Tag: 2023 football recruiting

Gators preparing to host this 2023 5-star defensive back

One of the top defensive backs of 2023 is set to visit the Swamp.

Billy Napier and Corey Raymond landed five-star safety Kamari Wilson in their first month together at Florida, and the duo now has its eyes on 2023 five-star defensive back AJ Harris.

Harris, the No. 18 overall recruit in the country, will be visiting Florida on Saturday, according to 247 Sports. His family has been trying to get him to the Swamp since the fall, and the recent coaching changes only appear to have helped in his recruitment.

Florida’s hiring of former LSU defensive backs coach Corey Raymond caught Harris’ eye, and the familiarities with Napier’s staff don’t end there. Co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney was on a Zoom call with Harris last week when assistant athletic director of recruiting strategy Katie Turner (who the Harris family met when she was at Georgia) popped in. They also knew senior director of player relations Savannah Bailey from her time at Clemson when she made an appearance.

“Coach Napier is definitely putting a good staff together,” Harris’ father said to 247Sports. “I will find out more scheme and stuff like that but from what Coach Toney was telling us they play five DBs. I assume two are probably safeties, but even if they play three corners, that’s more opportunity for AJ to see the field and that’s appealing.”

Harris wants to reach a decision sooner rather than later. He may stop by Clemson later in the month before taking official visits in the spring and making a decision. Florida certainly seems to be back in the race at this point along with Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Cincinnati. He released a top seven prior to all of the coaching changes that took place around the country but hasn’t updated his list since.

Harris is the third-highest ranked cornerback on the 247Sports Composite and the No. 18 overall player in the class of 2023.

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This 4-star 2023 DL prospect will visit Florida this month

Billy Napier and staff are getting ahead start on next year’s crop this month as well.

The college football recruiting hot stove has been on full blast of late ahead of national signing day on Feb. 2. The Florida Gators under new head coach Billy Napier along with his army of coaches and staffers have been hitting the pavement hard in an effort to restore glory to the gridiron Gators.

While the focus has been primarily on recruits from the 2022 class, as the turnover between coaching regimes caused an already low-ranked crop to drop precipitously in the rankings, Napier is not so myopic that he is ignoring the future. Along with the high school seniors that will be visiting the university’s campus, there will also be members of the 2023 class present as well.

Among the high school juniors who are inked for their visit is On3 four-star defensive lineman Derrick LeBlanc, who announced on Wednesday that he will make his first in-person meeting with the staff on Jan. 23, according to Corey Bender of On3. This is not his first visit to Gainesville, however, as he attended a majority of Florida’s home games this past season after making several trips prior as well.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound in-state lineman from Kissimmee has several schools in mind so far in addition to Florida. The co-front runner for his services along with the Gators is Ohio State, while Clemson, Miami, Oklahoma, Penn State and UCF all are in the running as well.

Previously, former defensive line coach David Turner led the recruiting effort for Dan Mullen’s staff. Now, Napier, Patrick Toney and Jamar Chaney are all spearheading the effort to get him into an orange and blue uniform in 2023.

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Here’s when this 2023 5-star CB plans on visiting Florida

The Gators have a chance to impress this 2023 stud later this month.

Florida football is getting set to host its 2022 prospect class for their official visits in the coming weeks, welcoming future student-athletes to the campus in a bid for their gridiron talents. But the Gators are not just focused on the next brood of players — they are also looking ahead to the 2023 class as well with unofficial visits from high school juniors.

Amidst the flurry of preps giving Gainesville a gander is 2023 247Sports Composite five-star cornerback Tony Mitchell out of Alabaster, Alabama, who announced that he is set to make an unofficial visit to the Swamp on Jan. 29, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound defensive back will be making his second trip to Florida after an unofficial visit last June and will likely use the time to get acclimated with the new staff.

Despite the recent staff turnover, according to On3, the Gators are already making a strong play for his commitment, with cornerbacks and assistant head coach Corey Raymond leading the charge.

“Florida sits very high for me right now. I talk to coach Raymond every day and I’m continuing to build a good relationship with everyone on the staff.”

Mitchell joins five-star edge Malik Bryant, five-star cornerback AJ Harris, five-star cornerback Cormani McClain and four-star defensive lineman Rueben Bain as the biggest names in the 2023 crop who either set dates or are expected to visit this month.

It should also be noted that Mitchell grew up in Lakeland before transplanting to Alabama, so he already has some familiarity with the Sunshine State and what it has to offer. Hopefully, the Gators can snag a major talent for Billy Napier’s first full recruiting class at the end of the month.

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5-star 2023 edge rusher to visit Florida this weekend

Malik Bryant, who also has offers from Alabama, Georgia and Miami (among many others), will be on campus this weekend in Gainesville.

Florida still needs to do a lot of work to finish up its 2022 recruiting class, which ranks just 41st nationally and remains the worst class in the SEC, per the 247Sports Composite. There will be a lot of key visitors from this cycle on campus over the next few weeks, but coach Billy Napier‘s team will also be hosting a few top 2023 recruits in the coming weeks.

