Tag: Chris McClellan

Florida among top 3 schools for this 4-star defensive lineman

The Gators made the latest cut for another blue-chip prospect. Billy Napier and Co.’s work is coming to fruition.

The college football recruiting hot stove is approaching the boiling point as June continues to roll along. Now with three weekends in the books filled with prep prospect visits as well as other relevant news, things are coming into focus for the 2023 class.

The Florida Gators have been humming along this month as head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] navigates through his first recruitment cycle in Gainesville, with many visitors coming away thoroughly impressed with what he and his staff are building in the Swamp. Among those was four-star defensive tackle [autotag]Kayden McDonald[/autotag] out of Suwanee (Georgia) North Gwinnett High School, who spent the past weekend in Gainesville and subsequently elevated the Orange and Blue into his top three schools, according to Swamp247.

“It’s Florida and I want to play in the SEC. (Head coach Billy) Napier, he ran the Sun Belt so he’s going to win some games. If I come here or not, they’re going to win. He’s going to get a Natty in possibly three to four years so he’s just trying to build this 2023 class. He’s already got the new facilities and academics, you’re going to get a great degree here and just come and work.”

McDonald already has a connection at the university in freshman defensive lineman [autotag]Chris McClellan[/autotag], who he refers to as a “big brother” after forging a bond during his prior spring visits. “‘We could do special things here. We could go win SEC championships, go beat Alabama, go be first-round draft picks,” McClellan told him.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 310-pound lineman’s official visit to Gainesville was the first of five, with the Michigan State Spartans getting a gander next weekend. The remaining three visits are expected to be used in the fall, though those dates are still undecided.

McDonald is currently ranked No. 293 overall and No. 41 nationally at his position according to the 247Sports composite, while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 290 and 39, respectively. The Georgia Bulldogs hold his lone 247Sports crystal ball projection while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Michigan Wolverines as the front-runners with a 36.2% chance of landing him and UGA in second at 30.7%.

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This Gator among 247Sports 100 true freshman who matter in 2022

This Gator is among the top true freshmen who matter in 2022.

Florida football’s 2022 campaign will be a transition year for the program as it shifts gears from the Dan Mullen era straight ahead into new head coach Billy Napier’s debut season. Alongside the turnover seen among the coaching staff have also been changes in the personnel on the field, with players departing to the pros as well as through the transfer portal, while some also arriving through the latter.

All of this turmoil makes Napier’s first recruiting class — much of which is a holdover from the previous regime — even more important as the team looks to bounce back from a very disappointing 2021 season. 247Sports’ Chris Hummer recently published his list of 100 true freshmen who matter this coming fall and included one neophyte Gator from the 2022 class: defensive lineman [autotag]Chris McClellan[/autotag]. Here is what he had to say.

McClellan arrived at Florida with college-ready size and that showed in spring ball. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound interior lineman looked like someone who could contribute in the SEC right away, which is huge for a Gators program in need of depth along the defensive interior (and still looking for help in the portal). Look for McClellan to be in the rotation at defensive tackle behind [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag].

The four-star lineman out of Owasso (Oklahoma) in the 2022 recruiting cycle ranked No. 113 overall and No. 16 nationally at his position, per the 247Sports Composite, while ranking Nos. 121 and 16, respectively, according to the On3 Consensus. If he can take the step forward that Hummer is suggesting the Gators would get a massive boost on its D-line — an area of great need heading into fall.

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Two more 2022 signees arrive at UF for summer semester

New faces are popping up in Gainesville as the summer semesters begin. Welcome to the Swamp, Trevor Etienne and David Conner!

A trio of early enrollees, [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag], [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris McClellan[/autotag], joined the Gators over the spring, but more members of the class of 2022 are making their way to the Swamp. Running back [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag] and offensive tackle [autotag]David Conner[/autotag] both arrived on campus on Sunday and are ready to take part in the Summer A semester at Florida, according to 247Sports.

Etienne, a four-star running back out of Louisiana, was one of the rare offensive standouts in the class of 2022 for Florida and has the family name to warrant lofty expectations as a Gator. [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Lorenzo Lingard[/autotag] and [autotag]Demarckus Bowman[/autotag] have held down the running backs room over spring, but now Etienne and a returning [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] enter the mix.

It’ll take Etienne some time to learn the playbook but look for him to contribute early on as he was one of the first players [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] sought out after taking over in Gainesville and the No. 188 overall recruit on the 247Sports composite.

