Tag: eugene wilson iii

Gators crack On3 consensus’ top 10 teams in 2023 recruiting class rankings

Here’s where On3’s consensus has the Gators’ 2023 recruiting class ranked after early signing day.

College football’s early signing period has begun and the Florida Gators have been hard at work securing the top prep prospects in the nation for a spot in the Swamp next season. After former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag]’s tenure, in which recruiting took a back seat to the action on the field, first-year skipper [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his crew have put in the extra effort to restore pride to the Orange and Blue.

Now that the first day of the early signing day is now in the rearview mirror, it is time to take a look at what some of the major publications think about the Gators’ latest brood. According to the On3 consensus, Florida cracked the top 10 in its recruiting rankings slipping into the final spot.

Here is what On3’s recruiting desk writer Drew Schott had to offer on Napier’s results thus far.

Top Commit: Gardendale (Alabama) defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag], No. 59 in On3 Consensus

Summary: Billy Napier and his staff sparked one of the top storylines of the 2023 cycle by flipping four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] from Miami on Nov. 10. Rashada gives the Gators a top-100 signal-caller to pair with a talented offensive class. Florida has signatures from four-star wide receivers [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] and [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag], as well as four-star running back [autotag]Treyaun Webb[/autotag]. The Gators also have a strong defensive back group with four-star cornerback [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag], four-star cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] and four-star safety [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag]. Recruiting the Sunshine State is a priority for Napier, but he has also landed pledges from out-of-state, including Collins. However, four-star EDGE [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] flipped to UCF on national signing day.

The Southeastern Conference has a total of four teams in the top 10, led by the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, followed by the LSU Tigers (No. 7) in addition to Florida. The Gators currently have 18 four-star and two three-star players committed in this recruiting cycle, making them the second-highest-ranking team without a five-star signee behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who ranks at No. 8.

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Here’s what Billy Napier said after early national signing day

Here’s what Billy Napier had to say about each player that signed with Florida during the early signing period.

Florida got 20 commits to sign during the 2023 early signing period, and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] had a lot to say about the class following all the action.

Napier spoke to the press Wednesday afternoon/evening after an hour-long delay that allowed quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag]’s name to be added to the list of signees. Florida’s head coach spoke in-depth about each player in the class and Gators Wire has compiled a list of everything that he said.

Coach Napier also tackled general questions about recruiting in-state, the role NIL plays, adding more players through the transfer portal and which member of the class of 2023 will early enroll.

The TL;DR is that Napier’s team feels very confident about each player that was added to the program on Wednesday, and there was a strong emphasis on what kind of home each player came from. Napier firmly believes that being raised by a quality family helps create quality student-athletes.

Here’s a full transcript of everything Napier said on Wednesday.

Tracking Florida’s 2023 early signing period activity

Florida is set to sign most of its 2023 recruiting class on the first day of the early signing period and Gators Wire is keeping track of it all.

The calendar might still read 2022, but the reality is that many of the top recruits in the class of 2023 are signing early and Dec. 21 marks the start of the early signing period. Florida is expected to bring in a strong class in Billy Napier’s first full cycle as head coach, but nothing is ever set in stone until the pen hits the paper.

The February signing date could bring in more names, but the core of the class is signing early and Gators Wire is keeping track of every move the team makes. There usually are some surprises, and Florida is in the hunt for several uncommitted targets set to make their decisions through Friday when the period comes to a close.

Each of Florida’s commitments below is listed in order of expected ceremony start time. As players sign their national letters of intent, the list will update to reflect Florida’s most recent additions.

Gators lose commitment from in-state 2023 wide receiver

Florida football’s 2023 recruiting class shrank on Wednesday as the Gators lost a commitment from an in-state receiver.

Eustis wide receiver [autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag] is no longer committed to the University of Florida, according to a report from All Gators.

Patterson was Billy Napier’s longest-standing commitment aside from Aaron Gates, who stayed true to Florida through the coaching change. He was supposed to be in Gainesville for an official visit over the weekend but never made it to campus. His upcoming visit to Orlando to check in with the UCF Knights could produce a commitment considering the most recent development in his recruitment.

With the loss of Patterson, Florida is down to three receivers in the class of 2023: [autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag], [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] and [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag]. All three are four-star recruits, according to 247 Sports, and Patterson was considered a three-star talent. That’s not to say that losing Patterson is ideal for Florida, but a crowded room losing its lowest-rated verbal commitment is fairly common. There’s simply more opportunity for him at another program such as UCF.

Finding a replacement receiver to fill Patterson’s spot in the class of 2023 might be tricky but it could also be unnecessary. Florida’s likely to attract some elite receivers in the upcoming cycles with [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] and [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] coming in at the quarterback spot over the next two years.