One that will be on campus this coming weekend is five-star edge rusher Malik Bryant. An Orlando native who attends Jones High School, the 6-foot-2-inch, 235-pound player is the No. 21 prospect nationally on the 247Sports Composite and the No. 2 edge rusher. He announced that he will be in Gainesville this weekend on his Twitter account.

Bryant, who played his sophomore season at IMG Academy before returning to his home school, is one of the most coveted players in the 2023 class, and the Gators will have to fend off some other top suitors if they want to keep him in-state. Among his multitude of offers are Alabama and Georgia, which are considered to be his top schools at the moment alongside UF and Miami, who just hired a coach in Mario Cristobal who is known for his recruiting acumen.

Here’s the evaluation of Bryant from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins.

Promising frame with some bulk already showing in the arms. Should only get bigger over the next few years. A twitchy edge rusher that creates plenty of issues for opposing quarterbacks. Uses quick first step to freeze offensive tackles. Well-timed spin move frequently leads to sacks. Fluid in his movement patterns and able to move laterally in space. Spent time the spring following freshman season playing linebacker on the camp circuit. Transferred into IMG Academy as a sophomore and instantly became one of the team’s top players totaling a pair of sacks against a talented Duncanville squad. Will need to keep progressing, but early body of work suggests that he’s one of the top pass rushers in the class of 2023. Could eventually push for five-star status.

Obviously, this was written before Bryant earned his fifth star, but it shows that he’s a very good athlete. As Ivins mentions, he’ll need to add some bulk at the next level, but he would be a massive get for Napier’s 2023 class, which currently ranks 19th in the nation with just two players committed.

A successful visit with Bryant this weekend could go a long way toward being in a good position to land him entering his senior season.

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Gators in the running for this 2023 4-star two-way lineman

Billy Napier and staff are looking ahead at this 2023 lineman prospect.

The college football recruiting hot stove continues to roar after the early signing period passed last month.

However, Florida faces a bit of an uphill battle, having traded their old and broken Dan Mullen in for a shiny new Billy Napier looking to right the ship that had steered way off course — especially in the recruiting realm. Given the activity that we have seen from the new head coach and his partially assembled staff, the new regime in Gainesville seems perfectly up to the task.

With the regular signing period coming up starting on Feb. 2, college football programs have been burning the midnight oil over the next brood of prep prospects, but the most diligent of those have also been looking ahead to 2023.

One of the latest big names to mention the Gators in his favored schools is On3 four-star offensive lineman Jamaal Jarrett out of Greensboro, North Carolina, a 2023 recruit who included Florida among his 11 most preferred destinations. The other schools that made the list are Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Penn State, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Washington; UNC is the projected favorite so far.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 335-pound lineman earned a four-star rating from On3 but only three stars from 247Sports and Rivals. The former also has him listed as a defensive lineman, in contrast to the other two who have him on the offensive side of the ball due to the fact that he saw playing time at offensive tackle and guard as well as defensive tackle during his sophomore campaign.

There is still a lot of time between now and when the 2023 class officially sets ink to paper, and Florida appears to be a longshot, but seeing Napier and company getting an early start on the next cycle has to be encouraging for all Gators fans.

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Florida still in top 6 for this 2023 five-star cornerback

Billy Napier has reached out to Cormani McClain and the top corner of 2023 says Florida is still in his top six.

Gator Nation got some good news from the top cornerback recruit of 2023 after it seemed like Florida was slipping in the race for Cormani McClain.

On Friday, McClain mentioned a handful of visits he was planning on taking in the new year and Florida was notably not on it. Instead, Miami seemed to be the in-state team out in front with a visit on deck. But McClain dropped a new top list before practice with Florida still on it, according to Rivals.

Michigan and Ohio State appear to have made great impressions on McClain so far, and his visits to those schools should only help. The Hurricanes’ hiring of Mario Cristobal also has McClain interested in them, and staying close to home may wind up playing a factor in his recruitment. Florida’s new coach, Billy Napier, has reached out to McClain and appears to be treating him as a priority target.

“I talked to (Napier),” McClain said to Rivals. “I had a great conversation with him. Actually, he’s my coach’s friend. I had a great conversation with him a few days ago. He was telling me I’m a big target for Florida and that the greatest recruits come from Florida.”

There is still plenty of time for McClain to make his decision, but it’s good to see Napier in contact with the top cornerback of 2023 after Florida failed to make the visit list.

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Where does Florida stand with the top CB of 2023?

Miami looks like it’s replaced Florida as the in-state leader for this 2023 five-star CB.

Five-star cornerback Cormani McClain had Florida on top of his list when he released his top 5 in August. Months later, it appears that Florida is in nowhere near as good a position as it was before the season.

McClain said that he’s planning on visiting Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and Oklahoma in the coming weeks, according to On3’s Jeremy Johnson. The Swamp isn’t on the list and another in-state program is. Does that mean Florida has lost out entirely on the nation’s best corner in 2023?

