JUST IN: Florida parts ways with NIL director linked to controversial Jaden Rashada situation

According to Zach Abolverdi of Gators Online, Florida and NIL director Marcus Castro-Walker have broken up. An update on the issue was given by Stewart Mandel of The Athletic.

Mandel said on X (previously Twitter): “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.”
Castro-Walker has been a part of the probe concerning quarterback Jaden Rashada’s recruitment by Florida football. Rashada ultimately decided to enroll at Arizona State after making a commitment elsewhere.

In case you missed it, Rashada previously consented to a non-refundable agreement with the Gator Collective. But because the Gator Collective did not fully honour his NIL arrangement, Rashada ultimately decided to back out of his commitment to Florida.

A representative for Florida named Steve McClain gave an earlier statement to ESPN.

McClain declared, “We have been and will remain in cooperation with the NCAA.” “On and off the field, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of honesty and excellence. We are unable to provide further comments due to NCAA regulations regarding confidentiality.
Florida decided to split ways with Marcus Castro-Walker as a result of all of this. Furthermore, the Gator Collective, which had no connection to the university, has vanished.
Florida wants to get past this and move on. They want to make sure that they never lose out on a top quarterback prospect again because they lost out on him in the end for non-football reasons. It’s challenging enough to build a top-tier program, especially when additional considerations are involved.