Florida Football’s pursuit of the former five-star WR in the transfer portal is taking another turn

As was the case last season, Florida Football’s approach to the transfer portal is more of a slow and steady one rather than a sprint. As such, nothing is ever official until it is official.

So while earlier this week it looked like the Gators were on the verge of landing former five-star wide receiver Johntay Cook out of the Texas transfer portal, a new insider prediction makes it look like they might not happen.

Florida Football: Ebb and flow

Back on Christmas Eve, Pete Nakos of On3 logged a prediction that Florida would be Cook’s destination out of the portal. The attraction of DJ Lagway was one of the primary reasons Cook wanted to come to Gainesville.

Well, with each passing day, the official engagement announcement never dropped, and last night Mike Roach of 247 Sports logged a crystal ball prediction that Cook would end up in Washington, citing that Cook would be a priority in the Husky offense.

What does that mean?

Granted, we struck a chord earlier this week when we started thinking out loud about what the wide receiver room for Florida would look like in 2025 and included Cook in our projections based on the On3 prediction.

Even then, we noted that it would be difficult for Cook to crack the primary rotation for the Gators in 2025. With Eugene Wilson coming back from injury and the commitment of J.Michael Sturdivant from UCLA, it feels like there is a place upwards. up for grabs and there will be competition from Aidan Mizell, Dallas Wilson, Tank Hawkins and Vernell Brown.

Cook was the 4th highest rated wide receiver in the 2023 class, but just never cracked the rotation at Texas. The Longhorns themselves picked up three transfer portal receivers in 2024, all of whom finished ahead of Cook this season.

Nothing’s official until it’s official, but it’s another twist in the winding road of figuring out where Cook will land in 2025.