Not exactly, but it’s looking like Billy Napier will have to start focusing on McClain if he wants to land him next year. The in-state recruit is calling Miami “like home” right now and has a great relationship with the coaches.

He’s looking to “come in, and start as a freshman” with a good staff behind him. Napier has been meticulous in putting together his staff, including adding defensive backs coach Corey Raymond. Coach Raymond helped Napier and the Gators land five-star Kamari Wilson, so it would make sense for him to take the lead on this elite prospect.

Once the class of 2022 is a bit more settled and there aren’t two or three new hires every day, Napier should be able to give more attention to McClain.

He’s one of just four players to receive a five-star designation from 247Sports, On3, Rivals and ESPN, so it would make sense for Florida to go all out for this in-state recruit.

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Florida football’s top recruit in class of 2023 decommits

While Billy Napier tries to piece together a 2022 recruiting class, Florida’s top pledge for 2023 is backing off.

Four-star tight end Mac Markway committed to Florida in the summer after being recruited by tight ends coach Tim Brewster. He’s backing off that pledge now that Brewster will no longer be on the staff along with other coaching changes across the country.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound (unverified) recruit took to Twitter to make the announcement. Markway is a top 100 recruit on the 247Sports Composite List and was Florida’s best in the class of 2023. The loss brings the Gators down to just two verbal commitments in the class, but new coach Billy Napier has proven to be meticulous in his approach to recruiting.

Markway visited Florida for the Tennessee game when the team was ranked No. 11 in the country. A lot has changed since then, and it’s not too surprising to see Markway back off his commitment. He’s the fifth-highest rated tight end on the 247 Composite and the No. 96 ranked player in the country.

10 SEC schools have offered Markway and several other Power Five programs have as well. With his recruitment back open it’s anyone’s ball game and the best of the best want him. Interestingly, Georgia doesn’t appear to be in the race for him just yet.

Florida losing one of its two committed 2023 four-stars may seem like a return to the losses the team suffered as Napier began to transition in, but the class still ranks sixth in the SEC.

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This 5-star 2023 defensive back has Florida in his Top 7

Florida is one of five teams in the Southeastern Conference to make 5-star DB Tony Mitchell’s latest cut.

Five-star defensive back Tony Mitchell is still a junior in high school, but he’s narrowed down his options to play at the next level from 10 schools to seven.

Florida joins Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and Texas A&M in the latest cut for Mitchell. Florida State, Miami and Ohio State are all out of the race for now, and it seems almost certain that Mitchell will be playing college ball in the Southeastern Conference.

Although Mitchell plays for Thompson High School in Alabama, he’s from Florida. Committing to the Gators would give him the opportunity to play in front of family, and Mitchell says he’s had a good relationship with the Florida staff from the beginning.

Mitchell committed to Tennessee before getting to high school, but he changed his mind after visiting Alabama and receiving more national interest as a freshman. The Crimson Tide are the 247Sports crystal ball favorites for Mitchell with three predictions from lead experts on ‘Bama’s side.

Alabama and Georgia have already hosted Mitchell this fall, and he plans to be in attendance this weekend when Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa for a top-25 showdown. The Gators will get their chance to impress against LSU on October 16 unless Mitchell is forced to miss the game for some reason.

Mitchell is the No. 11 overall recruit and No. 2 cornerback for 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite. His sophomore year highlights can be found below via Hudl.

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This 2023 in-state WR just committed to Florida

Commitment No. 4 for the Gators recruiting class of 2023 is a speedy receiver out of Central Florida.

Darren “Goldie” Lawrence, a three-star receiver in the class of 2023, announced his commitment to the University of Florida on Saturday.

Lawrence called coach Dan Mullen on Tuesday and committed, according to the Orlando Sentinel. He tweeted out the news on Saturday hours ahead of Florida’s game with Tennessee after initially waiting for an announcement video to go with it.

After the Gators offered Lawrence in June, Ole Miss, Michigan State and Miami began to take interest in him. Florida stayed at the top of his list and he only needed to convince his mother before making the call to Mullen. A coach’s blessing later and mom got on board.

 

Lawrence joins Raymond Cottrell, Mac Markway, and Aaron Gates in the Gators’ recruiting class of 2023. Florida already sat at sixth on 247Sports’ team rankings for 2023, and Florida State is only about seven points ahead of UF. Lawrence could put the Gators over the top.

Both Rivals and 247Sports rate Lawrence as a three-star receiver. 247Sports has him the No. 63 receiver in the country and the No. 79 prospect out of Florida.

The Seminole High receiver has played limited minutes in his junior year due to his team’s consistent dominance, but he’s managed 15 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Lawrence has three rushing touchdowns on just eight carries this year as well.

It’s typical for Mullen to target an in-state receiver who runs a 4.47 40-yard dash early, but getting the commitment this soon is truly impressive. Lawrence’s recent visit to the Swamp for the Alabama game may have put Florida over the edge.

“You couldn’t even hear anything in the stadium because it was so loud,” Lawrence said according to the Sentinel. “The place was on fire and it made me want to come there even more.”

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