Tag: Devin Moore

2024 FSU running back commit gets offer from Florida staff

The Gators are looking to poach this top 2024 wide running back target from the ‘Noles.

Billy Napier and his staff are continuing to build relationships with players, despite their commitment status.

[autotag]Kameron Davis[/autotag], a 2024 RB committed to Florida State, was recently offered by Napier after completing a workout with Gators associate head coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag]. Shortly before the dead period, the No. 2 running back in the 2024 class, according to the On3 consensus, was in Gainesville on a college tour where he came away impressed by the atmosphere around the university and Hogtown itself.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 205-pound Albany, Georgia, native isn’t short of suitors, though. Despite being committed to Florida State, programs including Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Miami and Oregon are attempting to test the strength of Davis’ nearly year and a half commitment to the ‘Noles.

It’ll be interesting to see if Napier can flip another high-profile recruit since taking over as Florida’s head coach. Back in December, he flipped 2022 four-star safety [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] from Notre Dame on signing day and earlier this month managed to flip 2023 four-star quarterback [autotag]Markus Stokes[/autotag] from Penn State.

Those players were vital for Napier’s reputation on the recruiting trail, but flipping a top running back from your biggest in-state rival who has been committed for over a year? Well, that would be the reverse Dalvin Cook.

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Gators land in top 10 for this 2024 4-star defensive back

Tavoy Feagin is ranked just outside of the top 50 in the class of 2024, and he has Florida in his top 10 early on.

With over a year left in his recruitment, one of the top-ranked defensive backs in the class of 2024 has narrowed things down to 10 schools and Florida made the cut.

Four-star cornerback [autotag]Tavoy Feagin[/autotag] named Florida, Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, North Carolina, Ohio State and Oklahoma as his current top schools but also noted that his recruitment was still open to other programs. Feagin was by Florida for an unofficial in late March and noticed a big change in the way the program is run under Billy Napier.

With [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] on staff, it should at least be difficult for the Carrollwood Day (Tampa) cornerback to say no to his home state’s top program. That said, Feagin is ranked as a safety by 247Sports and could play either position in college. Florida’s recently prioritized the secondary, adding [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] and [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] in the class of 2022 and possibly [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] and [autotag]Joenel Aguero[/autotag] in this cycle.

Beating out the likes of the Buckeye, Bulldogs and Crimson Tide isn’t easy, but Florida at least has the advantage of proximity. However, Florida State and Miami are both still in the race, so he hasn’t picked a favorite among the three just yet.

The 247Sports composite ranks Feagin fourth among projected safeties in the class of 2024 and he stands at No. 51 nationally. It’s always good to see Florida land on one of these lists, but there’s a lot of work to be done to get Feagin on board.

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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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Florida kicks off early signing period by flipping this 4-star DB

The early signing period is here and let’s just say “scared money don’t make money.”

The early signing period began Wednesday and Florida got some good news early when four-star defensive back Devin Moore signed with the Gators after being committed to Notre Dame for months.

Moore was interested in Florida from the start, but Notre Dame won him over in July. The coaching changes at both schools led him to look back at Florida after backing off his commitment to the Fighting Irish, and Billy Napier’s group did what they were hired to do: recruit.

Corey Raymond, Florida’s new defensive backs coach, made a huge difference in Moore’s recruitment, according to Corey Bender of On3. Moore took an official visit to Florida this past weekend, and he picked up one of Napier’s most famous phrases.

Scared money don’t make money. Players are buying into Napier’s vision for the program, and Moore is no exception. He becomes the second-highest rated player in Florida’s 2022 class and should help them move up from 79th in the nation and dead last in the conference.

Moore is a four-star recruit on both 247Sports and Rivals. ESPN isn’t as confident in the young safety and has him listed as a three-star player. On the 247Sports Composite List, he’s ranked No. 252 overall nationally and No. 21 for safeties.

