Florida State Offers Defensive Line Transfer From Rival Gators

When it comes to the NCAA Transfer Portal, rivalries and past transgressions are normally left in the rear-view mirror. The Seminoles are willing to do their due diligence on just about any player who decides to transfer - even if they used to wear orange and blue or green and orange.

On Thursday morning, Florida State extended a scholarship offer to Florida defensive lineman transfer Chris McClellan. After completing his sophomore season in Gainesville, McClellan elected to explore what the transfer portal had to offer when he made his announcement at the beginning of the week. He was officially listed in the database earlier today and that has led a bunch of schools to already get in contact.

Outside of the Seminoles, McClellan has already reported offers from Auburn, Missouri, Mississippi State, Colorado, and SMU. It's expected that he'll be one of the coveted defensive linemen during the winter cycle.

McClellan spent the last two years in Gainesville after joining the program as a top-100 prospect in Billy Napier's first recruiting class. He's developed into a rotational piece in Gainesville, appearing in 25 games, with one start, while totaling 46 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and one fumble recovery. McClellan's first career start came against the Seminoles and he finished with three total tackles in the defeat.

Florida State is going to need to add a boost to its defensive line with Fabien Lovett, Braden Fiske, and Dennis Briggs all moving on following the 2023 season. The Seminoles aren't guaranteed to keep junior Darrell Jackson or redshirt sophomore Joshua Farmer on the roster either.

As of now, the program has six scholarship defensive tackles that have eligibility to return during the 2024 season; Jackson, Farmer, redshirt junior Malcolm Ray, redshirt freshman Daniel Lyons, and true freshman KJ Sampson. Three-star prospect Jamorie Flagg will join the team as part of the #Tribe24 recruiting class. It's possible that Briggs earns an extra year of eligibility after missing the majority of the 2021 season.

Standing at 6-foot-2, 320 pounds, McClellan was regarded as the No. 2 recruit in the state of Oklahoma in the 2022 class. The Sooners have yet to join his transfer recruitment so far.

The Seminoles are expressing interest in a variety of defensive line transfers early in the 30-day window.