When three-star offensive lineman [autotag]Tommy Kinsler[/autotag] backed off his commitment to the University of Florida in early July, many expected him to quickly flip to the University of Miami.
It took 26 days, but Kinsler finally made the announcement and joined the Hurricanes’ ever-improving 2023 recruiting class on Thursday.
The Kinsler flip is frankly a bad look for the program under [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]. He was long considered a lock to end up at UF and committed after his official visit in June. It took just one trip to Coral Gables five days later for Kinsler to realize he made a mistake, and he’s not the first recruit this cycle to choose UM over UF, which is supposed to be an SEC powerhouse. The Gators recently lost five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag], four-star linebacker [autotag]Malik Bryant[/autotag] and four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] to the Hurricanes as well.
Gods plan 305 let’s go 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/4jFWTfm1Bm
— Tommy Kinsler AKA Bruno (@tommykinsler) July 28, 2022
The early returns for Napier’s staff against Mario Cristobal’s are anything but good, but the Gators bounced back a bit with two signings over the last two days (four-star cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson and four-star wide receiver Aidan Mizell). Still, losing Kinsler leaves the Gators with very little incoming talent on the offensive line.
Four-star interior offensive lineman [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] and three-star tackle [autotag]Bryce Lovett[/autotag] are still there, but Napier was hoping to add more at the position group based on the players he targeted.
The 247Sports composite lists Kinsler No. 920 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 66 among interior offensive linemen. Despite those rankings, Napier’s group clearly saw an upside to Kinsler that others didn’t. Hopefully, that doesn’t come back to bite the Gators.
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