Florida under NCAA investigation over Jaden Rashada recruitment after NIL controversy

The University of Florida is under investigation for the recruitment of a quarterback they ultimately failed to land.

According to multiple reports on Friday, the school is under investigation for their recruitment of quarterback Jaden Rashada, who ultimately enrolled to Arizona State.

Rashada, a California native, initially signed with the Gators in December 2022 but subsequently requested a released from his national letter of intent following a $13 million NIL deal with the independent Gator Collective that fell through.

According to The Athletic, the collective backed out of the deal and eventually dissolved, and then, 2023’s No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in ESPN’s rankings asked out of his letter of intent and joined Arizona State, where his father, Harlen, also attended.

“We have been and will continue to cooperate with the NCAA,” University of Florida spokesman Steve McClain said in a statement to ESPN. “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.”

The Associated Press reported Friday the school was informed by the NCAA of an investigation over the summer, and Florida was told not to start its own inquiry.

Rashada’s name wasn’t mentioned in the initial notice.

Rashada began the season as the Sun Devils starter, leading the team to a win over Southern Utah.

But after the first three games of the season, he was sidelined with an injury, derailing his first year.

The former four-star recruit completed 44 of 82 of his passes (53.7 percent), totaling 485 yards through the air with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Rashada also added 23 yards on 14 attempts on the ground.