Conner, a three-star tackle out of Deerfield Beach, Florida, is one of the few commitments that stayed with the Gators through the coaching change. Offensive line coaches [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag] and [autotag]Darnell Stapleton[/autotag] think his frame and athleticism project well for an offensive tackle in the Southeastern Conference. It’ll likely take a few years of development to see him on the line every day, but Conner is setting himself up for success.

Getting to campus a bit earlier gives Conner more time to get used to his new environment and it sounds like he’ll be rooming with Florida’s running back of the future. Getting a lineman and a running back comfortable with each other early is a good sign for the team’s future chemistry.

The other members of the class of 2022 will arrive around May 22 and get settled in for the summer. The new-look Gators are finally starting to take shape and the Napier era is in full swing with a new crop of talent making their way to campus.

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Two more Florida football signees enroll on campus

A pair of four-stars in defensive lineman Chris McClellan and defensive back Devin Moore has now enrolled at UF.

As was expected, two more Florida signees have early enrolled in Gainesville this week. Four-star defensive lineman Chris McClellan and four-star defensive back Devin Moore have both now matriculated at UF, according to 247Sports.

They join five-star safety Kamari Wilson as the only December signees that have enrolled so far, and the Gators are expected to get a fourth early enrollee in three-star offensive lineman David Conner. None of the other five players that have already signed their National Letters of Intent with UF are expected to arrive on campus before the rest of the class arrives this summer.

McClellan joined Florida’s class shortly before Dan Mullen was fired, and though the Oklahoma native briefly considered other options, the new staff was able to retain him. Moore, meanwhile, was an early signing day addition and one of three blue-chip prospects the Gators added to the class in December.

In addition to the five unenrolled signees, Florida’s class also contains two commits that haven’t signed their letters of intent yet in offensive lineman Jalen Farmer and running back Trevor Etienne, who announced his commitment to UF during the All-American Bowl on Saturday.

The Gators still have a lot of work to do on the recruiting front, as their 2022 class still just ranks 41st in the nation and last in the SEC on the 247Sports Composite. However, they will have a few of the key players currently in the class on campus for spring ball, which could prove to be a nice boost.

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These four Florida signees plan to early enroll in Gainesville

One signee has already enrolled in five-star safety Kamari Wilson, and he’s expected to be joined by three others.

Florida has a lot of work to be done ahead of national signing day on Feb. 2, but it got off to a good start with an early signing day in December that went better than most expected. We learned on Monday from a report by Gators Online’s Corey Bender that four of those players plan to early enroll in Gainesville.

Five-star safety Kamari Wilson headlines this group, and the team announced on Monday that Wilson had already enrolled at UF. Wilson, the No. 28 overall player in the country (per the 247Sports Composite), was a major early signing day win for coach Billy Napier, as the IMG Academy prospect was previously considered a Georgia lean. He competed in the Under Armour All-American game in Orlando this past weekend.

He’ll be available for spring practice alongside Kamryn Waits, a transfer from Louisiana who played in just three games last year as a true freshman. The monsterous 6-foot-8-inch, 358-pound offensive tackle has four more years of eligibility. Florida announced Waits’ matriculation alongside Wilson’s.

According to the report from Bender, three more Gators signees plan to enroll early in the coming weeks: safety Devin Moore, offensive tackle David Conner and defensive tackle Chris McClellan. Moore was a player who committed on early signing day, while Napier maintained commitments from Conner and McClellan during the transition. Moore and McClellan are four-star prospects who have committed to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio this week.

All five of these players will be available when spring practice begins next month as Napier tries to turn things around in Year 1 after a 6-7 finish in 2021.

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Where the top Oklahoma prospects signed in the 2022 recruiting class

Where did the top 10 2022 prospects from the State of Oklahoma sign to play their college football?

The Oklahoma Sooners put together a nice recruiting class for the 2022 cycle. They’re in the top 10 in both 247Sports and On3 composite team rankings, with much of their success coming from the state of Oklahoma.

Over the years it’s been a mixed bag for the Sooners in their home state. This year’s class provided the Sooners with four local kids, but over the past 12 recruiting cycles, they’ve averaged just three in-state signees. This year, Oklahoma tied with Oklahoma State for the most in-state prospects signed at four. Before Talyn Shettron flipped his commitment this past Summer to Oklahoma State, the Sooners had half of the top 10 from the state of Oklahoma committed to play in Norman.

