Tag: Fletcher Westphal

Florida Football 2024 Position Preview: Offensive Tackles

Let’s dive in to who the Gators have lined up at the offensive tackle position for this upcoming college football season.

Next on Gator Wire’s annual position preview series are the big guys that anchor the trenches and most importantly, protect the quarterback. That’s right. We’re taking a look at the offensive tackles.

Florida’s offensive tackles are arguably the most important players on the offensive side of the ball. They need to do their jobs if they want to have any success through the passing or ground game.

There are some familiar pieces for the Gators such as Austin Barber but also some new faces like Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.

Nonetheless, this should be a better OT group for the Gators than last season.

Let’s take a look at what Florida has in store this season with their OTs. Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2024 season below.

Starting Left Tackle: No. 58 Austin Barber (R-Jr.)

Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Barber returns as a veteran anchoring this Florida Gators offensive line.

As he comes up on his fourth season with the Gators, Barber is hoping for a healthy 2024 year. Last season, the redshirt junior missed four games due to ankle and arm injuries. But even when he did play, it wasn’t as if he was fully healthy either.

The 6-feet-7-inches, 314-pound left tackle looks to make his presence known on Florida’s offensive line.

Left tackle is arguably the most important position on the offensive line because it protects quarterback Graham Mertz‘s blind side. Florida needs to have Barber healthy this season if they hope to have success protecting the quarterback.

Starting Right Tackle: No. 65 Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (R-Sr.)

Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun

Holding down the opposite end of the offensive line is Crenshaw-Dickson, the starting right tackle.

Crenshaw-Dickson is entering his first season with the Gators after transferring in the offseason from San Diego State. The redshirt senior started nine games last season with the Aztecs and played both the right and left tackle positions. So he has experience with the left side of the line as well.

During his collegiate career with San Diego State, Crenshaw-Dickson played 1,187 snaps in pass protection and gave up just six sacks and averaged 15 QB pressures per season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). His PFF run-blocking grade was named “above average” in 2023 with a grade of 69.4 out of 100.

Backup Tackle: No. 57 Devon Manuel (R-Jr.)

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Like Crenshaw-Dickson, Devon Manuel was a transfer that the Gators were able to acquire in the offseason.

Manuel transferred from Arkansas after playing nine games last season and started four of those games at left tackle. According to PFF, Manuel had the second-best graded run block on the Razorbacks last season and had a ton of snaps (417) under his belt.

Given the history with injuries on this offensive line, Manuel’s experience, especially at the SEC level, is valuable and he adds some much-needed depth at the OT position.

Reserves: No. 75 Kamryn Waites (R-Jr.), No. 53 Bryce Lovett (R-Fr.), No. 63 Caden Jones (R-Fr.)

UAA Communications/Ashley Ray

Kamryn Waites is going into his third season with the Gators and he is also a guy who provides some experience and depth. Waites played in every SEC matchup as a reserve and started at RT in the last two games of the 2023 season.

Bryce Lovett is a redshirt freshman who has yet to see game action as a collegiate athlete. But that will likely change fairly soon. Lovett was ranked a four-star recruit by Rivals and signed with the Gators in 2022.

Caden Jones is another redshirt freshman who is still in development. On3 had Jones ranked as a four-star recruit out of high school and head coach Billy Napier was such a fan of him that he recruited him when he was in the 10th grade.

Freshmen: No. 68 Fletcher Westphal (Fr.) and No. 55 Mike Williams (Fr.)

Fletcher Westphal and Mike Williams are the two freshmen in this OT group.

Westphal is a four-star recruit out of Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, Virginia. He was ranked as a top-5 player in the state of Virginia and was invited to play in the 2024 All-American Bowl.

Williams was a three-star prospect and went to Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He was the No. 17-ranked recruit in the state of Maryland by 247Sports.

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Gators officially add blue-chip offensive tackle to 2024 recruiting class

The Gators officially add this massive Old Dominion State recruit to its offensive line.

The recruiting parade continues in Gainesville with the opening of college football’s early signing period on Wednesday morning, which has already seen the Florida Gators add some impressive names to its list of letter of intents.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] out of Leesburg (Virginia) Tuscarora officially put the ink on the paper and joined the ranks of the Orange and Blue, giving Billy Napier’s program a much-needed boost on the O-line.

The 6-foot-8-inch, 335-pound trench warrior gave his verbal commitment back in July after being pursued by co-offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.

“I really liked that they are truly the everything school,” Westphal told Swamp247. “They check off so many boxes for me. The players have so many thing available for them.”

He chose Florida’s offer over the likes of the Arkansas Razorbacks, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles, Miami Hurricanes, Michigan Wolverines, Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies.

“For a long time, Arkansas was the leader and I hadn’t taken too many visits to Florida, but as I got down there more, I started feeling differently about them,” Westphal told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I took my official visit to Florida, and I really enjoyed being around the players, I enjoyed being around the coaches and I loved the strength and conditioning staff. Everyone there was great to be around.”

Westphal is ranked No. 206 overall and No. 18 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 177 and 14, respectively.

