Florida football secured a nice commitment for the 2022 class on Monday, as Fitzgerald, Georgia, linebacker E.J. Lightsey announced his pledge to the Gators. Lightsey announced his commitment on social media and in an exclusive interview with AllGators’ Zach Goodall.
A three-star recruit and the No. 426 player in the nation (No. 44 among linebackers), he chose UF over other major Power Five offers like LSU, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Georgia. Lightsey told AllGators his two visits this summer helped set Florida apart.
“Taking those visits, I saw that Florida had a lot of great people. It was a great atmosphere like that,” Lightsey said. “It was good meeting the players, the coaches, everybody was just real genuine. Like they showed a lot of love. As far as all the schools I visited, the most love shown was Florida. It kind of feels like home, a home away from home and I feel like it won’t be hard to adjust to.”
Lightsey is an athletic linebacker with a solid 6-foot, 2-inch, 210-pound frame. According to Goodall, he runs a low 4.6-range 40-yard dash and largely projects as a middle linebacker, though he can play at the weakside position or the pass-rushing “BUCK” position that Florida utilizes.
He was offered by Gators linebackers coach Christian Robinson back in January, with whom Lightsey is close. He said that his relationship with Robinson was one of the main reasons he committed to UF.
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“I’ve got a strong relationship right now with coach Robinson. Since day one, since they first started recruiting me, coach Robinson has been the one that’s recruiting me real hard,” Lightsey said.
“My relationship with coach Robinson, the reason why our relationship is so strong is because I feel like I can trust him. I feel like I can trust him to get me where I want to be as long as I buy into the process. He can help me achieve all the dreams I want to achieve.”
Lightsey is just the second linebacker in Florida’s 2022 class after four-star Navarre, Florida, prospect Shemar James, who was a recruiting victory over Alabama. With the 12th player committed, the Gators’ class still just ranks 30th in the nation, and coach Dan Mullen has a lot of work to do this fall.
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