Tag: Corey Raymond

Florida impresses this 4-star safety during his weekend visit

Florida impresses four-star safety Joenel Aguero on his visit to the Swamp on Saturday.

Florida coach Billy Napier sent shockwaves through the college football universe when he pulled cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond from LSU, his alma mater, where turned the Tigers into an NFL defensive back factory. The addition of Raymond should ensure the Gators factor into the “defensive back university” conversation once again as they did under former coaches Will Muschamp and Urban Meyer.

Because of Raymond’s track record, four-star safety Joenel Aguero thinks highly of Florida and was impressed with the Swamp overall during his first visit under the new coaching staff.

247Sports composite has the Lynn, Massachusetts, native as the 49th overall prospect and second-best at his position. So far this month, he has made visits to Florida and LSU and plans to see Ohio State next weekend, Miami in April and then eventually Georgia and Texas A&M.

Aguero told 247Sports following his visit that he likes the new staff’s vibe versus the one the old staff gave off. So far, he has the best relationship with defensive coordinator Patrick Toney and Raymond.

Their main message to Aguero this weekend was that Florida is home and that playing time is immediately available.

Aguero spent the most time around Toney on his visit this weekend and said the Gators like how versatile he is and believes he fits best in their nickel position.

Florida made his top seven that he released earlier this month. After his visit, Aguero said the Gators are firmly in the race for his services and are in no rush to make a decision.

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Florida receives four crystal ball predictions for this 5-star CB

Florida received four 247Sports crystal ball predictions for five-star cornerback AJ Harris on Saturday.

It is fairly rare for a 247Sports recruiting reporter to drop their crystal balls while a prospect is in the midst of a visit. Most reporters usually wait until they get a chance to speak to them to get a feel for how the visit went before they cast a prediction.

However, Florida’s two recruiting reporters Blake Alderman and Jacob Rudner, as well as 247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong and Florida State recruiting reporter Zach Blostein, elected to submit crystal ball predictions for five-star cornerback AJ Harris while he was still on his visit to the Swamp. The Gators have now taken the lead in crystal ball predictions at 54.5% over Georgia and Clemson.

247Sports composite rankings currently have Harris ranked as the 17th best player overall and the second-best at his position.

Florida originally hosted Harris back in January and made a splash with the Phenix City, Alabama, native. Alderman reported Saturday that he feels that the Gators have emerged as a leader for Harris.

For coach Billy Napier and Co., defensive backs coach Corey Raymond has led the charge. Many defensive back prospects are wooed by his track record from his time at LSU. Raymond coached seven first-team All-Americans like Eric Reid, Jalen Mills, Jamal Adams, Tre’Davious White, Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit and Derek Stingley. Most of them have become household names in the NFL.

It was a major pull for Napier to convince Raymond to leave his alma mater for Florida, and it appears Raymond is having a strong impact already.

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5-star CB could give Florida an edge on in-state recruiting

Florida and coach Billy Napier need to land five-star CB Cormani McClain if it wants to take back the Sunshine State.

Alabama and Georgia have grabbed whoever they want from the state of Florida for nearly the past decade. That’s why the Gators went out and nabbed Billy Napier — to try to slow down that trend.

During his first couple of months, he has mentioned the importance of locking down the Sunshine State. One prospect located in that area in Lakeland, Florida, is Lake Gibson five-star cornerback Cormani McClain. He will put Napier’s plan to the test since Florida will have to fend off the Bulldogs, Crimson Tide and other top programs around the country for the elite recruit.

McClain currently sits as the overall No. 4 ranked prospect and as the top player in the state regardless of position in 247Sports independent rankings. The defensive back has also picked off 19 passes in his last two seasons and will likely become a franchise corner in the NFL after getting some seasoning in college, hence why the battle for his pledge is so crucial to Florida.

Napier wants to lock down the state and has mentioned drawing a circle with a 4.5-hour radius around Gainesville that his staff will prioritize. Ideally, most of their recruiting classes should hail from that region that extends south just short of Miami and north just shy of Atlanta as well as reaching as far west as Pensacola.

