Billy Napier and the Florida Gators earned a verbal commitment from German offensive tackle [autotag]Noel Portnjagin[/autotag] on June 14, but they won’t host him on an official visit until December, according to Gators Online.
Portnjagin got together with offensive line coach Rob Sale to work out the dates, and the expectation is for the international commit to stay in Gainesville over the weekend of Dec. 8, which means his visit will end just 10 days ahead of the early signing period.
The best news about Portnjagin’s official visit is that it will be his only one. Auburn, South Carolina and Liberty all offered him after he camped with the programs, and there’s a good chance that more schools would follow suit if his recruitment stayed open.
Florida will be Portnjagin’s only official visit, so this feels like the closest thing to a lock as it gets in the wild world of high school recruiting.
The Gators will most likely use Portnjagin as a guard, despite him starting at left tackle for his high school. The limited film available on him looks promising, and picking up three SEC offers in a month looks good, especially for an international recruit. At 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, his size should at least give him a chance with the right coaching.
Portnjagin is a three-star recruit, according to On3 and Rivals.com. Neither 247Sports nor ESPN has graded him yet, but the On3 industry ranking has him at No. 1,077 nationally and No. 80 among offensive tackles in the class of 2024.
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