Virginia Football

Jake McGee to transfer to Florida

The Kid will play his 5th year in Gainesville

By Brian Schwartz@BSchwartzUVA May 9, 2014, 2:50pm EDT

After announcing his intention to transfer from Virginia two weeks ago, TE Jake McGee tweeted today that he'll be headed to the University of Florida to play for the Gators:

I will be playing my 5th year at The University of Florida. GO Gators!
— Jake McGee (@JakeOvaTheWorld) May 9, 2014

The redshirt senior tight end, who was the primary focus of Virginia's passing attack in 2013 (he finished with 395 yards on 43 catches), has already graduated from the University. Thus, he'll be eligible to play immediately at UF.

McGee explained his reasoning for transferring in late April to the Richmond Times-Dispatch: ""I have tremendous respect for Coach [Mike] London and this football team, but I have decided to pursue my future career elsewhere. This is a personal decision and in no way should reflect on this team or its coaches. I want to thank my teammates, coaches, and especially the Wahoo fans for the endless support. Go Hoos."

McGee went on to emphasize the importance of being in an offense that was a better fit to him. Virginia had experimented with splitting McGee out wide during spring practice, and he likely wanted to focus on what would benefit him most in getting to the next level.

Losing McGee is a blow to Virginia's offense, and it'll be a boon for the Gators. He's a pass-catching tight-end that's been a part of pretty much every UVA highlight over the past 2 years. Zachary Swanson is a more than capable replacement on the depth chart, especially from a blocking standpoint, but obviously lacks McGee's explosiveness.

We'll all remember his game-winning catch to beat Miami in 2012...