UF adds impact player in WVU grad transfer DL Adam Shuler
As a redshirt sophomore at WVU, Adam Shuler produced 37 tackles, three sacks and five tackles for loss.
Published on Saturday, 6/16/18, at 5:25 p.m. Eastern.
Florida picked up an excellent player this past week when West Virginia defensive lineman Adam Shuler elected to join the Gators as a grad transfer.
Shuler will have two years of eligibility since he graduated in three years and used his redshirt during his first season in Morgantown.
As a redshirt freshman, the Lyman High School product (in Longwood, Fla.) recorded 34 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and two forced fumbles. Then as a RS sophomore in 2017, Shuler produced 37 tackles, five TFL’s, three sacks and one QB hurry.
UF is off a nightmare 4-7 campaign that saw nine players suspended in August and its head coach fired in late October after making false claims of receiving death threats from fans.
Don’t blame Jim McElwain, though. The responsibility for Florida’s unfathomable offensive struggles for nearly a decade belong to former AD Jeremy Foley. The dude went 1-for-4 on football coaching hires, which is — OBVIOUSLY!!! — atrocious.
The Gators return 10 starters on offense and nine on defense. They’ve now added Shuler and former Ole Miss WR and five-star recruit Van Jefferson, who is expected to be ruled eligible for 2018 by the NCAA soon.
Florida has seven home games, four true road assignments and its annual date with Georgia in Jacksonville. Phil Steele’s preseason mag ranks UF’s schedule as the nation’s 64th toughest. Put differently, it’s the easiest of all 14 SEC schools. (hat tip to LSU’s incompetent AD Joe Alleva)
Steele is more bullish on UF than most of the other preseason publications. He predicts the Gators to finish 17th in the country, one spot ahead of FSU and two slots higher than Auburn. In Steele’s Power Rankings, UF is ranked No. 23. He predicts the Gators to finish second in the SEC East and get invited to the Gator Bowl to face Northwestern in Jacksonville.
In Steele’s SEC Unit Rankings, UF is 10th at quarterback, third at RB, eighth at WR, seventh on the OL, fourth on the DL (before addition of Shuler), third at LB, fourth at DB, ninth in special teams and sixth in team chemistry.
Steele ranks UF’s QBs at No. 49 nationally. The RBs are 21st in the country, followed by the WRs at No. 27, the OL at No. 23, the DL at No. 12, the LBs at No. 20 and the DBs at No. 22.
In Steele’s ‘Going Up’ section, UF is his No. 1 team. However, the orange and blue faithful shouldn’t get too excited about this after a 4-7 season.
Florida’s odds to win the SEC at Sportsbook.ag are 12/1. Those are the fifth-shortest in the league behind Alabama, the +115 ‘chalk,’ UGA (3/1), Auburn (7/1) and Mississippi St. (10/1). LSU and Texas A&M share 15/1 odds.
UF’s season win total at Sportsbook.ag is 7.5, but bettors have to lay a -165 price for the ‘over.’ Gamblers bullish on the ‘under’ can bring home a +135 return (risk $100 to win $135). Sportsbook has the Gators with 85/1 odds to win the College Football Playoff.