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Gators lose commitment from local WR recruit following LSU loss

Florida has one of the best incoming receiver classes in the country under commitment, but one player just backed off their pledge.

Florida lost its first commitment of the 2023 cycle on Sunday. Three-star athlete [autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag], the brother UF wide receiver [autotag]Trent Whittemore[/autotag], backed off his verbal pledge via a post on Twitter.

Whittemore’s decommitment comes the day after Florida’s 45-35 loss to LSU. The loss probably didn’t help, but Whittemore’s been looking at options for a bit. He’s coming off an official visit to Mississippi State and holds offers from Penn State, Miami and UCF among others. It doesn’t seem like Florida has a shot to get him back with a deep wide receiver class already locked down. It’s possible that a crowded room contributed to Whittemore’s decision too.

Florida has a trio of incoming four-star receivers under verbal commitment. [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag], an Orlando area speedster ranked in the top 100 on the 247Sports composite, leads the group. [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] and [autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag] are the other four-star receivers coming to Gainesville next year. [autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag], who is rated as a three-star recruit but has had some monster games during his senior year, rounds out the group.

Losing Whittemore hurts the team, but Florida’s got plenty of talent to fall back on. Hopefully, the decommitment does create a domino effect for the Gators. UF is still ranked No. 8 in the 2023 cycle by On3 and 247Sports, but another decommitment could change that.

Whittemore is ranked No. 432 overall on the 247Sports composite and is No. 28 among athletes, but the site’s individual rankings are a bit more bullish on him. The Top247 has him at No. 171 nationally and No. 12 among athletes. He should get a decent amount of attention now that he’s opened things back up.

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Florida commits in action during Week 2 of high school football

Take a look at how Florida’s top recruits fared this past week on the high school gridiron.

Week one of college football was plenty exciting, but there was still high school football action as well, and Florida’s commits put up some highlights.

Two players were on a bye, four-star receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] and four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag]. The latter has had an interesting high school journey that took another turn over the weekend.

A good chunk of the class was in attendance for Florida’s upset win over the Utah Utes on Saturday as well. Seeing the Swamp over capacity and experiencing Billy Napier’s first game day as the head coach of the Gators sat well with them.

Here’s a look at what Florida’s recruiting class of 2023 did over the weekend.

Highlights from Florida commits over first full weekend high school action

High school football is in full swing and the Florida Gators’ commits are putting up highlight after highlight.

High school football is in full swing across the country and that means there are highlights to watch from Florida’s commitments in the class of 2023.

While everyone was in action, high school clips are tougher to find than college football clips or NFL action. A good chunk of the class has some sort of media available, though, so that’s what we’re looking at here today.

Four-star running back [autotag]Treyaun Webb[/autotag] had the best week with 191 yards on 18 carries in a 48-40 win on Friday. Four-star receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] also shined with six catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

[autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] left his game early with an apparent knee injury in the first quarter and didn’t return, but Gator Country’s Nick Marcinko noted that he appeared to be okay watching from the sidelines.

Florida’s quarterback commit, [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], had a rough day, completing just five of 20 pass attempts for 76 yards and an interception. He did manage to score a rushing touchdown to make up for the turnover, though.

[autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag], who is listed as an athlete, was 10-14 for 126 yards and a touchdown Thursday. He added 71 yards on the ground and a pair of scores on a field that was ruined by the weather.

Three-star wide receiver [autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag] had a nice 100-yard game with a touchdown despite a team loss Friday.

Two Florida coaches in top 15 of 247Sports’ recruiter rankings

Florida’s coaching staff has been on a roll lately, and much of it is thanks to two men in particular. 247Sports has them in their top 15.

When [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] assembled his staff at the University of Florida, he said that he wanted to prioritize recruiting. Twenty commitments into the class of 2023 and one class of 2024 four-star verbally pledge to the Orange and Blue, it’s safe to say that Napier was successful, and the numbers back it up.

Co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] is ranked No. 7 on the 247Sports 2023 football recruiter rankings, and [autotag]Keary Colbert[/autotag] is ranked No. 11, which is good for the second-highest placement of any wide receivers coach on the list.

Spencer has been the primary recruiter on five of Florida’s commitments and has played a secondary role in the recruitment of two others. He’s directly responsible for the additions of No. 70 [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag], No. 145 [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag], No. 205 [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag], No. 218 [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] and four-star [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag]. Despite the battery of four-stars committed to Florida thanks to Spencer, he ranks fourth among defensive line recruiters in the country. Clemson‘s Nick Eason, Notre Dame‘s Al Washington and Alabama‘s Freddie Roach are all ranked above Spencer in ascending order.