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Florida OL commit happy with decision after recent visit to UF

It’s always nice to get on campus again after you’ve committed. Florida offensive line commit Fletcher Westphal did exactly that this weekend, and enjoyed himself.

One of the Florida commits that was in town for Saturday’s Grill in the Ville cookout was offensive lineman [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag], who announced his decision earlier this month.

This was Westphal’s first trip back to the Swamp after making his college decision, and Gator Country reported that he left town knowing that he made a good choice in Florida. He spent most of the visit meeting his future teammates, including quarterback DJ Lagway, who Westphal will one day be blocking for.

“It was great, it was fun,” Westphal said. “That was the whole point of this visit was to get acquainted with all of the commits and I did that… It was definitely great, I definitely think I made the right decision.”

Now that Westphal is somewhat acquainted with his future teammates and coaches, he only has a senior year to focus on. Westphal is shutting down his recruitment and is locked in with Florida. The plan is to make two visits to UF during the season.

Westphal is a four-star recruit everywhere but Rivals.com, where he is a three-star talent. The on3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services, places Westphal at No. 249 overall and No. 19 among offensive tackles in the class of 2025.

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Grill in the Ville event will include massive 4-star Florida OT commit

This huge offensive lineman, who committed earlier in July, will be at this weekend’s big BBQ event.

Florida football’s first edition of its midsummer Grill in the Ville event, which welcomes prep prospects from a range of recruiting classes into the Swamp to build a closer relationship with Billy Napier and the Gators’ staff, is set to take place on Saturday, July 29, in Gainesville.

Among those slated to be in attendance for this summer’s bar-b-que extravaganza is four-star offensive tackle commit [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] out of Leesburg (Virginia) in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The massive 6-foot-8-inch, 335-pound lineman committed to Napier’s program on July 10, choosing the Orange and Blue over the Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Clemson Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs.

“For a long time, Arkansas was the leader and I hadn’t taken too many visits to Florida, but as I got down there more, I started feeling differently about them,” Westphal told Chad Simmons of On3. “I took my official visit to Florida, and I really enjoyed being around the players, I enjoyed being around the coaches and I loved the strength and conditioning staff. Everyone there was great to be around.”

Westphal is ranked No. 296 overall and No. 24 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 249 and 19, respectively.

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Florida adds 4-star OT to 2024 recruiting class

Florida’s 2024 recruiting class just got even better following a commitment from four-star offensive tackle Fletcher Westphal.

After earning nine commitments from the class of 2024 players in June, Florida is back at it in July with the commitment of four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag].

The 6-foot-7.5-inch, 335-pound lineman out of Tuscarora High in Leesburg, Virginia picked the Gators over Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson and Georgia on Monday, posting the announcement to his social media pages following a live ceremony that was broadcasted on Instagram.

Florida worked hard to secure this commitment, according to Chad Simmons of On3, who spoke with Westphal ahead of the announcement. The Gators had missed out on a couple of four-star targets at offensive tackle and were running out of time to secure a blue-chip recruit at the position during the cycle.

“For a long time, Arkansas was the leader and I hadn’t taken too many visits to Florida, but as I got down there more, I started feeling differently about them,” Westphal said to Simmons. “I took my official visit to Florida, and I really enjoyed being around the players, I enjoyed being around the coaches and I loved the strength and conditioning staff. Everyone there was great to be around.”

Westphal is a four-star recruit everywhere but Rivals.com. Still, the On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services, has him at No. 252 overall and No. 19 among offensive tackles in the class of 2024. He’s also the fifth-best player out of Virginia this year.

Already ranked No. 3 on the 247Sports and On3 team recruiting rankings, adding Westphal won’t move Florida up any spots, but it does help strengthen the now 18-player class.

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Four-star OT Fletcher Westphal picks Florida over Auburn

Auburn is still looking for its first commitment along the offensive line.

Auburn’s hunt for its first offensive line commitment in the 2024 recruiting cycle is still going after four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] picked the Florida Gators over Auburn, Clemson and others on Monday.

The 6-foot-8, 295-pounder took multiple trips to the Plains and included them in his top five schools but never returned for an official visit. That would prove costly as Auburn fell out of the race to land the elite tackle.

July has been an up-and-down month for Auburn on the recruiting trail, they landed four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Malk Blocton[/autotag] and three-star linebacker [autotag]D’Angelo Barber[/autotag]. However, they missed out on one of their top targets when five-star wide receiver [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] shockingly committed to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Auburn will now have to look elsewhere for help along the offensive line and some top targets include four-star interior offensive lineman [autotag]Preston Taumua[/autotag] and four-star offensive tackle [autotag]DeAndre Carter[/autotag]. Other names to watch our [autotag]Jameson Riggs[/autotag] and [autotag]Reese Baker[/autotag].

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4-star OT Fletcher Westphal sets commitment date

The 6-foot-8, 335-pound offensive tackle Fletcher Westphal has Georgia football in his top five

Four-star offensive tackle Fletcher Westphal is ready to decide where he will play college football. Westphal plans to make his commitment on July 10.

