Tag: 2023 football recruiting

Arizona State lands former Florida QB signee Jaden Rashada

After being released from his national letter of intent, former Florida quarterback signee Jaden Rashada is headed to Arizona State.

Former Florida signee [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] has found a new home after being released from his national letter of intent in January.

Rashada, who is now on his third school of the 2023 cycle, will join the Arizona State Sun Devils, according to a tweet he sent out Wednesday morning. The Pittsburg, California, product looked at several schools closer to home, including Cal, Colorado, Texas Christian and Washington. He visited both ASU and TCU in January before quickly making his decision.

He’s expected to sign with the Sun Devils on national signing day, Feb. 1, which should officially conclude a wild recruitment. Once committed to Miami, Rashada shocked the college football scene by flipping to Florida in November. He signed with UF during the early signing period, but a reported $13 million name, image and likeness deal fell through before he ever enrolled in classes. That’s when Rashada asked to be released from his letter of intent and set off to find a new home.

In the end, perhaps Rashada wound up where he should be. He’ll still find success in the NIL market wherever he goes, and playing under the pressure of a $10 million-plus contract might have ruined him before he even got started in the Swamp. There’s also class of 2024 quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] to consider. The five-star recruit would be coming in a year after Rashada and competing with him after a year of G[autotag]raham Mertz[/autotag] or [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] as the starter.

With Arizona State, Rashada has a chance to compete for early playing time, especially if Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne doesn’t take the step forward he needs to under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham. The Sun Devils don’t need to rely on Rashada just yet, but he’s the third-highest-ranked commitment in the program’s history, so there should be some effort to get him on the field quickly.

The 247 Sports composite ranked Rashada No. 82 overall in the class of 2023 regardless of position and No. 7 among quarterbacks. The site’s individual rankings favor Rashada a bit more at No. 44 overall and No. 6 at his position.

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A look at LSU football’s full 2023 signing class after national signing day

The Tigers finish with the No. 6 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

It was a bit of an anticlimactic national signing day for LSU — expectedly so.

The Tigers signed all 25 commits (except for [autotag]Daylen Austin[/autotag], who flipped to Oregon) during December’s early signing period. After missing the cut for five-star athlete [autotag]Nyckoles Harbor[/autotag], coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] essentially moved on to recruiting the 2024 class.

Nothing changed for LSU’s class on Wednesday’s national signing day. It still ranks sixth nationally, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and that’s paired with the top-ranked transfer haul in the country.

It’s been a big offseason already for the Tigers, and with that in mind, let’s take a look at LSU’s final 2023 signing class.

Which Florida school has the best non-head coach football recruiter?

Two Gators assistants are among the best recruiters in the state, according to The Athletic.

The path to a resurrection of the glory days in the Swamp runs through Florida football’s recruiting efforts, which has become the focus of the program since [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] took over for [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag], the latter who took a lackadaisical approach when it came to bringing premiere prep talent to Gainesville.

But the endeavor involves more than just Napier — the first-year head coach also brought in an army of coaches and staffers with him to assist in making the University of Florida a premiere destination for aspiring football players once again. Among those now on the payroll are some of the best in the business when it comes to turning raw talent into top-level athletes.

The Athletic’s Manny Navarro took a look at how all the Sunshine State schools compare to each other in his most recent mailbag. Read below his response to one reader’s query regarding the best recruiter from each program who is not the head coach.

If you go by the 2023 recruiter rankings at 247Sports, Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal (No. 7), Florida co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] (No. 14) and Florida State receivers coach Ron Dugans (No. 27) ranked the highest last cycle.

Most insiders, though, would tell you Mario Cristobal anchors Miami’s recruiting efforts. I did a straw poll of beat writers, scouts and analysts, and all of them agreed Cristobal is the guy. When I pressed for names of Miami staffers, tight ends coach Stephen Field, running backs coach Kevin Smith, linebackers coach [autotag]Charlie Strong[/autotag], defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, defensive analyst DeMarcus Van Dyke and Mirabal all received some love. But there was no clear-cut No. 1.

At Florida State, offensive coordinator Alex Atkins received the most love with veteran defensive line coach Odell Haggins and co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Randy Shannon[/autotag] getting a shout-out.

At Florida, it was defensive backs coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] who was the overwhelming selection.

While the Hurricanes appear to have the upper hand in this survey of assistants including former Gators coach [autotag]Charlie Strong[/autotag], between Spencer and Raymond — especially considering that Cristobal is considered the alpha and omega of Miami’s recruiting efforts — it appears that the Gators likely have the upper hand in this one.

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Where Florida’s 2023 recruiting class finished in the Top247

Eight players in Florida’s 2023 recruiting class finished the cycle ranked in the Top247.

247Sports updated its individual class of 2023 rankings, the Top247, one final time on Thursday, and the Florida Gators are bringing in a trio of top-100 recruits among plenty of other quality athletes.

Cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] leads the pack at No. 49 after moving up 23 spots following a strong postseason display at the Under Armour All-American game and practices. He’s the fourth-highest-rated cornerback in the class on 247Sports’ final board, and there’s plenty of reason to be excited about him as a Gator.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] just missed out on the top 50 at No. 53 overall, but he almost made as big of a jump as Jackson, moving 21 spots up the Top247. Another All-American game standout, Collins also shined at the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game to help boost his stock. He and Jackson could get early looks on the field at Florida and both enrolled early at the university.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] is the final Gators signee ranked in the top 100. Moving up 16 spots to No. 82 in the final Top247 update, James was one of the early gems Billy Napier and his recruiting staff identified and got to work on. He’s also enrolled early and set to be a part of a strong incoming defensive line class.

They rank wide receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] just outside of the top 100 at No. 108, up four spots from No. 112. He’ll be a major addition to a receivers room that’s losing a decent amount of talent to the transfer portal and draft. Offensive lineman [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag] is next at No. 147, a one-spot improvement from the last update. The Florida State flip should be on the interior of Florida’s offensive line and joins the team as it loses four of five starters.

Rounding out the group is a trio of Gators signees that saw their rankings dip since the last update. Defensive back [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag] dropped from No. 152 to No. 160, wide receiver [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] fell from No. 189 to No. 202 and edge rusher [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag] went from No. 234 to No. 244.

Mizell’s senior year ended before it began because of injury, so that’s not on him. Johnson actually improved in rating from a 93 to a 94, but that didn’t save him from others who made bigger jumps at the last minute.

In total, Florida had eight players crack the 2023 Top247 and plenty of other four-star recruits that sit just outside. Not to mention quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] who would have led the group at No. 44 overall had he not been released from his national letter of intent.

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Florida drops outside top 10 in ESPN’s 2023 recruiting class rankings

After the departure of Jaden Rashada, the Florida Gators have dropped outside the top ten in ESPN’s 2023 recruiting class rankings.

The Florida Gators have dropped outside of the top 10 in ESPN’s ranking of 2023 recruiting classes. The Orange and Blue’s incoming class rank went from No. 9 to No. 11, largely due to [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag]’s departure from Florida’s class.

The Gators had been hovering around the top 10 of the recruiting rankings since July when a surge of commitments created a buzz around the Florida program and first-year head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]. This was a stark contrast from the end of June when Napier penned an open letter to the Gator Nation, pleading for patience and trust in the process.

Napier was a fantastic recruiter at Louisiana, having the No. 1 recruiting class in the Sun Belt in all four seasons at the helm. But he didn’t do this alone. The addition of top-tier assistants such as assistant head coach and defense/cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag], co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag], and many more, have had a massive impact on the recruiting trail. Raymond is considered one of the best, if not the best, defensive backs developers in the nation.

The Gators were able to sign most of their 2023 commits during the early signing period in December. After the Rashada situation, Florida’s quarterback situation started to look murky, with [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag] the lone scholarship quarterback from 2022 to remain on the roster. The arrival of [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] from Wisconsin creates some competition for the starting role.

Here is what ESPN’s Craig Haubert had to say about including the Gators in his latest 2023 class ranking:

Billy Napier has taken advantage of in-state talent with several Sunshine State pickups, assembling a strong secondary from that pool. The Gators have added several ESPN 300 DBs, including CBs [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] and CB [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag], who has good feet and brings a tough, scrappy demeanor. [autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag], who stayed on even after committing to the previous staff, projects to defensive back and can be a versatile player with his quickness and ball skills. [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag], listed as an athlete, projects to WR and is a player who tests very well, which will translate to his play on the field. Adding more potential firepower to their passing attack is [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag], a lengthy target with big-play speed. [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] is a nice addition to the trenches, as he has been a multiyear starter at IMG Academy and should come in ready to compete for playing time. The Gators also flipped ESPN 300 OG [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag], a powerful and flexible big man who could work his way into the two-deep quickly, from Florida State. It is hard to win the SEC without being strong along the defensive front, and Collins leads a talented group of defensive linemen. Napier showed what he can do with a full cycle to work assembling one of the top classes in the country, but a late split with ESPN 300 QB Jaden Rashada still leaves a need under center.

The official national signing day is scheduled for Feb. 1, with most of the 2023 class deciding to enroll early and participate in spring practices.

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Gators get commitment from this 2023 quarterback recruit

The Gators added some depth in their quarterback room with this commitment.

The quarterback room has been an absolute nightmare for Florida football after the departure of [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to the NFL draft as well as seemingly endless issues with other players. With [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] kicked off the team for child pornography charges, the revocation of 2023 commit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ scholarship offer after a video of him using a racial slur surfaced, and the [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga to boot, it is a tough time to be a signal-caller for the Orange and Blue.

One of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s solutions to patch up his fledgling corps was the addition of Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], who grades a strong “meh” among both the media and fanbase. Not content with just that addition, the program added some more depth under center with the commitment of two-star quarterback [autotag]Jordan Gile[/autotag] out of Chattanooga (Tennessee) Christian School in the 2023 class, who made his announcement on Twitter Tuesday night.

There is not much available as far as scouting evaluations on the incoming freshman but you can check out his Hudl senior highlight video below.

Gile is ranked No. 162 at his position nationally and No. 86 overall in his state according to 247Sports — good enough for a two-star rating. Neither On3 nor Rivals have any data on him.