Only two of the top 10 2022 prospects in the state of Oklahoma left for opportunities out of state; defensive lineman Chris McClellan (Florida) and Maurion Horn (Texas Tech). Here’s a rundown of how the Sooners have done recruiting Oklahoma by recruiting class since the 2011 cycle.

  • 2011: 2/10 signed
  • 2012: 3/10 signed
  • 2013: 4/10 signed
  • 2014: 4/10 signed
  • 2015: 4/10 signed
  • 2016: 1/10 signed
  • 2017: 5/10 signed
  • 2018: 4/10 signed
  • 2019: 1/10 signed
  • 2020: 2/10 signed
  • 2021: 2/10 signed
  • 2022: 4/10 signed

Up next, let’s take a look at where each of the top 10 prospects signed or committed to play their college ball from the 2022 recruiting cycle.

Gators sign four-star defensive line commit despite push from Oklahoma

McClellan was on flip watch after a late push from Oklahoma, but he ultimately signed with the Gators.

The big news from Wednesday afternoon for the Gators was the signing of five-star safety Kamari Wilson, but Florida coach Billy Napier also got a major win by securing the signature of four-star defensive lineman Chris McClellan.

An Owasso, Oklahoma, native and the No. 100 player in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite, McClellan saw late attempts from the in-state Oklahoma Sooners to flip him after he committed to UF on Nov. 23. McClellan committed to the Gators without a coach in place, and Napier was able to maintain his pledge. He and Wilson are the only players in the top 100 to sign with Florida on early signing day (and the only ones in the class).

A player who mostly projects as an interior lineman, McClellan could help with UF’s depth in the trenches immediately. Florida’s class remains outside the top 60 even with Wilson’s signing, but retaining McClellan in the class is a nice win for the Gators and prevents the class from getting any worse than it already is.

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Florida lands 4-star defensive lineman despite not having a coach

After losing three of its top recruits in a month, Florida has earned a commitment from four-star defensive lineman Chirs McClellan.

Florida parted ways with Dan Mullen at the beginning of the week, but that didn’t stop four-star Chris McClellan from committing to the university on Tuesday.

Ranked No. 101 in the 247 Composite, McClellan immediately becomes Florida’s top recruit after losing three top 100 players in the past month. The blue-chipper is sure that Florida will hire someone capable of giving the team a shot and said that the school environment won him over at the end of the day.

“No other school was really close in giving that feeling and sense of knowing I belong there,” McClellan said to 247Sports. “It’s just the environment there is like no other. It’s undefeated.”

Landing the 6-foot-3-inch, 295-pounder helped Florida move from No. 43 to No. 30 in 247Sports’ team rankings for 2022 recruiting.  McClellan has been silently committed to Florida for three weeks now, and a talk with coaches after Mullen’s firing helped remind him that he’s coming to play for the university rather than one particular coach. That resonated with the young defensive lineman and McClellan made the decision to stay. Athletic director Scott Stricklin thanked him for the commitment and reassured McClellan that the coaching search would only benefit him.

Earning any commitment without a coach is tough, but holding onto McClellan is a big win for Florida. It shows others that UF is still a viable option right now and could help kick start the rebuilding process. Here’s what The Athletic’s G. Allan Taylor had to say.

McClellan had long been leaning toward Florida and previously delayed his commitment. His announcement shows that a lame-duck staff hasn’t folded up. Amid the uncertainty, Florida’s search for a new coach provides a pop of energy and portends that the program is making strides to get better. And one thing that’s not uncertain: the $85 million football training center to be unveiled next spring.

Florida seemed prime to crumble in recruiting after a disastrous season and without a coach, but McClellan has changed the narrative a bit. Beating out Alabama, USC and Ohio State isn’t easy, and other available recruits should be sure to notice.

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Recruiting Update: Sooners gaining ground with top recruits

A look at the Sooners and updates on their pursuit of two homegrown talents and an out-of-state talent with strong Oklahoma ties.

The Oklahoma Sooners have not had an easy go of it this season but they’ve found ways to win games and still impress recruits. The Sooners on-field product hasn’t been the most aesthetically pleasing to watch but it’s getting results. Underneath those results, they are still finding ways to impress possible Sooners.

The Sooners recruiting has hardly taken a dip although their current product as a whole does not remotely resemble what they’ve been known for. However, recruiting goes on and the only way to remain relevant and near the top of college football as long as they have is to continue recruiting at a high level.

