The Florida Gators stay pat and come in at No. 9 in ESPN’s latest 2023 recruiting rankings. They are the 4th highest SEC team in the rankings behind Alabama (No. 1), Georgia (No. 3), and LSU (No. 7). They are the second-highest team in the state of Florida, with Miami one spot ahead of them at No. 8.
The Gators had an up-and-down summer on the recruiting trail. In June, they missed out on multiple highly regarded prospects, including four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] who committed to in-state rival Miami. The sentiment among the fan base was so negative, first-year head coach Billy Napier had to issue an open letter urging patience in the recruiting process.
Since Napier published that letter, Florida has received commitments from 15 players, all four-star prospects. At the end of July, the Gators hosted their annual Friday Night Lights recruiting event. The next day, they followed it up with a cookout for recruits that was regarded as a massive success. That turnaround was enough to give Napier the moniker “Blue-Chip Billy”.
The Gators will play Eastern Washington this weekend in non-conference play. The game was initially scheduled to be played on Saturday but was moved to Sunday due to Hurricane Ian’s impact on the state. The game will kick off at noon EDT and will be broadcast on SECN+/ESPN+.
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