Another quarterback that was committed to Florida during the 2023 recruiting cycle has landed elsewhere.
Three-star Nease (Ponte Vedra, Florida) signal caller [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] signed with Division II West Florida on national signing day. Stokes was the first quarterback to commit to [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s Gators when he flipped from Penn State in July, but Florida had to pull its offer in November when a video surfaced of Stokes using a racial slur while singing along to a song.
Although teammates publicly endorsed him during the controversy, the program’s decision was final. Stokes issued an apology and took responsibility for his actions with a now-deleted statement on social media.
“I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media,” Stokes wrote. “I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say. It was hurtful and offensive to many people, and I regret that.”
Elite 11 Finalist ➡️ UWF
Marcus Stokes is officially an Argo✅#GoArgos | #Arete pic.twitter.com/XuyEnTrJ24
— UWF Football (@UWFFootball) February 1, 2023
Stokes has the talent to play for a Division I program, but the recent controversy eliminated most of his options leading up to national signing day. Alabama A&M and Albany State, a historically black university, also showed interest, but ASU rescinded its offer after backlash from the community.
Now that he’s signed with UWF, Stokes can put the past behind him and work on proving himself both on and off the field. Argonauts head coach Kaleb Noble believes that he’s bringing in not only a quality player but a quality person as well. When the two met for a visit, the focus was on making sure Stokes’ public apology was sincere.
“(Stokes) has been through a lot as far as recruiting,” Nobles said to the Pensacola News Journal. “We feel he’s a really good addition as a person. We feel the talent is there, but we feel the talent is there with every one of these kids.”
Stokes is ranked No. 539 overall on the 247Sports composite, but he’s a four-star recruit ranked No. 25 among quarterbacks in the class on the site’s individual rankings. ESPN is even more bullish on Stokes, ranking him the 11th-best quarterback in the class.
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