Florida’s recruiting staff continued to dominate the month of November by flipping Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee, Florida) interior offensive lineman [autotag]Daniel Pierre Louis[/autotag] from the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday.
Pierre Louis’ commitment to Florida comes immediately after his official visit with the Gators, during which he watched the Orange and Blue take down the LSU Tigers in an upset win on Saturday.
The Seminoles landed him on Oct. 15 — over both Florida and North Carolina State — but major changes in Tallahassee affected his recruitment.
Coaches make the difference
Florida State recently fired offensive coordinator/line coach Alex Atkins, who played a vital role in securing a pledge from Pierre Louis. With the FSU coaching staff in flux, Florida co-offensive line coach [autotag]Jonathan Decoster[/autotag] was able to step up over the weekend, according to Gators Online.
“He’s Haitian and I’m Haitian, so we connect really well,” Pierre Louis said. “We have a bond where he gives me great feedback and tells me where to improve and also shows me little tips and tricks to keep elevating my game. He shows me development of other players like me that they brought into their program. Overall, the vibes are really good. He’s been showing me what their plans for development are, like, how they go into each week and their grade-out sheets. It’s been really nice.”
Pierre Louis is also getting close with Rob Sale, the Gators’ other offensive line coach. He also has a relationship with four-star quarterback Tramell Jones, who recently flipped from Florida State to Florida.
All eyes now shift to five-star Florida State commit Solomon Thomas, who also voiced his displeasure with the firing of Atkins.
Recruiting Summary
Pierre Louis is a consensus three-star recruit, ranked the highest by On3 at No. 52 among interior offensive linemen in the class of 2025. The 247Sports composite ranks Pierre Louis No. 803 nationally and No. 55 at his position, while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 949 and 77, respectively.
A flurry of flip predictions came in on Monday as Pierre Louis notified Florida State of his decision. Swamp247 insider Blake Alderman and Zach Blostein submitted crystal ball predictions within minutes of each other around 10 a.m. ET on Monday, followed by On3 vice president of recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong (10:22 a.m. ET) and Gators Online insider Keith Niebuhr (10:38 a.m. ET).
Gators Online recruiting analyst Corey Bender (1:26 p.m.) and On3 Warchant senior recruiting analyst Michael Langston (1:53 p.m.) also submitted predictions in the afternoon.
Florida is ranked No. 24 in the On3 industry team recruiting rankings and No. 28 in the 247Sports team rankings — up from Nos. 27 and 31, respectively.
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