Still, it’s clear that coach Chaos’ stint in the NFL paid off, and he’s once again at the top of the recruiting game. Florida has the potential to bring in the strongest defensive line classes in the upcoming cycle, assuming all commitments put pen to paper during one of the signing periods.

Colbert has been the primary on five recruits as well, all of whom will play receiver for UF. No. 78 [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] leads the group and should be paired with No. 142 [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] to do some damage. Four-stars [autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag] and [autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag] round out the blue-chip names in the class and three-star [autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag] adds some depth to the class. And there’s potential to add more receivers to the group.

The only other receivers coach ranked higher by 247Sports is Ohio State‘s Brian Hartline, who has brought in four recruits that average a 96.48 grade. The next receivers coach on the list is Texas’ Brennan Marion at No. 20 and three commits under his belt.

Florida’s other co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] is ranked No. 31 and the only other Gator inside the top 100. Cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] should be next to break that threshold if he can add one of his high-profile targets. Currently ranked No. 101, adding either four-star [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag] or five-star [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] should do the trick for Raymond.

Outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] is ranked No. 111, offensive coordinator and offense line coach [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag] is ranked No. 188, inside linebacker coach [autotag]Jay Bateman[/autotag] is No. 190, tight ends coach [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag] is No. 240 and running backs coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag] rounds out the group at No. 338 on the list. Assistant offensive line coach [autotag]Darnell Stapleton[/autotag] received secondary credits for four commitments and ranks No. 259 as well.

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Florida adds another blue-chip wide receiver to 2023 recruiting class

Whatever Florida’s paying wide receivers coach Keary Colbert might not be enough. Four-star receiver Aidan Mizell is the fourth pass-catcher to commit to the Gators since he joined the staff.

The Florida Gators earned a commitment from a second in-state four-star recruit in as many days on Friday.

Roughly 18 hours after the Gators learned of Osceola cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag]’s decision, receiver [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] became the 14th member of the Gators 2023 class. Mizell claims the top spot on Florida’s commitment list. He is ranked No. 72 nationally on the 247Sports composite and No. 13 among receivers in the class. [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag], who is now Florida’s second-highest rated commit, is No. 140 overall.

The Boone High (Orlando, Florida) standout narrowed his list to Florida, Alabama and Tennessee before choosing the Gators. The staff keeping in constant contact with him after offering a scholarship is what made the difference, and Mizell said he is ready to be the next Gator great. Perhaps the No. 1 jersey is in Mizell’s future with the Orange and Blue.

“Once they offered me, it was just the constant communication, getting me up on visits, just building that connection with me and like the entire staff,” Mizell told On3. “Everyone up there just feels like family to me, and I feel like that’s the right decision for me … I’m gonna be that next great guy.”

Landing Mizell is the latest win for wide receivers coach Keary Colbert, who Billy Napier brought in from USC because of his strong reputation as a recruiter and developer. The two have bonded over the past couple of months and that likely had more to do with the decision than both his parents attending UF in the past.

The Gators are 14th on 247Sports’ team rankings of the recruiting classes of 2023. Only two are three-star recruits, so Napier has the ball rolling in Year 1 nicely. The class is still a five-star or two away from being elite, though.

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Where Florida football lands in ESPN’s latest 2023 recruiting rankings

Here’s how ESPN sees things going for Florida football’s recruiting efforts.

The Florida Gators hold steady in ESPN’s latest 2023 recruiting rankings. Coming in at No. 18, the Gators dropped one spot from the last ESPN rankings. They are the sixth-highest SEC team behind Georgia (No. 4), Arkansas (No. 7), LSU (No. 8), Alabama (No. 9) and Tennessee (No. 10).

It’s important to note it’s still very early in the 2023 cycle. The 2022 season has not yet kicked off, and the early signing period over five months away.

The Gators’ class includes eight ESPN 300 commits, highlighted by a pair of in-state four-stars: Jacksonville native [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] (cornerback) and Tampa native [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] (athlete). The limited number of recruits plays a big part in the Gators’ ranking, especially with other SEC programs boasting double-digit ESPN 300 recruits (Georgia, 13; Alabama, 10).

The ranking comes on the heels of the Gators missing on four-star linebacker [autotag]Malik Bryant[/autotag] out of Orlando. Bryant, who signed with Miami, is the latest blue-chip recruit to have Florida as a finalist but ultimately choose to go elsewhere. If [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his staff want to rise in the recruiting rankings, they’ll need to start landing players like Bryant on a more consistent basis.

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