GAINESVILLE, Fla. — College football is not spoken of in the Bible – according to sources, that includes Notre Dame and Touchdown Jesus – but on fan website message boards, a favorite passage goes like this: The transfer portal giveth, and the transfer portal taketh.

In a mostly quiet 10 days for the Gators during the spring transfer portal window, the Gators lost defensive lineman D’Antre Robinson and defensive back Gregory Smith III.

The departure of the 6-foot-5, 303-pound Robinson, who played in the Orange & Blue Game on April 12, represented the biggest hit. Robinson projected to move up the depth chart after he recorded 17 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks as a freshman. Instead, two days after entering the portal on April 24, Robinson announced he was headed to join Bill Belichick at North Carolina.

But the Gators moved quickly to replace Robinson, officially adding Baylor defensive lineman transfer Brendan Bett, who entered the portal a few days before Baylor’s Green & Gold Spring Game on April 26.

It starts up front‼️

Time to shine, @BAMSOSWAY_256 🐊#GRIND25HINE pic.twitter.com/2UEPu91nqH

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 28, 2025

What are the Gators getting in Bett? Well, on paper, at least, it would be a player with credentials similar to Robinson. Both were rated three-star prospects coming out of high school, and Bett is listed at 6-foot-5, 300 pounds.

Bett played in 10 games as a freshman in 2023, registering nine tackles, a sack and two pass breakups. Coming out of Killeen (Texas) High, Bett was recruited by Gators executive head coach/defensive coordinator Ron Roberts during Roberts’ final season at Baylor in 2022. Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach Dennis Johnson also recruited and coached Bett in 2023 before leaving last year for the NFL.

Gators defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who was at Colorado in 2022, has a relationship with Bett while on the recruiting trail. Bett improved each year at Ellison High to garner offers from programs such as Colorado, Houston, Minnesota, Texas Tech, SMU and Georgia State.

“Looking back, you can see the progression in my play year after year,” Bett told the Killeen Daily Herald when he signed with Baylor in December 2022. “I went from being an honorable mention on the all-district team to getting on the first team as a junior. Then, in my senior year, I was named defensive MVP.

“It feels good to see everything paying off. I wasn’t just a slouch; everything happened because of hard work.”

The Gators seek the same commitment from Bett, who redshirted last season, reportedly due to academic issues and injury. His play early in spring camp drew positive reports in the Baylor media before he entered the portal. Bett played in only one game last season, Baylor’s Texas Bowl loss to LSU.

Ellison coach Danny Servance, who played at Baylor and graduated from Permian (Texas) High — the program made famous by author Buzz Bissinger‘s book “Friday Night Lights” — recalled Bett as an important leader during his prep career.

“Brendan always knew our expectations and our mission statement, and he would assist in relaying that to the team and make them accountable,” Servance told the Killeen Daily Herald. “That is priceless.”