Published Dec 12, 2021
Transfer Tracker: Plenty of interest for Florida LB/DE
Mike Farrell  •  Rivals Transfer Portal
Rivals National Columnist

Mark Pszonak contributed to this report.

The transfer portal never stops grinding. One of the bigger surprises of the week came when Florida linebacker/defensive end Muhamoud Diabate made himself available after totaling 170 tackles with the Gators. It should come as no surprise that interest has been plentiful in the veteran defensive player.

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Recruiting: Diabate committed to Florida over Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Texas A&M at the start of his senior season. He was a big priority for both in-state programs, Auburn and Alabama, so his decision to commit to the Gators came as a surprise to many.

At Florida: Diabate showcased his potential as a true freshman, totaling 14 tackles and four sacks. Then over the last two seasons he became one of the more consistent and reliable defensive players in the SEC, combining for 156 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception.

Potential landing spots: Interest has been plentiful for Diabate since he entered the portal. Some of the schools to keep an eye on include Penn State, Virginia Tech, Nebraska, Florida State, Notre Dame, USC, Georgia, Auburn, Texas and Arkansas.

Farrell’s Take: Diabate won't wow you with any one major skill but he can do so many things and is very steady so a ton of teams want to plug him into their defense. He's a solid tackler who has had some solid games against top competition but he's also made some key mistakes and missed some big plays. But overall, his impact at the Power Five level should be immediate.

Impact Meter: 7.8 out of 10

IMPACT METER

The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and manage their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.

1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.

4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.

6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.

9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.

10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.