It may have taken Florida longer to put the finishing touches on its 2022 signing class than most schools, but it’s finally wrapped up. Gators coach Billy Napier concluded his first recruiting class with four-star athlete Arlis Boardingham who selected UF over Oregon. Last Friday when he met with media, Napier explained why he coveted the West Coast prospect.
“Arlis is a unique athlete,” he said. “If you watch the tape closely, he’s really playing receiver, playing inside ‘backer and outside ‘backer. He was 6-3 and quarter, 235 on the visit and really has some growth potential.”
The Gators project him to be a tight end where they loaded up this cycle with other tight ends like Tony Livingston and Hayden Hansen. Napier signed three players at this position because he likes to utilize 12 personnel on offense.
He also believes Boardingham is a potential mismatch for defenses. Napier pointed out his ability on the track. He ran an 11.4 in the 100-meter dash as a junior and thinks he can better that mark this spring.
Either way, Napier and his staff are high on Boardingham’s potential.
“He can run the full route tree as a receiver if you watch the tape,” Napier said. “He has some play strength and physicality on defense, so my experience would say those equate to a mismatch-type of player that we’ll be able to use him a lot of different ways on offense. He’s a very intelligent kid.”
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