When O'Cyrus Torrence decided to transfer from Louisiana to Florida, and join his former head coach Billy Napier, it was far from an easy choice.
"For me, that was the hardest part. Just leaving the guys that I started out with," Torrence revealed. "Going to Florida, I feel like it was like a baby step of going to the league. I was able to lock him on football just focused on it the for the year and get myself right."
That business decision for 'Cybo' is paying dividends. In 2022, he was named a consensus first team All-American. And NFL.com has Torrence rated as the number 1 offensive guard in the upcoming NFL draft.
"It just shows the work I put in actually paying off and other people seeing it too," Torrence said. "Of course I felt like I was the best throughout the year. I played with that confidence toward that. To actually see other people say that too let me know that I was going in the right path for what I was doing."
The pre-draft process has allowed Torrence's stock to continue to rise. The Greensburg, Louisiana native turned heads at the Senior Bowl and NFL combine. But his most memorable move, came at Florida Pro Day. As he wore cleats to represent the Gators and Cajuns.
"Me myself, I feel like wearing a shirt wasn't going to do it justice for the three years I spent in Louisiana," Torrence explained. "So I feel like I needed to do something a little bit more permanent. So just to show my appreciation for both schools, by doing something different and unique that you don't see much of. It ended up being a hit more than I thought it would be honestly."
When Torrence is selected, he will be the 4th o-lineman from the 2019 UL roster to get drafted. But he has a chance to make history, as the first Cajun ever to be picked in the 1st round.
"It would just mean that I really left an impact on the organization that I started with," Torrence expressed. "It would just be something important that I could like share with them forever. I feel like being able to go first round, being the first to go first round from that organization, would be my way of showing my respect. I went and did what I was supposed to do and now we're reaping the benefits from it."
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