Gators ‘in the lead’ for this class of 2023 offensive line target

Florida is in the lead right now for offensive line target Caden Jones, but he won’t make his decision official until December.

Offensive tackle [autotag]Caden Jones[/autotag] named the Gators in his top five at the beginning of the month, and now he’s said that Florida is leading his recruitment.

Jones was on the Varsity podcast this week and said that Florida was currently at the top of his list. He’s planned to decide near or during the early signing period for some time, though, so that could change over the course of the next four months.

“Right now, I’m going to have to say Florida in the lead right now,” Jones said. “That’s right now, though. December is a long time away.”

The Gators have hosted Jones twice so far in 2022. The first came in spring after Billy Napier‘s staff extended an offer to him, and the second was during Friday Night Lights. His relationship with some members of the staff goes back farther than that, though. Napier’s staff at Louisiana-Lafayette targeted Jones, so he’s familiar with several coaches on the staff.

The rest of Jones’ top five consists of Florida State, Houston, Texas and Texas A&M. He’s yet to schedule any of his official visits, but those are the four schools he’s expected to visit along with Florida.

Jones’ standing in the class of 2023 depends on the recruiting service. On3 believes he’s a four-star talent that’s ranked around 23rd or 24th among the offensive tackles in the class. 247Sports thinks that he’s a firm three-star recruit that should be ranked in the mid-30s at his position.

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