Moore will also get the opportunity to play much closer to home while at Florida. His family was next to him while he made the announcement, and they should have an easier time getting to the Swamp on Saturdays from Naples.

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What to expect from Notre Dame during early signing period

Will the Irish keep their Top-10 ranking after tomorrow?

A few years ago when college football changed their rules and implemented the early signing period, some of the first Wednesday in February’s shine wore off. That now has switched to mid-December and tomorrow is that new day. The Irish head into tomorrow with a Top-10 class, numbering 22 total commits. Here’s a quick preview of what we might see happen tomorrow during the early signing period for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame loses a 2022 California wide receiver commit

This one stings

The Irish knew this was going to happen when Brian Kelly left to take the job at LSU, that their recruiting class was going to have decommitments. Even if Kelly stayed, this could have happened but after his departure it seemed even more likely.

New head coach Marcus Freeman has already had to deal with defensive back Devin Moore leaving the 2022 class and now wide receiver C.J. Williams has re-opened his recruitment and decommitted from the Irish. Both of the player leaving hurts but Williams more than Moore. He is one of the best players at his position and was ranked among the Top-100 in the class of 2022.

It is now back to the drawing board for Freeman, who has a very solid base of commits with 22 but now has some room to add a few more players.

This top DB target commits to Notre Dame over Florida

The Gators are looking to take one to two safeties this cycle. One of their top targets committed to Notre Dame over them Sunday.

Florida and its rivals like Miami and FSU have had a difficult time keeping the best in-state talent home. Many top players have elected to head to other powerhouse programs like Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State or LSU instead. It’s a major reason some of the top programs in Florida have struggled to make the College Football Playoff.

The Gators’ efforts to keep one of its top targets at safety in the state of Florida failed this weekend. Three-star defensive back Devin Moore committed on Sunday to Notre Dame over the orange and blue.

“I’m so thankful God has put me in a position to further my athletic and academic career into a higher level,” Moore wrote on Twitter. “I want to thank my family for always believing in me and punishing me towards betterment in every aspect of life.

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“Thank you to my coaches and teammates for helping me maximize my potential. To the colleges and coaches who gave me attention, support and an opportunity to live out a dream of mine, I’ll always have the utmost respect for you and the universities you coach for. This has been a life-changing experience and a very difficult decision. With all that being said, I have decided to commit to the University of Notre Dame! Go Irish! Thank you Brian Kelly and Marcus Freeman for this opportunity.”

Moore sat near the top of Florida’s defensive back board and visited Gainesville in early June. Cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar was the main contact for the Niceville, Florida, product and was a huge part of why the Gators remained near the top for Moore throughout his recruitment.

“It was a great visit,” Moore said after his June visit, according to SI’s AllGators. Oh, it was beautiful. I mean, just seeing everything again, seeing the coaches again. Just kind of further developing that relationship with Coach Jules, you know, been developing that with him for a couple of years now since he been at USF and Georgia. That’s my guy, I really mess with coach Jules. He actually came from my high school. So you know, we’ve got a very strong and great relationship.”

Coach Dan Mullen and his staff will move their focus toward another safety target on their big board like a Kamari Wilson or Tre Donaldson.

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Notre Dame receives commitment from 3-star safety recruit Devin Moore

There’s another secondary commitment for the Irish.

At the start of the weekend, Notre Dame’s future secondary received a boost with the commitment of cornerback recruit Jayden Bellamy. Now, it can say it’s receiving a second boost. This time, it’s coming from the safety position. The latest player to say yes to Notre Dame is three-star recruit Devin Moore of Naples, Florida, who made his official visit less than a month ago and received an offer from the Irish in May 2020:

Like Bellmary, Moore was a target of Marcus Freeman and cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens. Both players also will join the Irish for the 2022 season. To have this coaching duo make this kind of progress this quickly is nothing short of amazing, and it only can help.

The Irish had to battle with a plethora of schools to land Moore. They included Alabama, Stanford, Florida State, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Iowa State and Vanderbilt.