Pittsburgh (Calif.) High 247 Sports quarterback Jaden Rashada will no longer be playing his college football at Florida, as 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman reports the five-star passer has officially filed for a release of the Letter of Intent he signed with the Gators in December.
Assuming Florida grants Rashada his eventual release, there are a few obvious ones contenders who come to mind for the California native, who the Top247 tabs as the No. 6 quarterback and No. 29 prospect in the class of 2023.
Arizona State is a program that one would think will definitely push hard for Rashada. New head coach Kenny Dillingham recruited Rashada when he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon and has a long-standing relationship with the blue-chip signal-caller and his family. The Sun Devils did not sign a quarterback this senior class but did land former Notre Dame starter Drew Pyne from the transfer portal.
Under Dillingham’s watch, Oregon boasted the nation’s No. 6 offense this past fall, churning out over 500 yards per game. Bo Nix blossomed into one of college football’s top passers and the Ducks ranked No. 5 nationally in pass efficiency offense and no. 10 in scoring. Rashada’s father, Harlen, played defensive back at Arizona State in the early 1990s.
While Rashada chose Florida over Miami in what was a back and forth recruitment that saw him at one point committed to the Hurricanes as well, California was a school that was on his short list and they’ll likely swing away again.
“Cal was like the second school to offer Jaden,” the elder Rashada told 247Sports in the summer. “Great relationship with Cal with offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and assistant coach Burl Toler has been his guy. It’s home. It’s right in the backyard. I think they’re on the up if they can continue to recruit well and he can help them build a class. I think Cal more than anything is relationship-heavy and his heart is locally with Cal and the relationships with those guys.”
Washington is another that I’d expect is going to pursue Rashada. Not only do the Huskies not have a quarterback in the 2023 class, but they didn’t sign one in 2022, instead landing Michael Penix Jr. out of the transfer portal. Penix went on to lead Washington to an 11-2 record (a seven-game improvement under Kalen DeBoer and that first-year staff), the maestro for the nation’s No. 1 passing offense and no. 2 scoring machines. Penix will return this coming season, but Rashada would have a clear bath to be the starter in 2024 with Sam Huard having entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Rashada’s finalists when he chose Florida were Miami, Cal, Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. We’ll see if any other programs come into play for Rashada but those three Pac-12 programs will be ones to initially monitor.
