The fall visit list continues to grow for Billy Napier and Co. after Florida football began its 2023 campaign on a sour note. Despite the underwhelming loss out in Salt Lake City to the Utah Utes — a top-15 team, to be fair — the Gators continue to press forward on the recruiting front.
The latest top prep prospects to plan a visit to the Swamp for an in-game look at Billy Napier’s program is four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jalen Wiggins[/autotag] out of Tallahassee (Florida) James Rickards in the 2025 cycle. The 6-foot-5-inch, 235-pound lineman has spent time in Gainesville prior, including a stop for the Grill in the Ville event at the end of July.
According to Swamp247’s Blake Alderman, Wiggins will return to the Swamp on Sept. 16 when Florida hosts the Tennessee Volunteers in both teams’ Southeastern Conference opener.
Overall, the Gators appear to have the upper hand in the high school junior’s recruitment, though he has no shortage of offers. Orange and blue clearly course through the young student-athlete’s veins.
“I am really interested in Florida,” Wiggins told Alderman. “They have always been, as a young child, one of my dream schools. It keeps them there for me. I am going to keep weighing my decision and see how it goes, but that definitely keeps me interested a lot in Florida.”
Meanwhile, the coveted blue-chipper has kept in close touch with Florida’s coaches — specifically defensive line coach Sean Spencer and outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson.
“I honestly talk to Coach Spencer and Coach Mike P(eterson) a lot when I am there,” Wiggins offered. “They really split time pretty evenly when I go up there to visit them. We are around each other the same amount.
“Coach Spencer will talk to me about playing and Coach Peterson will talk about him coaching me also. They keep it split because they don’t know how I will grow. I have the speed to play the JACK and the length to play the F, but who knows who I will keep growing, so they make sure to both recruit me.”
Wiggins is ranked No. 87 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at the Nos. 79 and 8, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Florida in front with a 58.6% chance of signing him, followed by FAMU (13.7%) and UCF (11.8%).
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