Football Recruiting – Page 180

This five-star receiver says Florida is starting to feel like home after FNL visit

Five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart said Florida is starting to feel like home after his third visit to Florida in two months.

Florida and coach Dan Mullen are attempting to land a five-star recruit in back-to-back-to-back classes. Mullen landed defensive tackle Gervon Dexter in 2020 and cornerback Jason Marshall in 2021. The Gators are in a good spot for two five-star prospects this cycle — defensive lineman Walter Nolen and wide receiver Evan Stewart. Nolen visited Texas A&M this weekend while Stewart recorded another successful visit to the Swamp.

“It was good,” Stewart said on Friday, according to Swamp247. “It feels good to be back. It’s getting a little bit feeling like home, so I’m enjoying myself right now.”

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One of the most significant factors in the Gators’ favor is the idea of Stewart teaming up with his 7-on-7 teammate and Florida quarterback commit Nick Evers. He traveled with the Evers family to Gainesville.

Evers and Stewart returned to campus Saturday for the Great Gator Grill Out before heading back to Texas.

Stewart said that all the schools competing for his pledge are neck and neck. He mentioned that his top schools are Florida, LSU and Alabama with his home state school Texas falling out of the picture. He believes the environment on game day when he visits each school will determine where he ends up. Stewart plans to visit the Gators again when they play Alabama.

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This five-star receiver says Florida is starting to feel like home after FNL visit

Five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart said Florida is starting to feel like home after his third visit to Florida in two months.

“It was good,” Stewart said on Friday, according to Swamp247. “It feels good to be back. It’s getting a little bit feeling like home, so I’m enjoying myself right now.”

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Evers and Stewart returned to campus Saturday for the Great Gator Grill Out before heading back to Texas.

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Florida lands a commitment from this class of 2023 top 100 wide receiver

Four-star wide receiver Raymond Cottrell became one of three prospects to commit to Florida on Friday.

Friday Night Lights has already produced three commits for Florida and the event hasn’t even been over for 24 hours yet. Running back Terrance Gibbs, a four-star in the class of 2022, awarded the Gators his pledge Friday afternoon. After the event wrapped up, two more recruits teamed up with Florida — class of 2023 receiver Raymond Cottrell and class of 2024 running back Jerrick Gibson.

Cottrell said he knew over a month ago that he was a Florida Gator, but he wasn’t sure when he wanted to make the news official. He told wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales and recruiting assistant Chase Clark after camp that he was committed.

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The Milton, Florida native is ranked as a four-star prospect and the 89th best player and the 13th best receiver in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.

He added that Gonzales and current wide receiver Jacob Copeland were the primary reason why he committed. Copeland hails from the same part of the state as Cottrell. He also recognizes Gonzales’ ability to get his wideouts to the NFL.

Fans that follow recruiting are usually concerned that a player will still take visits and keep his recruitment open when they commit a year before they can sign their letter of intent. But Cottrell said 100% committed and won’t visit any other schools.

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This 5-star wide receiver will visit Florida again for Friday Night Lights

Florida has pushed all the right buttons for five-star Evan Stewart so far. On Thursday, he confirmed his plans to visit UF again for FNL.

Coach Dan Mullen and wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales received great news Thursday. Five-star Texas wide receiver Evan Stewart confirmed his plans to visit Florida for its Friday Night Lights events on July 30, according to Swamp247.

It’s a nice win for the Gators because they got him back to the Sunshine State for a visit in back-to-back months. Florida also made a strong impression when Stewart officially visited its program back during the first weekend of June.

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“It’s just a championship-winning program,” Stewart said, according to Swamp247. “They all have that championship mentality and they all push themselves to be as good as they can be and they all make sure they’re great and if they see someone not being great, they pick them up and build them up.”

He plans to make the trek to Gainesville with his father where Stewart will be able to spend more time around his 7-on-7 teammate and Florida quarterback commit Nick Evers. Evers has been recruiting Stewart to join him in the Swamp since his commitment.

