Florida has reportedly parted ways with NIL director Marcus Castro-Walker, per Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online. Stewart Mandel of The Athletic provided an update on the situation.
“Sources interviewed by the NCAA told @TheAthletic last month that Walker was one of the subjects of their investigation into Florida re: Jaden Rashada recruitment,” Mandel wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Castro-Walker has been involved in the investigation surrounding Florida football's recruitment of quarterback Jaden Rashada. Rashada ended up committing elsewhere, ultimately agreeing to attend Arizona State.
For those who may not be aware, Rashada had previously agreed to an NIL deal with the Gator Collective. His NIL deal was not properly honored with the Gator Collective, however, and Rashada ended up backing out of his commitment to Florida.
Steve McClain, a spokesperson for Florida, previously provided a statement to ESPN.
“We have been and will continue to cooperate with the NCAA,” McClain said. “We hold ourselves to high standards of excellence and integrity on and off the field. Because we follow NCAA policies about maintaining confidentiality, we are unable to offer additional comments.”
All of this led to Florida's decision to part ways with Marcus Castro-Walker. Additionally, the Gator Collective, which wasn't affiliated with the university, is no longer in existence.
Florida is looking to move on from this situation. In the end, they missed out on a top quarterback prospect due to non-football reasons, and that's something they want to ensure does not happen ever again. Building a top-tier program is difficult enough, especially when other factors are at play.
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