| No. 34 – University of Florida | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive End |
| Class |  Senior |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 25, 2002 Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 250 lb (113 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Simeon Career Academy |
| College |
|
| Stats at ESPN | |
George Gumbs Jr. (born October 25th, 2002) is an American Football defensive lineman for the Florida Gators. [1]
Gumbs started his football career as a wide receiver. Playing for Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, Illinois, Gumbs was a 3-star prospect coming out of high school and was not highly recruited. [2] He held offers from Western Michigan and Bowling Green before COVID-19 significantly impacted recruiting. He decided to walk on at Northern Illinois. [2]
| College recruiting information (2021) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
| George Gumbs Jr. WR | Chicago, Illinois | Simeon | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Dec 2, 2020 | |
Recruit ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: (73) | ||||||
During his first year at Northern Illinois, he played in only four games to maintain redshirt eligibility. [3] In his second year, he played in 8 games after transitioning to the tight end position and earned a scholarship. During spring practices going into his redshirt sophomore season, Gumbs transitioned to playing defensive end. [3]
After changing position, Gumbs had a breakout season in 2023. He registered 6.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. [4] [5] He entered the transfer portal following the season and briefly committed to Cincinnati before committing to Florida on January 4th, 2024. [6]
After arriving at Florida, Gumbs added 20 pounds of muscle. [7] During the 2024 season, he recorded five sacks and eight tackles-for-loss while playing all 13 games. Gumbs heavily contributed to an in-season turnaround that the Gators experienced on defense, leading the team's edge rushers in snaps played. [8] In the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl against Tulane, Gumbs registered three solo tackles. [1]
When the Gators beat FSU 31-11, Gumbs planted a flag with the Gator logo on the away field at Doak Campbell Stadium. [5] This triggered a scuffle between the two teams, which Florida head coach Billy Napier later apologized for. [9] The incident was similar to flag plantings earlier in the day in The Game and North Carolina vs. NC State. [10] Gumbs was less apologetic, saying that he "was just seeing all the things they did to our field the previous year before I was there" and that he "would do it again". [11]
Gumbs started the first three games of the season for the Gators before sustaining an undisclosed injury.. [12]