Tag: Florida recruiting

4-star DE Jihaad Campbell makes commitment

4-star DE Jihaad Campbell put the Georgia Bulldogs in his top five, but he has committed to the Clemson Tigers football program

Four-star defensive end prospect Jihaad Campbell has committed to the Clemson Tigers. He chose the Tigers over Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, and Texas A&M.

Campbell recently visited campuses at Georgia, Clemson, Rutgers and Florida. After his visits, Campbell felt confident enough to make a decision.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound defensive end is the latest player to commit to the Clemson Tigers.

The class of 2022 defensive end is Clemson’s eighth commitment this recruiting cycle. The Sicklerville, New Jersey, native is another talented prospect that plays for IMG Academy in Brandenton, Florida. He dominated for Erial Timber Creek High School for the first three season of his career before eventually deciding to cap off his career at IMG Academy.

The four-star is ranked the No. 7 edge defender and the No. 18 prospect in  Florida in the class of 2022. Campbell is rated as the No. 143 player in his class.

Jihaad Campbell announced his decision via Twitter:

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Georgia football makes top 5 for IMG Academy DE Jihaad Campbell

Four-star defensive end prospect Jihaad Campbell has named his top five schools including UGA football.

Four-star defensive end prospect Jihaad Campbell has named his top five schools. The Georgia Bulldogs have made his latest list of top schools.

Jihaad Campbell has recently visited Georgia, Clemson, Rutgers, and Florida.

Campbell is 6-foot-3 and weighs 215 pounds. The class of 2022 defensive end received a scholarship offer from Georgia on Feb. 26. The Sicklerville, New Jersey, product is another talented prospect that plays for IMG Academy in Brandenton, Florida.

The four-star is ranked as the No. 7 edge defender and the No. 18 prospect in  Florida in the class of 2022. Jihaad Campbell’s top five was announced via Twitter:

Campbell puts Georgia, Clemson, Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State in his top five. He no longer lists Oklahoma, Rutgers, and Penn State among his top schools. Where will he play college football?

Georgia has already landed commitments from a few talented defensive linemen in the class of 2022. Will Campbell be the next to join UGA?

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2021 5-star Alabama target picks Florida

Alabama lost out on one of its top recruiting prospects for the class of 2021 when the 5-star cornerback pick Florida on Sunday.

Jason Marshall has been a heavy target for Alabama for awhile now, and the coaching staff felt like they had a chance at securing a commitment from the five-star cornerback out of Miami (Fla.).  Unfortunately, that will not be the case.

On Sunday, Marshall announced that he would be committing to the Florida Gators via his social media accounts, which includes Twitter. The loss of Marshall for Alabama does not come as a major shock, but there were many Crimson Tide fans and others who support the team who were hoping to have him added to an already impressive 2021 class.

According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Marshall is rated as the No. 29 overall player, No. 2 cornerback and No. 7 player from the state of Florida.

Alabama is expected to lose Patrick Surtain II early following the 2020 season, as the starting cornerback is expected to be one of the top defensive back prospects available for the 2021 NFL Draft. And with others such as Trevon Diggs, Scooby Carter and others gone, Marshall could have been a valuable addition for 2021.

Now the coaching staff will turn most — if not all — of its attention towards another five-star cornerback prospect, Ga’Quincy McKinstry. The Pinson Valley High School standout is rated as the No. 1 cornerback in the nation and currently has Alabama is his final three along with LSU and Auburn.

The Crimson Tide still has the No. 2 overall recruiting class (No. 1 in the SEC) for 2021.

Stay tuned for more recruiting updates from Roll Tide Wire, part of the USA TODAY Sports College Wire Network!

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Florida HC Dan Mullen expects to go undefeated in 2020

Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen says he expects to go undefeated in the 2020 college football season

This Wednesday, Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen went on the “Pat McAfee Show” and discussed his expectations for the upcoming 2020 season.

“I expect us to go undefeated this year,” Mullen said on the show. “I’m not guaranteeing it, because I’ll be honest with you, I have two national championship rings here at Florida and we didn’t go undefeated in either of those two seasons. We still won a national championship.”

Mullen was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the Tebow era in Gainesville.  He understands you don’t need to win every game to win it all, but still seems very confident heading into 2020.

Florida secured the No. 9 best recruiting class for 2020, locking down a number of the nation’s top prospects.  Many experts have been predicting Florida as the SEC East victor for the upcoming season, which seems odd considering the Georgia Bulldogs have the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for the second time in just three years, one of those years having the No. 2 class.

The Dawgs and Gators face off this season in Jacksonville on Halloween day, October 31st.

Former Florida Gators 4-star signee makes transfer decision

Florida Gators offensive lineman Issiah Walker has made his transfer decision.

Offensive tackle Issiah Walker signed with Florida as a 4-star recruit in the most recent (2020) recruiting cycle, however, announced last week that he would be transferring before ever playing a game for the Gators.

On Saturday, Walker announced he will be transferring to Miami, staying in-state.

Walker played high school football at Norland in Miami, Florida. His transfer continues Florida’s trend of struggling to lock down top talent in the Sunshine State.

Whether or not Walker will be forced to sit-out the 2020 season is unknown. NCAA transfer rules state he will, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.

Florida fans may try to brush off another transfer, but the Gators losing another offensive lineman isn’t going to help them rush for more than 21 yards next time they face Georgia.

 

 

Donovan McMillon includes Georgia football in top-10

UGA football recruiting: Georgia Bulldogs make top-10 for elite recruit Donovan McMillon.

Georgia has made the top-ten for the 200th ranked player in the nation, Donovan McMillon.

McMillon holds 53 scholarship offers but was able to cut that list to ten on Friday.

A 4-star safety in the class of 2021 out of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, McMillon’s top-ten schools are as follows:

Georgia, Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Virginia Tech.

He ranks as the nation’s No. 200 overall player, No. 8 safety and the No. 8 player in his state.

Out of his ten finalists, he has actually only visited two, Virginia Tech and Penn State.

Once he is allowed to visit schools again, he hopes to cut his list in half to five.

Talented safety Dakota Mitchell makes commitment

Talented three-star 2021 safety Dakota Mitchell has reached his commitment. Mitchell chose between LSU, Georgia, and Florida.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators were in another recruiting battle over this time over talented recruit Dakota Mitchell. Both teams missed their mark in this one as Dakota Mitchell committed to the LSU Tigers.

Mitchell is a three-star safety in the class of 2021. Mitchell announced his commitment via his Twitter account:

Georgia, Florida and LSU made his top three via Twitter:

For now, Mitchell is finishing his junior year in high school. He plays high school football at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida.

Mitchell is another talented recruit to be lured out of the state of Florida. Kirby Smart and Georgia have had previous success luring elite talent out of Florida, but this time coach Ed Orgeron and LSU lured Mitchell to Baton Rouge.

Dan Mullen and Florida are trying to prevent Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and others from taking over the state, but Florida, FSU and Miami have lost the battle over the past decade.

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Georgia, Florida battling for safety Dakota Mitchell

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators are in a recruiting battle for 2021 Winter Park High School safety Dakota Mitchell.

The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators are in another recruiting battle. This time they’re fighting for three-star safety Dakota Mitchell. Mitchell is a member of the class of 2021.

He released his top three schools via Twitter:

Mitchell is choosing between the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and LSU Tigers. Each school consistently produces elite defensive backs. Mitchell is a prospect to watch and see if he out-produces his three-star rating once he’s in college.  I suspect he may move up recruiting database rankings thanks to the major college attention he’s receiving.

For now, Mitchell is finishing up his junior year in high school. He plays high school football at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida.

Will Mitchell be the latest Florida recruit drawn to the Peach State? Kirby Smart and Georgia have had more success than ever in luring elite talent out of Florida. Dan Mullen and Florida are trying to prevent Georgia, Alabama, and others from taking over their state, but Florida, FSU, and Miami have lost the battle over the past decade plus.

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Notre Dame Latest to Offer Texas Star Tight End

Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish staff addressed that Wednesday as they became the 19th different program to offer a scholarship to 6-4, 210 pound tight end Donovan Green of Dickinson, Texas.

Notre Dame has been Tight End U for about as long as tight end has been a position in college football.  Whether it be Dave Casper, Mark Bavaro, Ken MacAfree or some of the latest greats like Tyler Eifert, Anthony Fasano, Kyle Rudolph or even Cole Kmet, the position has been nothing short of loaded for Notre Dame for quite some time.

Now 2020 signees Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman appear to have the position headed for just as strong of near-future.

What about after them?

Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish staff addressed that Wednesday as they became the 19th different program to offer a scholarship to 6-4, 210 pound tight end Donovan Green of Dickinson, Texas.

247 and Rivals both don’t have a star rating yet for the current high school sophomore but a look at the schools who have offered him tell you he’s a hot commodity.  Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington are just a handful of the other 18 schools to have offered Green.

6-4, 210 looks monsterous for a high school player but it’s not just his size that sticks out, its his strength as well for a sophomore playing against young men a year or two older than him.

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We may not know where Green decides to attend college for literally years but Notre Dame is in and if I’m a top tight end in the country, I certainly couldn’t help but be interested in them.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire all year long as we’ll continue to keep you updated on all happenings with not just Green but all things Notre Dame and Notre Dame recruiting.

The talent gap between Georgia football and Florida is growing

The talent gap between Georgia football and the Florida Gators is actually growing, contrary to what UF fans are saying.

The Georgia Bulldogs have officially secured college football’s top-ranked recruiting class, according to both 247 and Rivals.

For the third time in three years, the Dawgs cemented a top three group of pledges on National Signing Day. Main rival Florida, in the same time span, has not ranked higher than eighth.

Across the two programs’ storied history, Florida maintained the edge in recruiting for a majority of this millennium. Georgia, however, has been the clear winner in such battles since the appointment of head coach Kirby Smart.

To present a hypothetical question:

Would the Bulldogs’ coaching staff be disappointed in landing anything outside a top-three recruiting class? Yes. Absolutely, unequivocally, yes.

So how do the Gators feel about the good-but-not-great recruits they’ve had since the departure of Jim McElwain?

According to head coach Dan Mullen, who has never beaten the Dawgs in his head coaching tenure at both Mississippi State and Florida, they’re content with being only good for the time being.

Mullen famously loves to make what he sees as subtle jabs at Georgia, but will he ever land a solid blow? Like, in terms of out-coaching Kirby Smart?