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Florida football recruiting: JUCO OL Branton Autry decommits from Gators

Florida and a hulking lineman part ways.

By Andy Hutchins
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Handing over a late pass on this one: JUCO offensive lineman Branton Autry of Coffeyville Community College in Kansas decommitted from Florida last Thursday night, tweeting out the news, and I never got around to writing it up over the weekend.

Autry's commitment in late May was well-received, but that was from a time when we knew far, far less about the makeup and proficiency of Florida's offensive line in 2015 and beyond.

One thing that stood out about Autry then was his size — 6'5", 320 pounds. While that was thought to be really good size for an offensive guard prospect, it also teeters on the edge of where such a player should be before being in Florida's strength and conditioning program, and there's no doubt Autry was given some sort of guidelines to meet as a midyear enrollee. And so there have been quiet rumors that Florida would part ways with him as a result of failing to meet standards set by the program; for whatever it's worth, he doesn't look any slimmer in this picture from this fall.

Whether or not this is as mutual a parting of the ways as Tyrek Tisdale's departure from Florida's class seemed to be is up for debate, but losing Autry certainly doesn't feel like the painful blow that it might have been this summer. Florida's got depth at guard behind starters Trip Thurman and Antonio Riles, Jr., in redshirting freshmen Brandon Sandifer and Nick Buchanan, and has played super-freshman Martez Ivey inside as well, though Ivey's quite likely to move outside once Mason Halter's no longer at right tackle; Travaris Dorsey is another player Florida could deploy inside.

And given the way Mike Summers has developed Florida's offensive line this fall, making it far more effective than the disastrous mess many anticipated, there's reason to believe in his ability to produce players who can be adequate at worst with just what's on hand.

Essentially, Autry may have been no great loss on his own, and quite possibly wasn't as crucial a piece of this class in October as he was in May.

Autry's decommitment leaves Florida with 20 commits in its 2016 recruiting class.