The talented offensive tackle is expected to pick a college football program from his top five schools. Westphal is one of the top players in the class of 2024. Westphal’s top five schools are Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, and Arkansas.

Fletcher Westphal went on June official visits to all of his top schools except for the Auburn Tigers.

The massive offensive tackle is ranked as the No. 290 player in the rising senior class, per 247Sports. Westphal is the No. 25 offensive tackle in the nation and the fifth-ranked player in Virginia.

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart and offensive line coach Stacy Searels offered a scholarship to Fletcher Westphal back in April 2022.

The 6-foot-8, 335-pound offensive tackle plays football for Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, Virginia, which is located northwest of Washington D.C. Westphal is a great student. Per his Twitter account, Westphal has a 3.66 GPA.

The four-star offensive tackle overwhelms many high school defenders with his size and mobility. A ton of college football programs have shown interest in the Tuscarora lineman.

Fletcher Westphal announced his commitment date, in a unique photo with an enormous amount of recruiting mail, via social media:

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This 4-star Florida football offensive lineman target just set his recruitment date

A date is set for this big man to make his final decision.

Florida football target Fletcher Westphal, a four-star offensive lineman out of Leesburg (Virginia) Tuscarora announced his commitment date on Twitter Wednesday just before noon EDT. The 6-foot-8.5-inch, 335-pound behemoth will make his final decision on Saturday, July 10 according to the tweet posted on his personal account.

Over a month ago, the coveted lineman included the Orange and Blue among his top five preferred collegiate destinations, which also included the Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Old Dominion State product made his third stop in Gainesville on the weekend of June 16, which gave him an in-depth look at the program from the inside out. Prior to that visit, Westphal swung through campus in the middle of May, which also piqued his interest in the Orange and Blue.

“They have like five O-line coaches there,” he told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn. “I really like how coach (Billy) Napier runs it with the O-line there, how much he focuses on the O-line development at Florida.”

Westphal is ranked No. 290 overall and No. 25 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 258 and 19, respectively. The race for his talents is wide open according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, with Clemson in the lead with a 14.6% chance of landing him, followed by Georgia (11.2%), Arkansas (9.6%) and the Maryland Terrapins (5.7%).

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Blue-chip 2024 offensive tackle includes Florida on final 5 schools list

Another day, another top-5 blue-chipper’s list that includes the Florida Gators.

It should come as no surprise to Florida football fans that their beloved sports program has made the cut for yet another coveted prep prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle. This time, four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] out of Leesburg (Virginia) Tuscarora included his final five preferred collegiate destinations, according to 247Sports’ Brian Dohn.

“They have like five O-line coaches there. I really like how coach (Billy) Napier runs it with the O-line there, how much he focuses on the O-line development at Florida.”

The Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Auburn Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks represent the other four top schools on the rising high school senior’s list. The 6-foot-7.5-inch, 305-pound lineman has official visits set with Clemson (June 2), Georgia (June 9), Florida (June 16) and Arkansas (June 23), and is still looking to make room for an OV with Auburn.

Westphal is ranked No. 240 overall and No. 22 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 234 and 18, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Clemson narrowly in the lead for his talents with a 14.6% chance of signing him; Georgia (11.2%), Arkansas (9.6%) and Maryland (5.7%) follow behind, respectively.

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Gators to get this blue-chip OT on campus for an official visit in June

Chalk another official visit for the Florida Gators in mid June.

Florida football continues to rack up the official visit dates for the month of June, including the latest one from four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Fletcher Westphal[/autotag] out of Leesburg (Virginia) Tuscarora. The 6-foot-7.5-inch, 305-pound behemoth recently told Swamp247’s Blake Alderman he plans on swinging by campus on the weekend of June 16 — joining a slew of other prospects for a mid-month visit.

The OV will be the third stop in Gainesville for the coveted high school junior, who was in town for the win over the South Carolina Gamecocks last fall as well as for a spring practice back in early March. Offensive line coordinator Rob Sale and assistant coach Darnell Stapleton have spearheaded the efforts to get the lineman into an Orange and Blue uniform.

“Seeing how it works with two actual o-line coaches is good to see,” he told Swamp247 after his visit this spring. “There are always eyes on you, no matter what rep you are doing. You are getting some feedback one way or another, whether it’s Coach Stape or Coach Sale, or even an analyst. You are getting some feedback in some way or another on every rep.

“One thing I noticed in their spring practice is all the older guys, like the ones and the twos are getting reps in team period or whatever. Then they have the group of incoming freshmen or a transfer portal kid who just came in on a septette group because they have two o-line coaches. They are working on the stuff, kind of slowing things down for them so they can understand things. Having both of those coaches definitely is helpful for some development.”

Westphal is ranked No. 241 overall and No. 22 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 234 and 18, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Maryland Terrapins (11.2%) in the lead for his signature, followed by the Virginia Tech Hokies (9.8%), Virginia Cavaliers (6.8%) and Clemson Tigers (5.6%), respectively.

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