Tag: dylan lonergan

Where does Penn State go for QB in Class of 2023 after latest flip?

After Thursday’s flip of Marcus Stokes, will Penn State sign a QB in the Class of 2023 or begin focusing on 2024?

Penn State was dealt a bit of a punch to the gut on Thursday with unfortunate recruiting headlines. Among them was news that quarterback [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], who had just confirmed his commitment to the Nittany Lions a little more than a week prior, flipped his commitment to the Florida Gators following a solid showing at the Elite 11 Finals. Ordinarily, losing a four-star quarterback at this stage in the recruiting cycle would be a severe blow to a program, but Penn State should be in OK shape knowing that [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], a prize from a stellar Class of 2022, is on deck to replace [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag].

But what if Penn State still desires a quarterback in 2023 too? The good news is there are still quarterbacks out there to be claimed. The bad news is most of the ones with a Penn State offer are already committed elsewhere.

There are two quarterbacks with a Penn State offer on the table, but neither is expected to end up in Happy Valley. Dante Moore, a five-star option from Michigan, is set to announce his college decision on Friday. Moore is expected to choose from the final candidates of Orgeon, Texas A&M, Michigan, and Notre Dame. Don’t count on any last-second surprises here.

The other offer belongs to [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag], a four-star quarterback from Georgia who is set to announce his decision next week. Alabama is the expected favorite to secure Lonergan’s commitment. Despite Lonergan being a Penn State legacy (his father was Dan Lonergan, a backup to [autotag]Todd Blackledge[/autotag] in the Class of 1982), it is not expected the Nittany Lions will be able to make a late surge at the final hour. South Carolina and Stanford are also reportedly in the mix, and the Buckeyes are floating out there as well.

So what about any other potential targets?

Among the other quarterbacks that have supposedly been on the radar is Parker Leise, a three-star recruit from IMG Academy. Leise has been flying under the radar during this recruiting cycle, so he could be a player that could quickly latch on to Penn State if the Nittany Lions go all-in on pursuing his commitment.

Leise has received scholarship offers from Kansas, Miami OH, Toledo, and Butler. This may not be the kind of offer list that suggests Penn State is going to make a run, but a player from IMG Academy is always going to be worth keeping an eye on.

But given the current landscape of quarterbacks in the Class of 2023, it may be a bit late to make any serious noise at the posiiton now for the Class of 2023. Instead, Penn State may focus its energy in the Class of 2024 for a top-rated quarterback to join the program. That would appear to make the most sense at this point as Allar is viewed as the next starting quarterback for the program and could be in that role for a couple of seasons.

But if Penn State loses another quarterback to the transfer portal, such as Christian Veileux, the urgency to signa  quarterback in the Class of 2024 will be rising. OF course, Penn State could always look back into the transfer portal to try filling the depth chart a bit if needed. Penn State attempted to do that in 2021 but cam eup empty, and they may have paid the price for it.

For now, it may be most likely Penn State skips on a big name quarterback in the Class of 2023 and hoeps to land a big prize in the Class of 2024.

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2023 Recruiting Profile: 5-star QB Dylan Lonergan still an option for Florida?

Florida hasn’t locked in on one quarterback just yet, but Dylan Lonergan remains an option after naming the Gators in his top five.

Billy Napier did add three-star quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] in his transitional 2022 recruiting class, but there’s still pressure on the first-year coach to strike big in the signal-caller department after getting a full year to recruit. One of those options is four-star Brookwood (Georgia) quarterback [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag].

A standout athlete in two sports, football and baseball, Lonergan has narrowed down his options to just five schools and Florida made the cut. The Gators appear to be the weakest link as of now with official visits scheduled with three other programs in his top five, but that could change if Napier is able to get Lonergan on campus.

Being able to play baseball in college is a big part of his decision, and there’s no guarantee [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] makes it work. [autotag]Miguel Mitchell[/autotag], a defensive back signee in the 2022 class, is expected to play both sports though, so it’s likely an option if the football team wants him that badly.

Still, things have been relatively quiet between Florida and Lonergan since he named them in his top five and the recruitment of [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] might be a sign that the Gators are moving away from him. A decision is expected to come in July, so Florida would need to get him on campus quickly to jump back into the conversation.

Peter Woods’ Recruiting Profile

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5-star quarterback recruit planning official visit to Florida

This 5-star gunslinger is planning on setting a date to visit the Gators soon.

The wheels continue to turn for Florida football’s recruiting team as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his staff transition from spring to summer mode. Looking to improve where the previous regime failed, the Gators have been pushing hard to bring the best athletes to the Swamp and restore glory to the Orange and Blue.

One of the blue-chip players the Gators are showing interest in is 5-star quarterback Jaden Rashada out of Pittsburg (California) High School, who received an offer from the Gators back on April 8 despite being left out of his top 10. Apparently, Napier and Co. are still in the hunt for the 6-foot-4-inch, 185-pound prep prospect after his father, Harlen Rashada, told Swamp247 that his son is planning on making an official visit to Gainesville this summer and are in the process of finalizing a date.

