GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Following Florida's 30-3 victory over Iowa in Monday's Outback Bowl, Gators coach Jim McElwain praised the performance of several players who are contemplating leaving school a year early to enter the draft.
"My hats off to a lot of guys that chose to play in this game the way the way the Gators play and ended up helping themselves in the long run as they look forward to the NFL draft,'' McElwain said. "Some guys should really be proud of what they put on film, the energy that they played with, the excitement they played with, and the way that they put in the work to prepare."
Three of those players announced their intentions on Tuesday afternoon: defensive back Duke Dawson is staying, while cornerback Quincy Wilson and offensive lineman David Sharpe are leaving. In addition, redshirt junior offensive lineman Cameron Dillard announced he intends to transfer and pursue his graduate degree.
A junior from Cross City, Fla., Dawson announced his decision to return via Twitter.
"Boy Boy Boy after sitting with my parents and coaches this was one of the toughest decisions in my life at this point, after having a great season and many more to come I will be returning for my senior season!!!"
Dawson started seven of the 12 games he played this season and has appeared in 37 games the past three seasons. Dawson spent his junior season as the starting nickel when healthy, finishing with 24 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one interception.
Later in the afternoon, Wilson announced he was leaving in a story posted on SportsIllustrated.com.
Wilson
"I feel like it's in my best interest to declare for the NFL draft this year,'' Wilson told SI.com. "I'm definitely excited. It's something I dreamed about since I was 5 or 6 years old, to play in the NFL.
"I think Florida did the best job they could to prepare me for this moment."
Wilson and fellow junior Teez Tabor formed arguably the best starting cornerback duo in the country the past two seasons. Both are considered first-round picks by many analysts. Wilson started all 13 games this season and finished with 33 tackles, 3 interceptions and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-6, 357-pound Sharpe was the veteran on a young offensive line, starting at left tackle and the only member of the offense to start every game this season. Sharped played in 33 games over the last three seasons and started 26 of his final 27 college games.
Late Tuesday evening, Dillard announced his intentions to leave the University of Florida via his Twitter account. The redshirt junior will look to play his final year of eligibility elsewhere as a graduate transfer.
Dillard was a two-year starter at UF with 11 starts in 13 games played last season. He started the first eight games of 2016 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
McElwain said after the Outback Bowl the Gators had received NFL evaluations on all the underclassmen and planned to meet with them individually this week to go over their options.
