this seems to happen every year now. Bummer!

  5. Dan says:

    So I heard the other day the thought process with these guys now is this – It’s true the 1st round money is significantly more, but the money difference in being drafted between rounds 2.5 – 7 is minimal. They want to get to their 4 year NFL mark as soon as possible to sign that first big deal, so as long they get drafted at all the players are ok risking a year because its only minimal money per year on their rookie contract they are losing.

    Obviously there could be some flaws in that plan…but it kind of makes sense if you think about it from simply a money perspective.

  6. Aligator says:

    These kids just don’t get it and the NFL never helps the lower round kids.

    Some of these kids leaving is because their coach left, nothing else. They are not sold out to the program, but to the coach and themselves and the mediocre ways.

    We will be alright on offense. I am sure we are working on some JUCO kids or transfers.

  7. Ryan says:

    another UF player leaving early that will most likely not get drafted. I guess they didn’t learn ANYTHING from Roberson and Purifoy last year.

  8. Buster says:

    Best of luck to him.
    I hope it works out and those advising him know what they are doing.

  9. Michael J. says:

    UF is better off without him, he was a mediocre player and I expect whoever takes his place to be better. Same with Driskel, UF is better off without him. I expect other players to leave as well. Like Texas when Strong took over, there’s very little at UF now that is important to retain. Both the players and the coaches of the past regime failed to win at a high level, it doesn’t matter what the reason for it was. The coaches, for the most part, have all been sent walking, the players that are not 100% in are next. It’s a restart, same as when Muschamp took over, we’ll have to wait a few years to see if this restart is more successful. It’s time for new blood, and that starts with recruiting. We’ll see if McElwain has made a big impression with only talk over the next month in luring good players to Gainesville. It’d be a big help if someone, anyone, would help out by pledging to UF now. A barometer of how things are going may be the decision of Jalen Merrick in the next couple of days. Failing to secure his signature will not bode well for UF. If UF does have a poor recruiting class, they can make up for it by showing improvement on the field and secure a great class next year. No one said it was going to be easy to rehabilitate UF.

  10. Sammage says:

    Adam, are you hearing anything about how Mac is going to fill in the offensive line? We looking at getting some CC and maybe UAB players or something of the sort? It confuses me how we’ve seemed to be thin at offensive line for about a decade now.

  11. Mike The Red says:

    McElwain has his work cut out for him. Given his past success at AL and CSU, I am convinced that he can help us rebuild, but it is going to take a couple of years. He is inheriting a mess.

  12. darth gator says:

    The coaching staff has to put a stop to this kind of thinking by the players. the players are getting poor advice, and the team is getting screwed because of it.

    Fowler absolutely needed to turn pro, but the rest have no business attempting to do it. This continues to go on year after year after year.it’s irresponsible for both the players in the program.

    • Michael Jones says:

      The only way that happens is when enough of them fall flat on their faces with no NFL and no college degree. I won’t wish for that to happen, but at the same time, it’ll be hard to feel sorry for them.

  13. g8ter27 says:

    This will work out well because Tyler Moore will need a roommate, they can perhaps share a one bedroom apartment together and watch NFL every Sunday on tv. I would suggest they get Sunday Ticket to catch all the games.

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