As it stands, the Sooners have the 12th ranked recruiting class in the country for 2022. They’ve hosted some significant targets on their recruiting big board over the last few weeks with names like four-star corner Gentry Williams, four-star defensive lineman Chris McClellan and five-star defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. The Sooners have landed some excellent players in the 2022 class but a bonafide top seven recruiting class became increasingly hard when they lost commitments from their three receiver commits in Jordan Hudson (now committed to SMU), Talyn Shettron (now committed to Oklahoma State to play with his brother) and Luther Burden (likely a future UGA or Missouri commit.)

Those commitments over the summer took the steam out of a class that was shaping up to be elite. Good things come to those who wait and those who close in recruiting. The Sooners are closing in on the likes of Williams, McClellan, and Dindy as the fall rolls on.

Gentry Williams, a homegrown Oklahoma talent has had the Sooners and the USC Trojans jockeying back and for the most part due to his relationship with cornerback and interim head coach Donte Williams. USC’s future is very uncertain and that level of stability has not gone unnoticed as new crystal balls at 247Sports  have forecasted Williams to Oklahoma and a Rivals’ future cast has the Sooners as the landing spot now.

Another in-state star Chris McClellan was in town for the West Virginia game. The Sooners have been fighting off Florida and Ohio State the heaviest for his services. In the last week, he’s received a few crystal balls to classify him as an Oklahoma lean as it stands.

Last but certainly not least, another player with organic ties to the state of Oklahoma, five-star Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. His parents are Oklahoma Sooners alums and the connection has been there since the beginning for Oklahoma.

They enter this final stretch in a heated battle with Texas A&M who employs his father as well. They are not to be counted out but a crystal ball from Steve Wiltfong (director of football recruiting for 247Sports) is absolutely nothing to scoff at. Dindy plans to make a decision soon as he has plans to be an early enrollee.

Just playing a bit of a guessing game but commitments from these would be more than enough to take Oklahoma from 12th into the top 10 of the 2022 rankings. That is not taking into account any receivers Oklahoma may try to flip or the possibility of running back Jovontae Barnes or Marvin Jones Jr who the Sooners are also in hot pursuit of.

The Sooners despite their troubles keeping three excellent receivers in the fold are well positioned to finish with at minimum a top ten recruiting class. As long they remember, recruiting is always about how you finish and not always how you start.

Official and Unofficial visitors coming to Norman for Oklahoma’s Big 12 Opener vs. WVU

Oklahoma is set to host several players for official and unofficial visits for this weekends prime-time matchup with West Virginia

Opening their conference slate on what should be a nice evening could not work out any better for the Oklahoma Sooners. They will have a lot of the nation watching, another sellout atmosphere, and some very high-profile recruits in town that they should be ecstatic to host. Let’s take a look at some of the players slated to take official and unofficial visits to Norman this weekend.

Official visits:

 

Unofficial visits:

As it stands at the time of this post, this group of visitors is loaded. There’s a nice blend of commits and uncommitted guys. Those who have already committed can work on the uncommitted athletes and convince them to come to Oklahoma. It’s a perfect situation for Oklahoma.

NOTES:

In-state star Chris McLellan out of Owasso, Oklahoma, is a priority for Oklahoma. They’ll be trying to restock their defensive line cupboard with the likely departure of multiple guys to the NFL or graduation this winter. Currently, Oklahoma is competing with Florida, Ohio State, and Alabama the most for his services.

Marvin Jones Jr will be on his official visit. He plays at American Heritage which is the same school as Sooners 2023 commit Brandon Inniss. The Sooners have an excellent little connection with this school currently will look to stand out with a great official and hope Brandon can keep the pressure on him at school.

The biggest fish that will be in town is that of Lebbeus Overton. Overton is the number two player in the country in 247Sports composite rankings and the number one recruit by 247Sports. He’s a Sooner legacy as his father (Milton Overton) played offensive line at Oklahoma from 1991-1994. Oklahoma was rumored to be out of the race for Overton. However, a trip to the Champ U BBQ and an unofficial visit this weekend indicates communication between the two sides has picked back up. Oklahoma could really make some noise here. Ultimately, they need to have him back for an official.

With only one offensive lineman committed for the 2023 class, Oklahoma will likely start building on both sides of the line for that class. Guys like Harris Sewell have an offer from the Sooners and are very much on Oklahoma’s radar.

Stay tuned throughout the week as we update the list with more information on who is and is not visiting this Saturday against West Virginia.

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