Tag: Florida football recruiting

4-star LB Tarvos Alford names top schools

Vero Beach star Tarvos Alford names his top 10 schools

Four-star linebacker recruit Tarvos “TJ” Alford has named his top schools. Alford includes the Georgia Bulldogs in his top 10. The four-star is projected to commit to the Florida Gators, per 247Sports.

Tarvos Alford’s top schools are Georgia, Louisville, Florida, Miami, UCF, Tennessee, Florida State, Rutgers, Penn State, and Ohio State.

Alford is a member of the class of 2025. He plays high school football for Vero Beach High School in Vero Beach, Florida. Georgia has also offered a scholarships to several of Alford’s high school teammates.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker is the No. 91 recruit in the class of 2025. Alford is considered the No. 12 linebacker and the No. 14 player in Florida. Alford also runs track.

Georgia has the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in the class of 2024 and 2025. The Dawgs have gotten off to a strong start with elite prospects, like Tarvos Alford, in the class of 2025.

Alford announced his top schools via social media:

Georgia should never be counted out in recruiting especially when it comes to adding talented linebackers.

4-star DL Jordan Hall makes commitment

Four-star defensive lineman Jordan Hall has committed to Georgia football! Go Dawgs!

Elite defensive tackle recruit Jordan Hall has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs. The four-star defensive lineman played high school football at Westside High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Hall has additionally signed with Georgia football.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle is the No. 73 player in the senior class. Hall is the No. 9 defensive lineman and the No. 16 player in Florida.

The four-star committed to Georgia over LSU, Florida and Alabama.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart have 27 commitments in the senior class. Georgia has the second-ranked class of 2023 in the country. Hall would join four-star defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett as Georgia’s only defensive line commitments. The Bulldogs also have signed three elite edge defenders.

Hall and other Georgia defensive linemen will likely have to try to replace Jalen Carter, who is probably going to enter the 2023 NFL draft.

Westside’s Jordan Hall (44) on the bench with teammates during second quarter action. Florida Times-Union

Jordan Hall’s favorite NFL player is Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Hall, a member of the class of 2023, plans to play in the All-American Bowl. The four-star defensive lineman recorded 34 tackles and five sacks during his junior season in high school.

The Westside standout has a powerful pass rush. Hall has a chance to earn early playing time at Georgia.

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Elite DL Jordan Hall sets commitment date

Will four-star DL Jordan Hall commit to the Georgia Bulldogs? Things are looking pretty good for the Dawgs.

Westside High School defensive tackle Jordan Hall is ready to commit.

Hall, a member of the class of 2023, plans to commit on Dec. 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Hall’s decision will come on early signing day. The four-star defensive lineman plans to make his commitment at his high school in Jacksonville, Florida.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle is the No. 72 player in the senior class. Hall is the No. 9 defensive lineman and the No. 15 player in Florida.

Hall is favored to commit to the Georgia Bulldogs. The four-star is also considering LSU, Florida and Alabama.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart have 23 commitments in the senior class. Right now, Georgia has the second-ranked class of 2023 in the country. Hall would join four-star defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett as Georgia’s only defensive line commitments. The Bulldogs also have commitments from a pair of edge defenders.

Hall received a scholarship offer from Georgia football in 2021. The four-star defensive lineman announced his commitment date and top schools via Twitter:

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2023 recruiting rankings with a month until the early signing period

As it sits right now, Florida is set to have a top 10 group in the first full recruiting class under Billy Napier.

As the middle of November is now upon us, we have just over a month to go until the early signing period kicks off.

The early signing period begins on Dec. 21 and comes to a close just before Christmas Eve on Dec. 23. The regular signing period will start on Feb. 1 and doesn’t close until Apr. 1, 2023.

The 2022 class finished with the SEC taking the top three spot with Texas A&M, Alabama, and Georgia taking claim to those spots. Overall the SEC signed 10 of the top 25 classes.

The Gators’ transition class under head coach Billy Napier was No. 18 after they signed Kamari Wilson (four-star safety), Shemar James (four-star linebacker), Chris McClellan (four-star defensive lineman), and Trevor Etienne (four-star running back) to lead the group of 20 signees announced. The additions of Montrell Johnson and O’Cyrus Torrence from Louisiana-Lafayette as four-star transfers also helped out the 2022 class.

Through Nov. 16, the SEC is once again lapping the field with the top two classes and nine of the top 25. With some time left before the early signing period for the 2023 class opens, we break down the top 25 classes across the nation courtesy of 247Sports team composite rankings.

Nation’s top CB recruit earns new player comparison from Gators coach

Florida cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond wants to coach five-star Cormani McClain, and he’s already comparing the recruit to one of his former players.

When cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] left the LSU Tigers to coach under [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] at the University of Florida, many assumed the nation’s top defensive backs would follow him. That assumption came true with five-star safety [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] in the 2022 cycle, and Raymond seems locked in on landing the highest-rated defensive player in the upcoming 2023 class, five-star cornerback [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag].

McClain had the Gators near the top of his list before the coaching changes took place, but bringing in one of the most respected coaches in all of college football hasn’t hurt UF one bit. Raymond’s track record speaks for itself. At LSU, he sent 14 players to the NFL Draft, including four first-rounders — Derek Stingely Jr. in the most recent draft, Jamal Adams and Tre’Davious White in 2017 and Eric Reid in 2013. Let’s not forget about Tyrann Mathieu, either, who has more than made a name for himself in the pros.

Raymond sees McClain as the next potential name on that list, and perhaps the first to come at UF.

“Coach C-Ray, me and him got a great relationship. I think it’s there,” McClain said to Gators Online. “He produced a lot of great athletes. I look up to coach C-Ray as one of those guys that you know is going to get you to the league and the things you need to get there…

“He compared me to the most recent LSU DB, Stingley.”

The duo may get a chance to reunite as soon as the end of the month for Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp and recruiting cookout. Nothing is finalized yet, but McClain is expected to turn up over the weekend.

When it comes to making a decision, he plans to do so in December and will choose whoever he feels can develop him the best. That could mean that Raymond is the deciding factor when it comes down to it.

McClain is ranked No. 2 overall on the On3 consensus and is No. 1 in the state of Florida and among cornerbacks in the class of 2023.

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The Big Ten is recruiting Florida the hardest of any Power Five conference

The Big Ten is recruiting Florida the hardest and best of any Power Five conference.

With all the talk of conference alignment and realignment, one thing remains certain: Florida remains the biggest prize in all recruiting.

And no one is recruiting Florida harder this year than the Big Ten.

Of the top 40 players in the nation in the class of 2023, Rivals ranks 10 players from Florida in that group. Four of the top five in this current recruiting class are from the state.

And of the 19 players ranked as five stars by Rivals, seven of them are from Florida. The talent is ridiculous in Florida this recruiting cycle.

The program having the most success in Florida isn’t actually from the state. In fact, it is the Ohio State.

The Buckeyes have six verbals from Florida from a class that includes 16 total commits. This includes 247Sports’ five-stars Brandon Inniss (Ft. Lauderdale) and Carnell Tate (Bradenton, FL).

Ohio State has as many commitments from Florida as from Ohio State.

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The Buckeyes certainly pace the competition to recruit Florida both in terms of quality and quantity. Florida, that is the SEC program, has seven verbals following the weekend decommitment of Tommy Kinsler. And while that is more than Ohio State, the Gators aren’t keeping pace with the Big Ten program in terms of quality of recruits.

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Including Ohio State, there are four Big Ten teams recruiting Florida the hardest:

For Rutgers, the return to Florida is important. The Scarlet Knights in their first rebuild under head coach Greg Schiano built their foundation on Florida recruiting and maximizing the talent in the state. Schiano used his ties from Miami to get Rutgers competitive as he worked to build-up the program’s talent level.

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Rutgers has five commitments from Florida currently, having landed three-star cornerback Bo Mascoe last week.

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Five-star CB AJ Harris commits to Georgia

Five-star class of 2023 cornerback AJ Harris has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs over Florida and Clemson

Five-star class of 2023 cornerback recruit AJ Harris has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs. Harris committed to Georgia over Florida and Clemson. He is Georgia football’s first five-star commitment in this recruiting cycle.

Georgia currently has the No. 7 recruiting class in the country. Harris’ commitment is good news for defensive backs coach Fran Brown and is arguably Brown’s biggest recruiting win in his career.

Kirby Smart and Georgia football now have two very talented cornerback commitments in the class of 2023. Georgia’s other cornerback commit, Justyn Rhett, is a four-star from Nevada.

AJ Harris has the potential to play as a freshman at Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback is ranked the No. 25 recruit in his class. Harris is the No. 5 corner and No. 5 player in Alabama. Harris is versatile and could play safety or cornerback at the next level.

Harris has received scholarship offers from USC, Texas, Penn State, Oklahoma, Utah and many more. The five-star defensive back has also visited schools like Florida, Clemson, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Georgia offered a scholarship to the talented and lengthy cornerback in Feb. 2021.

Harris previously played football for Glenwood High School in Phenix City, Alabama, for the first several years of his high school career. Harris will play his senior season with Central High School, which is also located in Phenix City, Alabama. Phenix City is very close to the Georgia border.