Rashada’s current top 10 schools, which he released roughly three months prior to Florida’s offer, are comprised of Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, UCLA and Washington. He is the No. 29 prospect overall and the No. 5 quarterback nationally in the 2023 class, per the 247Sports composite.

According to Rashida’s father, things have changed a bit since he released his top-10 list. Here is what he told Swamp247 about where the Gators stand for his son’s services.

“With the top-six, it’s a little interesting because I know some of that was already in the works before Florida got in with us. They’ll definitely have the potential to have some dark-horse efforts in that top six.

“I think Florida has the potential to be in his top-two. We need to get down there and we’re still building a great relationship but the relationship part with Florida is pretty new but it’s pretty good. I anticipate Florida will move to the top of his situation.”

If there is any position on the field where you simply cannot have too much talent on the roster, it is at quarterback. While Florida has a potential superstar under center currently in [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], in order to find consistent success one must be planning two and three years down the line.

The Gators are a long shot for top recruit [autotag]Arch Manning[/autotag], while other top quarterbacks like [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag] and [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] are much warmer on the Orange and Blue. Landing any of these blue-chip signal callers would be a tremendous coup for the program, which lost Nick Evers to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2022 cycle.

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Friday Night Notes: Official visit season inching closer

The latest edition of USA TODAY High School Sports’ Friday Night Notes discusses the latest in recruiting news from across the nation.

USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2022 to ’23 and beyond.

June is inching closer by the day, which means official visit season is right around the corner.

Some programs are already conducting official visits this month, but the bulk of the trips elite prospects across the nation take will occur in June. Let’s take a closer look at where some blue-chip recruits are heading next month, as well as the schools that are standing out to some intriguing prospects.

Florida still hanging on for 5-star quarterback Arch Manning

Florida and head coach Billy Napier are still barely in the race for 5-star quarterback Arch Manning.

Florida is still hanging on by a few lonely threads for five-star quarterback [autotag]Arch Manning[/autotag]. On3’s Chad Simmons reported that head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is trying to get Manning to the Swamp for a visit. Manning is the top prospect in the country regardless of position, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the elder brother to Peyton and Eli Manning, and the oldest grandson of Archie Manning.

Simmons also reported that Alabama, Georgia and Texas are generating the most buzz in his recruitment so far with the Longhorns and Bulldogs garnering the most out of the three.

Outside of those three, he believes Florida has the best chance to host Manning for a visit. Simmons said Napier and his coaching staff are still in touch with Manning and that Napier’s success at Louisiana Lafayette is intriguing to him.

Gators Online reported that stability is the most important factor to Manning. If that’s the case, it doesn’t make any sense why he would consider Florida and Texas. The Gators have cycled through four head coaches since they last hoisted the national championship trophy in 2008. The Longhorns have been mediocre except for the 2019 season when they went to the Sugar Bowl and defeated Georgia.

The Gators won’t be a legitimate threat in Manning’s recruitment until they get him on campus, so fans shouldn’t get their hopes up until something materializes on that front.

Corey Bender of Gators Online also reported that four-star quarterback [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag] hasn’t heard from Florida since he visited last month. The Gators have also hosted four-star [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] last month, but Alabama is viewed as the heavy favorite for his pledge.

It’s perplexing what Florida and Napier are doing at the quarterback position this cycle. Most top quarterbacks have already committed elsewhere while the Gators have struck out for a few already and losing ground for others.

Bender said to look for the Gators to offer more quarterbacks this week and don’t rule out the possibility of them using the transfer portal for one again.

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This big-name 4-star QB named Florida one of his top 5 programs

Have the Gators finally locked in on a quarterback prospect? Dylan Lonergan has the Gators in his top 5.

After missing out on a couple of elite quarterbacks in the class of 2023, Florida has made four-star [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag]’s top five.

The Snellville, Georgia, recruit released the list on social media Friday and spoke to On3’s Hayes Fawcett about each program left in his recruitment. Alabama, Ohio State, Stanford and South Carolina are Florida’s competitors.

“Florida is going to get a lot better the next few years and Coach Napier has a great record with QBs,” Lonergan said. “Great baseball program as well.”

Lonergan wants to be a dual-sport athlete in college, and the Gators’ baseball program is one of the nation’s best. Safety [autotag]Miguel Mitchell[/autotag] will be spending time with both teams, so it’s at least something [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is open to. Lonergan features a fastball in the low 90s with room to pick up speed and a hard slider that’s used as a strikeout pitch.

If baseball is what gets him to Florida, so be it. The Gators need to add a quarterback with [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Del Rio-Wilson[/autotag] in the transfer portal, and Lonergan is a top-10 player at the position. Unless [autotag]Arch Manning[/autotag] or [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag] suddenly names Florida as a top contender, Lonergan or [autotag]Eli Holstein[/autotag] remain the best available options.

He’s the No. 82 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and the No. 9 ranked quarterback, according to the On3 consensus.

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Florida fails to make top 6 for one of its top QB targets

Four-star quarterback Christopher Vizzina didn’t include Florida among his top six schools on Sunday.