Florida, Napier and cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond have done a nice job prioritizing McClain so far. He’s scheduled a multi-day visit to the Gators during the weekend of March 19. He also won’t be the only five-star cornerback in attendance because Tony Mitchell and AJ Harris will be there as well.

Napier also has an ace up his sleeve in this recruitment because Lake Gibson head coach Keith Barfield spent the 2020 season as an analyst with Lousiana-Lafayette, though Barfield told 247Sports that he just wants McClain to go wherever is best for him. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt the Gators that they have a prior relationship and that Barfield has a Napier bobblehead on his desk.

Regardless, Napier and Florida need to start signing talented players like McClain if they want to take back the Sunshine State and eventually compete for a national championship again.

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This 5-star cornerback sets up another Florida visit

After visiting in January, five-star cornerback Tony Mitchell is about to visit Florida again.

Florida currently has two five-star cornerbacks and one four-star safety slated to visit during the weekend of March 19, but now coach Billy Napier has added another five-star cornerback to the visitor’s list that weekend: Tony Mitchell. He is set to make his second visit to see the Gators since the calendar flipped to the year 2022, per Swamp247.

Mitchell hails from Alabaster, Alabama, and is considered the 28th best player overall and the second at his position, according to the independent 247Sports rankings.

On his first visit to the Swamp in January, Napier and cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond made a strong impression on him. He said he spent the majority of his time around Raymond and enjoyed meeting him in person for the first time.

“We talked today and he showed me a lot of love, and the people in the recruiting office showed me a lot of love, too,” Mitchell said about the Gators. “They just show a lot of love at Florida. Coach Raymond was telling me how I am so versatile and how that would help them in the secondary. He said I am a guy who could come and play right away and they really need me here.”

Mitchell recently dropped a list of his top seven schools and plans to cut it to five soon. He said the Gators have a good chance of making it because of his chance to play early and his relationships with Napier and Raymond as well as his ability to get his players to the National Football League.

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Florida makes top 7 for this highly-touted 4-star safety

Florida made the top 7 for 4-star safety Joenel Aguero Wednesday. He’s the second-best player at his position, according to 247Sports.

Four-star safety Joenel Aguero hasn’t seen the Swamp since coach Billy Napier and staff have taken over the Gators but that didn’t stop him from including the Orange and Blue in his top seven on Wednesday. Florida made the cut along with Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia.

Several hours before he dropped his list, the No. 2 ranked safety prospect, according to 247Sports, told Swamp247 that Florida is doing everything right ahead of his weekend visit starting on March 18 because they are constantly in communication with him.

Cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond is a significant reason why the Gators factor so highly in Aguero’s recruitment. Raymond offered the Danvers, Massachusetts, native while he was at LSU and established a strong connection with him before he teamed up with Florida. However, it’s not just coach Raymond reaching out to him. He said it’s a group of staff members that contact him.

When he sits down to make a decision, Aguero won’t just look at wins and losses on the field. He wants to go somewhere that is going to develop him the best.

Finally, he added that he most looks forward to putting names to faces and seeing what the coaches are like in person when he visits the Swamp.

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Here are Billy Napier’s five most important staff hires at Florida

Here’s a look at the key acquisitions for Billy Napier and his army of assistants.

Billy Napier has assembled most of his “army” and is ready to move on to the next phase of his plan, which is spring practice.

He has made so many hires that it seems difficult to keep up with them. And in doing so has reenergized a fan base that went through a pretty rough 13 months.

Of course, we are curious to see how all of this works when the Florida football team actually plays football games. Coaches and analysts and everyone else on the inflated staff will be judged on the wins and losses. It’s just the way it works.

Napier’s plan isn’t that complicated. Get better players, develop all players and put them in position to make winning plays.

It’s not rocket science.

