Parker Leise Enters the Transfer Portal: A Look at the Quarterback's Departure from Florida Football
Parker Leise, a quarterback for Florida football, has entered the NCAA transfer portal. The announcement was made by Pete Nakos of On3 Sports. Leise's decision to transfer comes amidst a crowded quarterback room at Florida, which includes DJ Lagway and other highly touted recruits, limiting his potential opportunities to play.
Leise's Background and Recruitment
Leise, originally from Prairie Village, Kansas, was a three-star recruit by 247Sports. He attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where he distinguished himself by setting the school's single-game passing record with 405 yards. He also participated in the All-American Bowl combine, where he earned Top Performer honors and an All-Combine Team honorable mention. Listed at 6-foot-2-inches and 215 pounds, Leise was considered a pro-style quarterback.
He joined the Gators as part of their 2023 recruiting class. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that considers all four major recruiting media companies, Leise was the No. 307 overall prospect in the state and the No. 132 quarterback in his class. He initially joined the team as a preferred walk-on.
The Transfer Portal Era and Roster Management
Leise's departure exemplifies the modern realities of college football roster management within the transfer portal era. With the ease of transferring and immediate eligibility in many cases, players often seek opportunities for more playing time elsewhere. For Florida, Leise's exit represents a part of the natural ebb and flow of roster adjustments.
Opportunities Ahead
With four years of eligibility remaining, Leise has a significant opportunity to develop and grow as a quarterback at a new program. The transfer portal allows him to find a situation where he can compete for a starting role and gain valuable experience on the field.
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Florida's Transfer Portal Activity
The transfer portal is closed for business in terms of anyone from Florida Football being able to hop into it for now. As a whole, the Gators had 17 members of the 2024 squad hop into the portal, which is less than the 23 players who entered the portal last off-season. Some of the players who hit the portal were necessary attrition, while others would have been nice players to keep around.
Ranking the Gators' Transfer Portal Losses
Here's a ranking of Florida's transfer portal losses, from least to most impactful:
#17 - Parker Leise (QB): The odds of Leise seeing the field at Florida were low, making his departure the least impactful. He was at best the 5th string QB for Florida entering this season and even when Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway went down Leise never had his name pop up.
#16 - Andre Morris (DL): Morris was a walk-on who never played a snap, so his departure has minimal impact. Andre Morris joined as a walk-on out of Tampa Jesuit but never took a snap in two years with the program.
#15 Bryce Capers - (DL): Capers made three appearances but didn't record any tackles, making him a low-impact loss. Came to Florida as a walk-on and actually did make it on the field three times in 2022 and against Samford this year. He leaves Gainesville, though, without having recorded a tackle.
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#14 - Zak Sedaros (WR): Sedaros, a walk-on with notable speed, played in only two games. Another walk-on who only played in two games over three years with Florida, Zak Sedaros actually has some legit speed to him. He ran a wind-legal 10.61 seconds for the 100-meter dash in high school and was 5th at the Florida 4A state championships in 2021 in the 100.
#13 - Christian Williams (OL): A lower-rated three-star, Williams took limited snaps and never broke into the main rotation. A lower-rated three-star coming out of high school, Christian Williams took some mop-up snaps over his three years in Gainesville but never cracked the main rotation.
#12 - Mike Williams (OL): Williams, a long-term project, leaves after just one year. Listed at 6'6", Mike Williams had some size to him even though he also wasn't rated very high. He was seen as a long-term project but is leaving after just one year in Gainesville.
#11 - Deuce Spurlock (LB): Spurlock, a transfer from Michigan, didn't see much playing time. When he came to Florida from Michigan ahead of the 2023 campaign, there was hope the Gators were getting an up-and-coming depth piece. But Spurlock didn't see the field much in 2023 and didn't see the field at all in 2024.
#10 - Quincy Ivory (DL): Ivory, a transfer from East Los Angeles CC, contributed on special teams but didn't crack the defensive lineup. Quincy Ivory transferred to Florida from East Los Angeles CC, where he had 8.5 sacks in 2022 but never cracked the lineup on the defensive side. He did take 75 snaps on special teams in 2024.
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#9 - Gavin Hill (TE): Hill, a former four-star recruit, never emerged despite Florida's tendency to use two tight ends. The jump in expectations from the previous group to Gavin Hill is large, even though Hill never took a snap with Florida. He was a former four-star out of the class of 2023, and given Florida's insistence on using two tight ends, it isn't great that Hill never emerged.