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Here are all of Florida football’s 2023 recruits in final ESPN Top 300 rankings

The 2023 recruiting cycle is drawing to a close and while there are still a few top prep prospects out there looking for a home – for instance, former Florida football commit Jaden Rashada – most of the rising college freshmen have fully committed …

The 2023 recruiting cycle is drawing to a close and while there are still a few top prep prospects out there looking for a home — for instance, former Florida football commit Jaden Rashada — most of the rising college freshmen have fully committed and even in many cases have already enrolled into classes at their new alma mater.

When Billy Napier was brought in to replace Dan Mullen a bit over a year ago, one of the top priorities on the new skipper’s list was to address the lagging effort on the recruiting front that had been endemic to the program during the prior coach’s tenure. The new crew did an admirable job restoring the university’s luster in the eyes of young up-and-coming talent, cracking the top 10 on some rankings while sitting just outside in others — prior to the Rashada fiasco, at least.

We published a brief article on ESPN’s final Top 300 player rankings for the 2023 recruiting cycle before, now we are providing a breakdown of each individual’s ratings and rankings, comparing ESPN’s results with those of the 2447Sports composite as well as the On3 consensus. Note that Rashada is rated as a four-star prospect and ranked No. 31 on this list.

Gators land double-digit players in ESPN’s final 2023 Top 300 rankings

14 Gators from the 2023 cycle made ESPN’s final ranking of the top 300 players.

When [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] was hired as the Gators’ head coach, he preached the importance of recruiting at a high level. After his first full season in charge of the Orange and Blue, Napier seems to be a man of his word.

In ESPN’s final ranking of the top 300 players in the 2023 class, the Gators  signed 14 players who made the list. With 20 players in the 2023 class, the Gators have a blue-chip ratio of 75%. A blue-chip prospect is one considered to be a four-or-five star player. Needless to say, Napier is pleased with the quality of recruits he has brought in.

Of those 14 players, the standouts have to be defensive tackle Kelby Collins (No. 53), cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson (No. 70), cornerback Dijon Johnson (No. 91), wide receiver Aiden Mizell (No. 92), and offensive guard Roderick Kearney (No. 96), all of which landed in the top 100.

Here are all of Florida football’s 2023 recruits in final ESPN Top 300 rankings

The Gators would have had one more player in the top 100 if five-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] remained a part of Florida’s 2023 class. Rashada, No. 31 in the ESPN 300 and the highest-rated unsigned prospect, signed his national letter of intent in December. He requested and was granted a release from that letter of intent last week after a name, image and likeness deal worth a reported $13 million fell through.

If Napier’s first full recruiting class is a sign of things to come, then the future is bright for the Orange and Blue. With time, the Gators could have one of the best blue-chip ratios in the nation and compete with Georgia and Ohio State on the recruiting trail.

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Former Michigan State football QB commit Bo Edmundson commits to UNLV

Former MSU QB commit Bo Edmundson has found his new home

For a majority of the 2023 recruiting cycle, Michigan State fans expected that Bo Edmundson was going to be the quarterback of the recruiting class. Edmundson committed to MSU in early February, and stayed committed until November, when the two sides decided the fit wasn’t right and parted ways.

Since parting ways, Edmundson has reopened his recruitment and has now found a new home for his college career. After a visit to Las Vegas, Edmundson has officially committed to UNLV of the Mountain West.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

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Florida to host over a multitude of prospects on recruiting visit this weekend

The Florida Gators will host a multitude of recruits this weekend before the NCAA’s dead period in February.

Arguably the biggest change from the [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] era has been the importance placed on recruiting. [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has been vocal about how important he values recruiting, and this weekend has the potential to be another big weekend for the Orange and Blue.

The Gators have had players on campus throughout January’s “contact period” but this weekend looks to be their busiest. With national signing day coming up on Feb. 1, Florida’s staff still has time to add players to their 2023 class. In regards to players in the 2024 class and younger, January is the last time that coaches and staff can have contact with recruits before February’s dead period.

The recruits that Napier and his staff want on campus the most have to be prospective transfer players. The deadline to register and enroll players in time for them to participate in spring practices is rapidly approaching. That makes former Kentucky offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin the top priority this weekend.

The 6-foot-8-inch, 350-pounder has three years of eligibility remaining and is deciding between the Gators and Louisville. Goodwin played in 12 games as a true freshman last season and was the No. 38 overall player in the 2022 class. He would be a massive addition to a group that saw its leaders [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] and [autotag]Richard Gouraige[/autotag] declare for the NFL draft.

In addition to Goodwin, the Gators will have 2024 commits [autotag]Chauncey Bowens[/autotag] and [autotag]Myles Graham[/autotag] on campus. They join uncommitted 2024 prospects Adarius Hayes, Joseph, Phillips, Caleb Odom, Kylan Fox, Malik Blocton, Travaris Banks, and Cameron Keys as 2024 visitors. In addition, underclassmen prospects Anthony Rogers (2025), Tarvos Alford (2025), Gavin Nix (2025), Naeem Burroughs (2026), and Bryce Perry-Wright (2026) will also be in attendance this weekend.

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