After the Florida State Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff despite an undefeated record, the state of Florida made plans to sue the NCAA (headed up by Governor Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and Senator Rick Scott). Since then, the NCAA has sanctioned Florida State for what seems like a minor infraction, and now, they are going after a South Carolina football rival in the Sunshine State.
According to a report from ESPN's Mark Schlabach, the Florida Gators are in the crosshairs of the NCAA now.
The investigation stems from the recruitment of high-profile quarterback Jaden Rashad. The class of 2023 quarterback signed with the Gators but was released from his signed national letter of intent, allegedly because of a disagreement over an alleged $13 Million NIL promise from the Gators to the Rashada family. Rashada ended up at Arizona State.
Because schools directly offering NIL compensation is illegal, Florida could end up in a lot of trouble over the Rashada recruitment, something that has to sting even worse because the Gators did not even keep the player.
According to both the Tampa Bay Times and the Associated Press, the investigation began last summer.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier is already on a hot seat as UF has underperformed since he arrived in Gainesville before the 2022 season. If the Gators receive sanctions for the violations, Florida might be able to use that as a means of avoiding some or all of his contract buyout.
For the first time in over 30 years, South Carolina football and Florida football will not link up on the gridiron as the custom 2024 schedule is the first without divisions. The Gamecocks' full schedule can be found here.
Florida is not the Gamecocks' only SEC rival who has been in hot water with the NCAA lately. Last summer, Tennessee was busted for over 200 recruiting violations.