#8 - Justus Boone (DL): Boone, once promising, struggled to regain form after an ACL injury. Perhaps one of the biggest disappointments of the 2024 season, Justus Boone just never regained the flashes he showed in 2022 prior to tearing his ACL in 2023.
#7 - Andy Jean (WR): Jean, part of a talented wide receiver trio, faced injuries and didn't factor into future plans. There is a pathway Andy Jean goes on to be a great player for Pitt, and one could argue that he could be higher on this list. He came to Florida as part of the talented trio of wide receivers that included Eugene Wilson and Aidan Mizell. Injuries didn't help Jean's 2024 campaign and even with the wide receiver room having question marks for 2025 it didn't look like he part of the plans moving forward.
#6 - Marcus Burke (WR): Burke, a former top 200 prospect, had limited production over four seasons. He came to Gainesville as a top 200 overall prospect but only had 19 catches over four seasons. Losing Burke probably isn't a massive loss, and we would argue that Jean has a higher upside for the 2025 season, but Napier saw something in Burke, given the number of snaps he gave Burke towards the end of the season.
#5 - Arlis Boardingham (TE): Boardingham, another disappointing player, didn't emerge as the pass-catching tight end the Gators sought. Probably tied with Boone as one of the more disappointing players for 2024, there were high hopes that Boardingham could emerge as the pass-catching tight end that the Gators have been chasing since Kyle Pitts left. That never happened, but like we said with Hill, the tight end room isn't deep heading into 2025, especially given how often Florida uses two tight ends.
#4 - Ja'Keem Jackson (DB): Jackson, a highly-rated prospect from the class of 2023, struggled and suffered injuries. The headliner of the class of 2023, Ja'Keem Jackson was expected to be a key cog of the defense in 2024. He struggled against Miami and got hurt against Samford. Will Jackson go on to be useful for LSU? Who knows, but it usually isn't great having a top-50 prospect walk out the door after just two years.
#3 - Kelby Collins (DL): Collins, another headliner of the class of 2023, saw his role diminish in 2024. The usage of Kelby Collins in 2024 was a headscratcher. The other headliner of the class of 2023 had a productive freshman year, taking 274 snaps with 16 hurries and three sacks. But Florida moved him from the edge to the inside of the line in 2024, and even though he had a solid game against Mississippi State, he was buried in the DT rotation and wasn't seen again.
#2 - T.J. Searcy (DL): Searcy was a consistent presence on the defensive line in 2024. T.J. Searcy was a mainstay along the defensive line in 2024 and took almost 400 snaps. Against Ole Miss, he had three hurries and three tackles, and against FSU, he had five total tackles. Given the state of the defensive ends in 2025, having a guy like Searcy around would have been useful for Florida.
#1 - Jack Pyburn (DL): Pyburn's departure was unexpected, making him the most impactful loss. Most of the names who entered the transfer portal weren't that shocking as Florida did have to push guys out to make room for all the new class of 2025 guys. With that in mind, Jack Pyburn was the one guy we didn't envision hopping into the portal. Now, as it played out, Pyburn's alleged demands were way too high and/or just plain asinine to make, but don't be fooled by the fact he only had one sack.
The Quarterback Landscape
This page tracks 2025 FBS QB transfers and free agents with detailed info on each player. Itâs comprised of every FBS quarterback no longer on the roster since the start of the 2024 season. This includes depth chart, injury, recruiting and transfer portal info with the dayâs quarterback transactions at every level of college football. Youâll also get the latest news on each player with links to player news feeds.
Examples of quarterbacks in the transfer portal or with eligibility updates include:
Jalen Milroe: Declared for the NFL Draft.
Blake Boda: Entered the transfer portal.
Payton Thorne: Out of eligibility.
Jackson Barkley: Done with football.
Tanner Bailey: No longer with the program.
Graham Mertz: Out of eligibility.
Napier's Perspective
Not only that, the coach was pretty confident that Florida could compete with anyone. âWe played all the good teams. We know what they look like,â Napier said. âIâm excited. Weâre gonna get to play one more time. Thatâs all we can control. That came after rough losses for Napier and crew. âThat was kind of one of (the strength and conditioning staffâs) themes for the week,â Napier said. âI think it just goes back to preparing a certain way during the week, and then once you get to the park, put the ball down, and you have to go compete, you have to go execute. You got to go play ball, you know, so and I think just an attitude of, hey, put the ball down. We donât care who you are, where weâre at, or what time weâre kicking off.
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