Tag: Chase Clark

Florida football staffer seeks greener pastures with sports agency

The Gators have seen one off-field staffer return while also the departure of assistant for college personnel/on-campus recruiting Chase Clark.

The Florida football program recently has seen some shifting off the field with its staff, including the recent departure of the assistant for college personnel and on-campus recruiting [autotag]Chase Clark[/autotag].

According to a report from Gators Online’s Keith Niehbur, Clark is leaving the Gators to pursue a career as a sports agent with the William Morris Endeavor after five seasons in Gainesville.

He first arrived in the Swamp in 2019 under [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] as an assistant director for player personnel and represents one of the few members of the program to have still been with the program since turning the page to the [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] era.

The son of former UF placekicker [autotag]Brian Clark[/autotag] — who played for the Orange and Blue from 1978-81 and was a captain as a senior — is originally from Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from college in Tuscaloosa, beginning his career in player personnel with the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2012 and spending the next four years with his alma mater.

Clark worked as an intern with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017, earning him a role as the director of recruiting at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for the 2018 season. Those early days set him up for the success he found with the Gators.

He was named assistant for college personnel and on-campus recruiting — his most recent title —  by head coach Billy Napier prior to the 2022 season.

Joe Hamilton returns to Florida

Off-field staffer Joe Hamilton returned to the Florida football program after a brief stint with the Texas A&M Aggies. The former Gators analyst had accepted a position in College Station back in February, but reported back in his previous office in Gainesville, according to a Swamp247 report.

Hamilton joined Florida when Billy Napier was first brought in to take over back in 2022, beginning as a personnel analyst before being promoted to assistant director of player personnel/NFL liaison ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Florida’s 2024 season opener

The Florida and the Miami Hurricanes open their schedule on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

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This blue-chip defensive lineman close to making his decision

Billy Napier and Co. should know soon whether they won out for this blue-chipper’s talents or not.

Florida football is coming off its biggest recruiting event of the summer having conducted its Friday Night Lights and team cookout events last weekend. The affairs brought many of the top prep prospects across three classes to the Swamp as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. rolled out the red carpet for the burgeoning teenagers.

Among those in attendance was four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] out of Gardendale (Alabama), who got a second taste of the new staff’s cooking after an official visit back in June. According to Swamp247’s Blake Alderman, the Gators made a solid impression upon the 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pound trench warrior during his recent stop.

“It was real good,” Collins said. “I got a chance to get close with some of the other recruits there. I was glad I got down there. Really the biggest highlight for me was getting down and hanging with the recruits. I got to see the new facility they have. They should be moving into it in the next couple of weeks, but it looks crazy.”

Co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] has spearheaded the recruitment of the rising senior, while assistant for college personnel and on-campus recruiting [autotag]Chase Clark[/autotag], along with co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag], and defensive line graduate assistant [autotag]Kali James[/autotag] have also made significant contributions to the effort. Together, they have constructed a vision for how Collins’ talents would be best utilized in Gainesville.

“They want me to be a defensive end for them, but they also want to move me around. They said I can move inside on the defensive line or even move outside and stand up. They want me to play all over. I am feeling like a priority for them. I like the fact they want me to be versatile like that. I feel like it makes it better for me in the long run. They tell me they need me there. They just stress it bad how they need me.”

Despite the positivity conveyed in the young recruit’s words, he still has a tough choice ahead of him and has not yet set a firm decision date. Florida is also fighting against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs, South Carolina Gamecocks and Oklahoma Sooners for the defensive lineman’s commitment. However, he does expect that decision to be made sometime soon.

“Hopefully in the next few weeks,” he predicted. “I just am looking at these relationships, how early I can play, and just the place I feel at home the most.”

Collins is ranked No. 70 overall and No. 6 at his position in his class nationally according to the 247Sports composite, while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 60 and 7, respectively. The Tide are out in front of the other schools on On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine with an 89.9% chance of landing him, while the ‘Dawgs are second at 3.3% and Gators third at 2.4%.

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Florida makes top 5 for this 4-star defensive lineman

Four-star defensive lineman Kelby Collins dropped his list of top five schools that included Florida on Tuesday.

Four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] dropped his list of top five schools, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina on Tuesday. The Gardendale, Alabama, native is ranked as the 70th overall prospect and the sixth-best at his position, according to the 247Sports composite.

Collins told On3 that the Gators mainly made his list of top schools due to a conversation he had with the assistant director of college personnel and on-campus recruiting coordinator [autotag]Chase Clark[/autotag], who was retained and promoted from former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s staff. Clark told him about how they have a need for edge rushers this cycle because of all the players they expect to lose after this season.

Collins has not made a trip to the Swamp so far since head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has taken over the program. However, he could use an official visit to see the Gators since they made his top five and each prospect gets five of them to use. So far, he has made two unofficial trips to the Crimson Tide and another one to the Bulldogs.

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