When Billy Napier took over at the University of Florida he likened his situation to getting in the ballgame with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.
After the Gators fired Dan Mullen, several blue-chip recruits backed off their commitments from Florida. ESPN was forced to leave UF outside of its top 50, but that wouldn’t last long. Napier scored big during the early signing period by landing five-star safety Kamari Wilson and getting four-star linebacker Shemar James back in the fold.
The Gators jumped to No. 43 in the last update, and now ESPN has them at No. 35 with six more commits set to sign on national signing day. That number could grow as Napier has Florida in play with several undecided recruits.
Improving the depth of the class with multiple three-star commitments, including safety Miguel Mitchell, who can be a punishing hitter, the Gators have moved inside the top-35.
They are also in a position to continue to rise in the final days, as they’re in the running for several of the remaining highly touted prospects like Harold Perkins.
Perkins, one of the nation’s best linebackers, recently decommitted from Texas A&M and is considering Florida and LSU. Four-star safety Jacoby Mathews and four-star running back Trevonte’ Citizen will also have orange and blue hats on the table Wednesday.
Adding a few more of these names would be the equivalent of Napier coming into the game with minutes left and miraculously tying it up. He’s proven himself as one of the conference’s top recruiters in a short amount of time and doesn’t show signs of slowing down.
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