It looks like Billy Napier and Co. see something special at Daytona Beach (Florida) Mainland, the in-state high school where the program has issued its third scholarship offer in the 2024 recruiting cycle as of Friday night.
247Sports three-star athlete/defensive back combination player [autotag]E’zaiah Shine[/autotag] was the most recent attendee to receive an offer, according to Gators Online. The Orange and Blue’s gesture meant a lot to the 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pounder, who was told by Florida that he is being recruited to play in the defensive backfield.
“It’s a big offer for me because they were one of my dream schools that I wanted to go to,” Shine told Gators Online. “The things I like about UF are how they produce first-round draft picks, the environment and the education.”
Defensive backs coach Corey Raymond has been at the head of the young athlete’s recruitment and was the one to deliver the good news.
“I was coming from class and my teammate had said UF liked me and I was excited about that,” Shine said. “Then later today, coach Raymond had called my head coach and told me I got offered by them.”
The Sunshine State target has offers from several other schools, including the Ole Miss Rebels, Kentucky Wildcats, Maryland Terrapins, Oregon State Beavers, West Virginia Mountaineers, Iowa State Cyclones and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Shine is rated at three stars and ranked No. 80 at his position and No. 131 in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports, while no other service has a rating or ranking for him. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Central Florida Knights ahead of the pack for his commitment with a 64.7% chance of landing him, followed by Florida (5.1%), Georgia Tech (4.4%) and the Tulane Green Wave (3.7%).
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