Florida football recruiting: OL Lyndell Hudson Jr. commits to Gators out of transfer portal

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As the Florida Gators continue to rebuild their roster amid a significant departure of players to the NFL Draft and transfer portal, the program saw its second addition in the spring window come Saturday afternoon. Offensive lineman Lyndell Hudson out of FIU, who was committed to South Florida, flipped his pledge to Florida after taking an official visit to campus.

Hudson (6-foot-6, 300 pounds) started across three seasons for the Panthers, primarily playing right tackle. He started every game in 2021 and was on pace to do the same in 2022, though a back injury cost him four games.

The Gators were the only current Power Five programs to offer Hudson, whose list of interested parties mostly consisted of lower-tier Group of Five and FCS teams. Houston was the lone standout among that list; the American power is set to join the Big 12 this July.

While it may not seem as if Hudson is a high-value acquisition for Florida, head coach Billy Napier’s bunch has been in desperate need of capable bodies to start and play significant backup roles across the offensive line due to transfers and injuries. With one year of eligibility remaining, Hudson clearly believes he has the opportunity to see legitimate playing time.

A former two-star prospect in the Class of 2018, Hudson has been regraded as a three-star transfer by 247Sports. He joins four-star safety RJ Moten as spring transfers for the Gators, which now have the 16th ranked transfer class overall nationally, per 247Sports.