Harris also plays running back and shows good balance through contact. The five-star defensive back prospect lived up to his lofty billing at The Opening and was quite disruptive at the event.

AJ Harris has also played basketball and run track throughout his high school career.

Harris has the potential to finish 2023 as the top-ranked cornerback recruit. The Central High School star announced his commitment to Georgia football via Twitter:

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Florida impressing as top-10 QB mulls over his college decision

Four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada is in the home stretch of his recruitment and Florida is hoping to land on top after hosting him on an official visit.

Four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] just wrapped a busy week filled with three official visits that ended at the University of Florida on Thursday, and now he has just under a week to make his college decision.

Rashada set a commitment date of June 18 for himself and is currently trying to narrow things down from a top seven to a single school. Cal, LSU, Miami, Ole Miss, Oregon and Texas A&M are the other schools in the mix, with the Aggies and Tigers being the other two that hosted him recently. The west coast schools are in the mix because Rashada is from Pittsburg, California, but Florida has offered a taste of home on the east coast.

“I think ([autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]) is a really good communicator and good teacher,” Rashada’s father, Harlen, said to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. “I think Florida is going to do really good things. I think he is one of the brighter young coaches in the SEC. Florida is different because they have a Cali kind of vibe. They have a lot of staff from California. You drive around, you kind of feel like you’re in Walnut Creek or something. It doesn’t feel like you’re really in the South but we did see gators on campus, that was different.”

There’s a lot to consider in the next week for Rashada, but his father said that making that final run to the three SEC schools was good for him. He also reminds his son that Jaden is the only one who has set the June 18 date and can take more time if he needs it.

It’s hard to say where exactly Florida falls on Rashada’s list right now, but the 6-foot-4-inch, 185-pound left Gainesville last week impressed with Napier’s group.

The 247Sports composite ranks him as the No. 45 overall recruit in the class of 2023 and the No. 7 quarterback. Napier is running out of options for a quarterback, and it seems that he’s all in on Rashada at this point. He can only hope that the feeling is mutual.

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4-star LB Troy Bowles names top schools

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for four-star linebacker prospect Troy Bowles

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top schools for four-star linebacker prospect Troy Bowles. Bowles, who is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, is a member of the class of 2023.

That means Troy Bowles has a great mind to pick whenever he has a question about football or life. It also helps Bowles have an advanced football IQ at a young age.

Troy Bowles’ top eight schools are Georgia, Florida, Rutgers, Auburn, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma.

The rising senior plays high school football for Tampa Jesuit in Tampa, Florida. Jesuit won a state title last season in the competitive 6A division of Florida high school football.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound outside linebacker is ranked as the No. 44 recruit in his class. Bowles is disruptive and frequently makes critical plays like interceptions, pass deflections, and sacks. The four-star prospect is the third-ranked linebacker in his class and the No. 11 recruit in Florida.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles is a great resource for his son Troy Bowles. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Jesuit linebacker has offers from Florida, Alabama, Michigan, UNC, Tennessee, Miami, Notre Dame and more.

The Jesuit star also plays basketball and runs track. He can dunk a basketball despite only being 6-foot-1. That takes some serious athleticism. As a linebacker, Bowles shows potential to be formidable in coverage at the college level.

Bowles received a scholarship offer from Georgia on May 10, 2021. Georgia  inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann is a key recruiter for the Florida linebacker.

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Elite 4-star OT Payton Kirkland sets commitment date

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top contenders for four-star offensive tackle recruit Payton Kirkland.

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The Georgia Bulldogs are among the top contenders for class of 2023 offensive tackle Payton Kirkland. Kirkland is a top recruit in Florida with imposing 6-foot-7, 310-pound size.

Kirkland has set his commitment date for July 23, the same day as fellow Orlando area recruit Malik Bryant. Bryant is a five-star linebacker.

Kirkland plays football for Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida, and received a scholarship offer from the Georgia Bulldogs in the summer of 2020.

The four-star offensive tackle announced his commitment date via Twitter:

Georgia made Kirkland’s top seven, which he released in Dec. 2021. The four-star puts UGA, Clemson, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Miami and Oklahoma in his top schools.

The Florida Gators are also considered a contender to secure a commitment from Kirkland.

Kirkland has taken recent visits to Georgia, Miami and Ohio State. The Bulldogs had two offensive tackles taken in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft and have NFL draft talent Justin Shaffer and Jamaree Salyer in the pipeline.

Kirkland enjoyed his recent visit to Georgia. He thinks that Georgia stands apart from other teams recruiting him:

Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels will try to build a significant bond with Kirkland before his July 23 commitment date.

 

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