However, the talented wideout has used an official visit to Texas while unofficially visiting Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M. Florida will need to make a splash with Stewart on July 30 and secure a visit to one of its top home games this season to stay in the hunt for his pledge.

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This 5-star wide receiver will visit Florida again for Friday Night Lights

Florida has pushed all the right buttons for five-star Evan Stewart so far. On Thursday, he confirmed his plans to visit UF again for FNL.

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Florida football holds steady in recruiting rankings after discouraging month

Not much changes for the Gators after a disappointing month of recruiting but things could still get better.

The biggest question mark still surrounding Florida coach Dan Mullen in terms of his aptitude for winning a title is recruiting. Though the on-field product has been a great success over the last three years, the recruiting has not.

It seems the team could be heading toward rock bottom during the Mullen tenure in 2022, as the class currently only contains 10 commits and ranks just 31st in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite. Florida’s star average is higher than other schools that rank above it, so this low rating will likely change as the class fills out.

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But at this rate, it seems the class is heading for a top-15 finish, at the absolute best. With no players ranking in the top 100 of the ESPN 300 currently committed, things are looking a bit bleak, though there’s still time.

ESPN’s team rankings are kinder to Florida than 247’s are, but it’s still not ideal, UF remains ranked No. 18, the same spot it landed in the last update.

Dan Mullen and staff have quality out of the gate in the 2022 cycle, headlined by ESPN 300 Lone Star State signal-caller Nick Evers, who won positional MVP at the Dallas Under Armour camp this spring. They also pulled Julian Humphrey, a smooth cornerback with good size, out of Texas. Tony Livingston, who is converting from tight end, has a high ceiling for development at offensive tackle. Smith gives the Gators a target with a nice blend of height and speed, and four-star commits TE C.J. Hawkins and DE Francois Nolton are also strong in-state additions.

Florida has some high-profile targets that would give the class a boost, such as five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen. But the Gators also whiffed on their top target, five-star offensive tackle Florida football recruiting: Gators whiff on top OT target, who committed to Alabama this week.

UF also missed the cut for top tight end prospect Jaleel Skinner and saw running back Kaytron Allen commit to Penn State. All of these losses have come in the last two days.

Florida has an entire fall season to solidify its class, but the team is undoubtedly lagging behind. With the Gators’ roster now largely one of Mullen’s own construction, he can’t afford for the 2022 class to finish outside the top 15.

Where does Florida go now after their top OT recruit committed to Alabama?

UF has to go back to the drawing board after it missed on offensive tackle Tyler Booker because he was considered a must-get recruit.

Florida’s recruiting class this cycle took a big hit when four-star offensive tackle Tyler Booker committed to Alabama on Friday. He was considered a must-get prospect because of his talent and the need the Gators have at his position. Booker was rated as one of the best at his position. Florida has also struggled to land blue-chip offensive linemen the last couple of cycles that led to the unit being one of the worst on the team the last two seasons.

After missing out on Booker, where do offensive line coach John Hevesy and head coach Dan Mullen look next to improve their play up front?

Unfortunately for Florida, most of the guys left on its board that has shown interest in the Orange and Blue are three-star prospects like offensive tackles Leyton Nelson, Jacob Hood and Daughtry Richardson. Sports Illustrated’s AllGators pointed out that Florida could pursue four-star offensive tackle Julian Armella, but the St. Thomas Aquinas star has not reciprocated interest in the Gators.

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Out of those four prospects, Richardson and Nelson are the only players that have visited Florida. It’s also possible that one of the three-star recruits pan out to be a stud, but the percentages of players of that caliber are much lower than Booker who was a top-100 player.

Hence why the miss on Booker was such a big deal. Florida had a few factors in its favor during his recruitment. The Gators were able to get him on campus the weekend before the NCAA dead period went in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first weekend after it was lifted. Booker also labeled Florida as the closest thing to his dream school.

