Florida's early offseason attrition continues.
Following his first career start in the Gators regular-season finale on Saturday in a 24-15 loss to No. 5 Florida State, redshirt freshman quarterback Max Brown will enter the transfer portal, On3 Sports reports.
The 6-foo-3, 220-pound passer will have three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.
Brown, who flipped his commitment from Central Michigan to Florida upon Billy Napier's arrival as head coach in December 2021, departs from Gainesville after two seasons with the program.
Appearing in six contests with one start, Brown accounted for 192 yards and one interception on 68% completion while adding 37 yards on the ground on six carries.
His career in orange and blue was highlighted by his relief efforts of starting quarterback Graham Mertz against the Missouri Tigers in Week 12. Steeping into the fold just before the end of the third quarter, Brown overcame an early fumbled handoff exchange with Montrell Johnson Jr. to lead the Gators to back-to-back scoring possessions to take the lead over No. 9 Missouri on the road.
His 98 combined yards, in which he injected life into Florida's quarterback rushing game, proved enough to pull off the upset in the closing minutes before Mizzou kicker Harrison Mevis' game-winning field goal from 30 yards out.
He was then thrust into the starting role in the Sunshine Showdown against Florida State, a task Napier expressed confidence the redshirt freshman could handle before the contest.
"I think Max is a player that has the players' respect, his work ethic, the improvement that he's shown, I think ultimately that's how he's earned the respect of the players and the staff," Napier said on Nov. 22.
"Everyone knows where he started day one, and they know where he's at now as a player, and I think ultimately they respect that. So, helps that he was productive when he got in the game last week. I think that helps him mentally. But you know, there'll be some butterflies, you know, that's coming. But Max, he's done a great job so far this week."
Brown carried some of the prior week's production into the end-of-season bout against FSU, allowing UF to hold a 12-0 lead over the Seminoles with just over four minutes until halftime. However, the in-state rival's 24-3 run over the final 34 minutes handed the Gators their 7th loss of the 2023 season.
"It was a crazy environment in there," Brown said postgame. "I just want to give credit to my team right there. My defense and the offense, they battled the whole night. They battled. We didn't end how we wanted to, but I really want to give credit to those group of guys that really battled and competed."
Now, the Tulsa, Okla., native will test the open market to continue his collegiate career elsewhere.
The Gators move forward with Graham Mertz and Jack Miller III as the lone scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, with five-star commit DJ Lagway expected to join the team as an early enrollee in January.
However, following Mertz's stellar campaign and Miller's fall from the depth chart during 2023, both incumbent signal-callers could elect to join Brown in moves away from the Florida program, leaving notable uncertainty regarding the future of the team's quarterback room.
The two-sport athlete, also spending time on Florida's baseball team since January, will likely draw intrigue as a high-upside piece in a team's quarterback room, given his arm strength, athleticism and growing mental fortitude as a signal-caller.
Brown becomes the sixth Gator to depart from the program since Florida's offseason began. He joins tight end Jonathan Odom, offensive lineman Jordan Herman, defensive lineman Will Norman, cornerback Jadarrius Perkins, safety Kamari Wilson and kicker Adam Mihalek as players who are expected to enter the portal when the window officially opens on Dec. 4, or already have as graduate students.
More must-reads: