The Gators could now be in the running for a 2022 tight end whose stock is quickly rising. New Iberia (LA) Westgate tight end Danny Lewis had been committed to Cincinnati since Sept. 6, but he reopened his recruitment on Wednesday, announcing his decommitment from the Bearcats on Twitter.
“First off I want to thank the University of Cincinnati for giving me an opportunity,” Lewis said in the tweet. “Thank you guys for recruiting me to the fullest! However, I am choosing to decommit to rethink my decision and open up my recruitment.”
The three-star prospect has seen a late push from some top-tier programs. He was offered by Florida on Dec. 12, and LSU followed suit on Wednesday after his decommitment. Alabama has reportedly also shown interest in the tight end, who ranks as the No. 817 player and No. 46 tight end prospect on the 247Sports Composite.
He’s currently set to take an official visit to Gainesville on Jan. 28. He had originally planned to visit on Jan. 14, and that visit was pushed to Jan. 21 before being changed again. Now, the Gators will get the last word in with Lewis before he announces his commitment on national signing day.
Though he coaches a different position, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond has played a prominent role in his recruitment, as the former LSU assistant is a native of New Iberia and has strong ties with the staff at Westgate High School. He told 247Sports that his primary recruiters have been running backs coach Jabbar Juluke alongside head coach Billy Napier, but he has also talked to tight ends coach William Peagler.
“I talk to them all the time and really have a good relationship with them,” Lewis said, according to 247Sports. “I know most of them from all the time they spend in my area, and you get a good comfort level being around them. I want to see how they are with their new players and what the atmosphere is like when I get over there.
“Mainly I talk with Coach Juluke and I also talk with Napier almost every day. I talked with Coach Peagler the other day. I just talked to him and met him on the phone for the first time a couple of days ago. He just wants to start building a relationship with me. The coaches are all pretty cool and they are talking to me every day, so that tells me they really want me.”
Lewis also has offers from 22 other schools, including LSU, Indiana, Arizona State, Utah and Memphis.
He would be a nice pickup for the Gators, who don’t currently have a tight end in the 2022 recruiting class. The starter from the 2021 season, Kemore Gamble, announced on Wednesday that he would not be entering the 2022 NFL draft and would instead enter the transfer portal to take advantage of the free year of eligibility granted to all players.
Without Gamble, the team will likely rely on veteran Keon Zipperer as well as rising redshirt sophomore Nick Elksnis and true sophomore Jonathan Odom, neither of which saw significant playing time in 2021. If the Gators can bring in Lewis, it would help their depth at the position heading into next season.
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