It’s still possible that the Gators could flip Booker, but it’s unlikely because no one wants to tell Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban that they’ve had a change of heart.

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Priority running back target chooses Penn State over Florida

Running back Kaytron Allen was prioritized by the UF coaching staff for most of this cycle until he committed to Penn State Friday.

Four-star running back Kaytron Allen sat near the top of Florida’s running backboard for the majority of this recruiting cycle. His name will most likely come off the board now after he committed to Penn State over Florida and Michigan State Friday.

Allen was a priority for coach Dan Mullen and running backs Greg Knox because he played nearby in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy. He also took an official visit to the Swamp the weekend of June 11.

However, after his commitment to the Nittany Lions, Florida will turn its attention to other running back targets like George Pettaway, Omarion Hampton, Terrance Gibbs and Jaylon Glover. The Gators plan to sign two running backs this cycle. The last tailback they signed out of high school was Nay’Quan Wright in 2019.

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At this juncture of the recruiting cycle, Florida is viewed as the favorite for four-star Gibbs and three-star Glover. Both are expected for Friday Night Lights when the dead period is lifted at the end of July. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them commit after their visits that weekend.

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This must-get recruiting target commits to ‘Bama over Florida

Offensive tackle Tyler Booker was considered Florida’s top target regardless of position. He committed to Alabama Friday over UF and UGA.

Four-star offensive tackle Tyler Booker was considered a must-get for Florida by many fans and recruiting experts. Because in previous cycles coach Dan Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy have failed to land a blue-chip offensive lineman. The Gators will most likely go another cycle without landing a top-rated offensive lineman after Booker committed to Alabama Friday.

The IMG offensive tackle chose the Crimson Tide over Florida and UGA. Heading into June, most believed that it was a Gators and Bulldogs battle for Booker. However, after official visits, it came down to Georgia and Alabama.

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This is a major blow for Florida as Booker was arguably its top target overall regardless of position. The Gators also needed to land some talented offensive tackles this cycle because their current tackles have failed to develop and become quality starters in the SEC. The last time Florida landed a high four-star offensive lineman was Joshua Braun in the 2020 cycle.

Mullen and Hevesy will likely keep kicking the tires on Booker to see if they can get him to flip. But getting any Alabama commit to change his mind is extremely difficult.

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This high-priority running back target announces commitment date

Florida wants to take two running backs in the class of 2022 recruiting cycle. Running back Kaytron Allen will make a commitment Friday.

Florida fans who follow recruiting hoped the Gators ended the IMG curse last cycle. They finally landed a player from the high school football powerhouse in four-star defensive back Kamar Wilcoxson which could open the floodgates for more players from IMG to sign with the orange and blue.

It looked like it might’ve because the Gators are in the mix for three players from the Bradenton, Florida school — offensive tackle Tyler Booker, safety Kamari Wilson and running back Kaytron Allen.

Allen announced Sunday that he plans to make a commitment Friday to either Florida, Alabama, Georgia or Penn State.

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Florida wants to take two running backs this cycle and have targets like Allen, George Pettaway, Omarion Hampton, Terrance Gibbs and Jaylon Glover near the top of its board. Gibbs and Glover seem the most likely at this juncture of the class of 2022 recruiting cycle because the others are trending away including Allen.

He took an official visit to the Nittany Lions when the NCAA dead period was lifted at the beginning of June and came away super impressed with Penn State.

“They set the bar,” Allen said in June, according to 247Sports. “It’s more than what I expected, most definitely. I’m glad I took a visit there.”

Even after Penn State accepted a commitment from another running back, it hasn’t slowed down its interest in Allen.

It would be shocking to see Allen pick a school Friday besides the Nittany Lions. Florida will have to move its focus toward Gibbs and Glover who plan to visit the Swamp again for Friday Night Lights on July 30.

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