Florida and head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] are about to smash the reset button on their quarterback board for 2023 after a tough weekend. Four-star quarterback [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] announced his commitment to Penn State on Friday and then four-star quarterback [autotag]Christopher Vizzina[/autotag] shared his list of top six schools that didn’t include the Gators. Vizzina’s decision to leave Florida off his list is significant because he was one of Napier’s top targets at the position next to five-star quarterback Arch Manning.

The good news for Florida is that it didn’t invest many resources into Vizzina. The Gators attempted to get him on campus, but they never accomplished that. However, the 247Sports composite ranked Vizzina as the 52nd overall player and as the seventh-best player at his position.

Napier’s quarterback board has become quite foggy after this weekend. Manning is Florida’s top target but once again it has not gotten him to the Swamp after it was reported that the Gators were added to his top list of schools that he is considering.

Stokes was most likely the backup option if Manning and Vizzina fell through because he hailed from nearby Jacksonville, Florida, and played at the same high school as [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag]. But the Gators and Napier never extended an offer despite how much they communicated with him.

Looking ahead, Florida will likely ramp up its efforts on five-star [autotag]Dante Moore[/autotag] and four-star [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag]. Both prospects have visited campus, even though Moore came with a group of other top recruits apart of the Football Hotbed tour. Lonergan looks like the most intriguing option because he wants to play baseball along with football at his future school, and Florida has a top program in each sport.

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Florida is rising up this 4-star quarterback’s leaderboard

Four-star quarterback Dylan Lonergan said Florida is now among his top five or six schools due to its success in baseball and football.

Four-star quarterback [autotag]Dylan Lonergan[/autotag] enjoyed meeting Florida football head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Gators baseball head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] this weekend on his visit to the Swamp. It was important for him to meet both coaches because he wants to play football and baseball in college.

After his visit, the Snellville, Georgia, native spoke to 247Sports about how it went. The recruiting service currently ranks Lonergan nationally as 95th best overall prospect and the ninth-best signal-caller, according to the 247Sports composite.

This wasn’t Lonergan’s first trek to see the Gators, making a prior visit back during his freshman year. Lonergan said it was good getting refamiliarized with the University of Florida campus since it’s been so long. One of his favorite parts of the visit was seeing the new standalone facility Florida is building that is set to be finished this summer.

He enjoyed sitting in on the quarterback room to see how Napier and off-the-analyst Ryan O’Hara works with them. Lonergan likes the idea of playing for a head coach that predominantly works with quarterbacks.

Lonergan also relished the time he spent watching practice. He said he could tell the defense was a little ahead of the offense right now but added that’s usually the case early on in spring ball.

Napier and O’Hara are already pushing him to come back for another visit in the future. They told him they will keep recruiting him hard.

Florida stands out to Lonergan because of the success it has had on the gridiron and the baseball field but said the Gators still trail Stanford and South Carolina at this point.

However, he added that Florida has jumped into his top fix or schools because of its excellence in both sports and Napier’s track record of developing quarterbacks.

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Coveted 4-star quarterback plans to visit Florida this weekend

Four-star quarterback Dylan Lonergan’s father tells 247Sports that he plans to visit Florida this weekend.

Four-star quarterback Dylan Lonergan’s father told 247Sports that they plan to visit Florida this upcoming weekend. The Gators are one of many trips lined up this spring, with stops set at Alabama, Ohio State and South Carolina next month. He has also seen Georgia, Georgia Tech and Stanford so far.

247Sports has the Snellville, Georgia, native as the 95th-best player overall and the ninth-best signal-caller, according to their composite rankings.

During his junior season, he threw for 3,392 yards and 32 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Lonergan also tacked on 645 yards rushing and seven more scores.

He is also a standout baseball player and plans to play on the diamond at his future school as well as the gridiron. 247Sports reported he touched 90 mph on the mound as a freshman.

His family is no stranger to big-time college football. His father Dan Lonergan was a quarterback in the 1980s for Penn State and backed up Todd Blackledge on the 1982 national championship team.

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Big time quarterback prospect will be in Death Valley this weekend

This talented Peach State quarterback will be making his way back to Clemson this weekend. Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) 2023 four-star Dylan Lonergan announced via social media Wednesday that he’ll be in attendance for Clemson’s game against UConn …

This talented Peach State quarterback will be making his way back to Clemson this weekend.

Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) 2023 four-star Dylan Lonergan announced via social media Wednesday that he’ll be in attendance for Clemson’s game against UConn this weekend at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Lonergan (6-2, 215) is among the top quarterback prospects in the 2023 class. He ranks as the No. 6 signal-caller and No. 77 overall prospect in his respective class, per the 247Sports Composite.

This will be Lonergan’s first time back in Tiger Town after he participated in the Dabo Swinney Camp earlier this summer. Between quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter and offensive analyst J.P. Losman, Clemson kept close attention to Lonergan while he camped.

Now, the Tigers will get to show him what a game-day experience is like in The Valley.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!