But getting the right people on board to try to achieve a common goal is not always easy. Napier didn’t get everyone he went after, but he didn’t miss on many.

So, here are the five most important hires he has made as the head coach of the Florida Gators.

Tigers in the NFL year in review: Cleveland’s Greedy Williams

His stock is rising after a productive 2021 campaign.

Greedy Williams’ 2018 season at LSU was about as good a season as any LSU cornerback has had. Playing opposite of Kristian Fulton, he played a large role in LSU having one of the best defenses in the country.

The Browns selected him in the second round with the 46th overall pick. Unfortunately, he did not pan out his first couple years in the NFL. He struggled in 2019 and was hurt in 2020, not seeing a single snap.

2021 was a different story for Williams as he finally started to look closer to the player he was at LSU. Williams saw limited action the first few weeks of the season but finally got an opportunity in week four when the Browns faced the Vikings.

Williams picked off his first career pass. According to Pro Football Reference, he was targeted five times and allowed just a 34.2 quarterback rating on those targets. Williams played in 100% of the defensive snaps. A big step for a player coming off an injury.

Williams then struggled in his next couple of games. A pair of games that saw the Browns defense give up a combined 84 points.

He bounced back from that slump though, allowing just five catches on 13 targets in his next four games, breaking up three passes in that stretch.

Over the last few weeks of the year, Williams was somewhat inconsistent, but still good. Against the Raiders, he broke up two passes while picking off another, helping a depleted Browns team win a defensive battle.

He didn’t play a ton against Pittsburgh in week 17’s Monday night game, but he was good when he did, allowing just three yards on two targets.

All things considered; Williams had a pretty good year. Coming into week 18, he was in the top 20% of cornerbacks when it came to passer rating when targeted.

Williams 2021 was a pleasant surprise for some who thought he may have been a bust. It didn’t look promising after his first couple years in the league. If Williams builds on his 2021 in 2022, he has a chance to be seen in the same light as some other LSU cornerbacks who have gone on to be really good NFL players.

Looking back on Cordale Flott’s LSU career

It appears that Cordale Flott will head to the pro level.

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Earlier this week, it was reported that junior cornerback Cordale Flott would forgo his senior year and enter the LSU draft.

It was not unexpected after the year Flott had, but he’s not the level of prospect that declares no matter what, so there was still some intrigue into whether or not he’d be back. One has to think LSU’s total turnover on the defensive staff didn’t help when it came to recruiting Flott back.

Flott came in as a three-star from Alabama in the 2019 class. At the time, Flott didn’t make a ton of headlines. The 2019 class included Derek Stingley and a few other corners ranked higher than Flott.

Flott made quite the impression on the LSU coaching staff when he got to campus. By November of 2019, Flott was drawing rave reviews from then LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. Flott also played a factor in LSU’s monumental win in Tuscaloosa that fall.

Despite not getting a ton of playing time in 2019, Flott still broke up five passes on 25 targets. He proved to be versatile, lining up on the outside and in the slot. He even took a few snaps at free safety.

2020 was a different story. Much like the entire LSU team, Flott took a step back. 2020 featured one of the worst LSU pass defenses in school history.

Flott allowed a ton of yards and according to Pro Football Focus, he allowed close to a perfect passer rating when targeted. It wasn’t pretty. The Alabama game in 2020 was by far the worst game of Flott’s career.

In 2020, the whole defense was mismanaged and a lot of the faults should fall on the coaches. Flott, as well as every other defensive back on the team, was put in difficult positions week after week. It was a group that allowed blown coverage after blown coverage.

If 2020 was a sophomore slump for Flott, 2021 was anything but. He had his best year yet. Stingley and Eli Ricks were seen as one of the best cornerback duos in college football entering 2021. They both dealt with injuries which meant Flott had to lead the group.

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Against Mississippi State, Flott had one of the best games of his career. He had a pick and made some big tackles as well.

Flott’s tackling ability was always underrated. Even in 2020 when he struggled in pass coverage, he was a good tackler, eventually for someone his size. That tackling ability shined more in 2021.

The interception against Mississippi State was Flott’s only interception of the year, but he was really good in pass coverage throughout and was a top-three player on the defense. He was a significant factor in LSU not repeating the horrors of 2020.

LSU Football: Moving forward without Corey Raymond

It’s understandable why many in the LSU community are concerned.

After 10 years at LSU, defensive backs coach Corey Raymond has accepted a spot on Billy Napier’s staff at Florida.

Over the past decade, a lot has happened at LSU. From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows. Coaching controversies and quarterback controversies, LSU has seen it all.

The one constant throughout that time has been Corey Raymond. The man responsible for coaching guys like Tyrann Mathieu, Tre’Davious White, Grant Delpit, Derek Stingley Jr, and more. Throughout Raymond’s tenure at LSU, his units have consistently been some of the best in the country.

Raymond’s prowess on the recruiting trail is no secret either. As a Louisiana native, Raymond was critical to LSU’s in-state recruiting the last 10 years. He recruited nationally as well, nabbing Eli Ricks from California and Kevin Toliver II from Florida.

It’s a big loss for LSU and a huge get for Florida. There isn’t much other way to put it. It’s understandable why many in the LSU community are concerned.

It’s a move that raises questions about how LSU will move forward without Raymond in the fold. For a lot of those questions, there is no immediate answer.

LSU’s cornerback room is already a little thin. Derek Stingley Jr will be off to the NFL and Eli Ricks has entered the transfer portal. Cordale Flott made huge strides in 2021, which may even have him in a position to be on a NFL roster next year.

LSU needed some big recruits at that position in this recruiting class to help prepare to replace those guys. As it stands, four-stars Laterrance Welsh and JaDarian Rhym are still committed and LSU is squarely in the running for Austin Ausberry.

Sophomore Dwight McGlothern had some good moments this year and looked like he could be an All-SEC player in 2022 if he continues to progress. Blue chip recruits Sage Ryan and Raydarious Jones could also be ready to break out. There’s still talent in the room.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Frank Wilson will be returning to LSU. Wilson returning should go a long way in helping the Brian Kelly regime recruit Louisiana. Retaining Baton Rouge native Brad Davis will help too.

Wide receiver’s coach Mickey Joseph also left town to head Nebraska this week. Joseph, much like Raymond and Wilson, was instrumental in LSU recruiting Louisiana.

Losing Raymond and Joseph doesn’t make things easier for Brian Kelly, but it does put pressure on him to get this staff right.

Kerry Cooks leaves Notre Dame to join the Tigers staff

Brian Kelly brings another former Fighting Irish staffer to join him on the Bayou.

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Brian Kelly has been busy working on his coaching staff for LSU. On Wednesday, Kelly hired Brian Polian and announced Brad Davis would come back as offensive line coach. Also, Kelly brought in former Notre Dame and Oklahoma assistant coach Kerry Cooks to coach the defensive backs.

Cooks will replace Corey Raymond, who left LSU after ten seasons to coach Florida. The defensive back coach has coached with Kelly in 2010 as the outside linebacker coach, 2011, cornerback coach, 2012-13, co-defensive coordinator, 2014 defensive back coach, and in 2020, as a defensive assistant.

In 2012 under Cooks, the fighting Irish finished second in the country in yards per completion. Also, Notre Dame only allowed 11 touchdowns. Cooks is known for being a good recruiter and an outstanding defensive coach.

After the 2014 season, Cooks went on to coach at Oklahoma from 2015-2018; in 2019, he went on to Texas Tech, where he spent one season coaching safeties, then found his way back to Notre Dame in 2020. Cooks also coached at Kansas State, Western Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

The former Notre Dame assistant coach played his college ball in Iowa and played for four teams in the NFL, the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

This is another exceptional decision by Kelly, bringing in a coach he has a history with on his coaching staff. Also, Cooks has played football and has a lot of coaching experience, which will resonate with the players.