Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Per 247Sports, these are the top players at each position for the 2023 cycle. Where are they headed?
The 2023 recruiting cycle has been one of the more exciting in recent memory. Continue reading “The No. 1 player at each position for the 2023 recruiting class”
Florida picked up a commitment from IMG Academy offensive lineman Knijeah Harris back in May and he’s 100% locked in.
Despite what many might expect, the recruiting process rarely ends for high-profile targets once they’ve committed. Once a letter of intent is signed is typically when the university and coaches can take a breath of relief, but Florida offensive line commit [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] isn’t interested in dragging out the process.
Speaking with On3’s Jeremy Johnson, Harris indicated that he’s fully bought in with the Gators and has no plans to test the waters, so to speak. That’s very good news for Florida after missing out on five-star tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] to Miami and four-star tackle Lucas Simmons to Florida State. As [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] looks to fill out his offensive line, he can rest assured that Harris will be a part of it.
“Everything is perfect at Florida from the coaches to the campus to the facilities,” Harris said. “Coach Napier’s the man with the plan. You talk with him, you sit down with him, you see how detailed he is and you see he has everything planned out.”
It’s not just Napier who convinced Harris that Gainesville is where he is supposed to be. Offensive coordinator [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag], offensive line coach [autotag]Darnell Stapleton[/autotag], running backs coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag] and defensive analyst [autotag]Jamar Chaney[/autotag] kept in regular contact with the IMG Academy recruit until he committed and beyond.
As Florida continues putting together its recruiting class for 2023, expect Harris to be one of the most vocal commits in the bunch. He loves being a Gator, and as he puts it, he’s “locked in” with the Orange and Blue.
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Billy Napier and the Gators are on a tear. That’s three impact commitments in the last 24 hours and change.
One day after landing a quarterback and running back for the class of 2023, the Florida Gators have picked up yet another big commitment on the offensive side of the ball.
Four-star wide receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] picked UF over Texas A&M on Friday. The Gators were the favorite after hosting him four separate times, including an official visit on June 17 that closed out his process. After mulling things over for a few weeks, he decided to commit to his dream school and join a recruiting class that’s growing stronger by the day.
Wilson is ranked No. 147 overall on both the 247Sports composite and On3 consensus. That makes him the new highest-rated recruit in the class and his addition has Florida up to No. 19 on 247Sports’ team rankings. On3 has UF at No. 14 following the commitments of Wilson, [autotag]Treyaun Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag].
The flurry of good news has Gator Nation in better spirits than it was to start the month. Missing out on [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] to Miami left a bad taste in many Florida fans’ mouths, but Napier has impressively flipped the narrative.
#GoGators🐊 pic.twitter.com/iM8Oyhlum5
— Eugene Wilson III (@EwilsonIII21) July 8, 2022
Wilson’s commitment brings Florida’s recruiting class of 2023 to 12 players. Billy Napier is going heavy at receiver with Tyree Patterson and Creed Whittemore also on board. Ricky Pearsall has also been added to the roster through the transfer portal.
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Things are heating up for Florida football’s cookout weekend at the end of the month, which hopefully will include this coveted lineman.
July 23 is when four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Payton Kirkland[/autotag] plans on making his commitment but that isn’t stopping the in-state recruit from scheduling another visit to the University of Florida at the end of the month.
Kirkland told Gators Online that he plans on attending UF’s recruiting cookout on July 30 and could be there for the team’s Friday Night Lights camp the day before.
“I might go up to just chill that night, to be honest, and then go to the cookout,” Kirkland said.
In addition to Florida, Kirkland is considering Alabama, Miami, Michigan State and Oklahoma. The Hurricanes have been on a tear lately landing two of the top recruits on Florida’s board, five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] and four-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], among others. Both recruits have outright said they want Kirkland in Coral Gables, but the Gators are the leaders for now, at least according to the experts.
On3’s recruiting prediction machine has Florida leading the pack with a 68.6% chance to land the Orlando-area tackle. Michigan State is well behind the orange and blue at No. 2 with 23% odds. ‘Bama is the only finalist being counted out at this point after Nick Saban and Co. failed to get him on campus for an official visit with higher-rated recruits on the board.
Michigan State might be in a position to take the lead in the coming days, but this is not a recruit Florida wants to lose, especially after five (going on six) visits.
Kirkland is ranked No. 295 nationally on the On3 consensus and is No. 24 among offensive tackles. UF plans to use him as an impact left tackle if he ends up picking the Gators.
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Four-star offensive tackle Tyree Adams is planning his third unofficial visit to the Swamp.
On the day of his 17th birthday, July 1, four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Tyree Adams[/autotag] narrowed things down to four SEC schools: Florida, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss. Billy Napier and Co. will get at least one more chance to meet with Adams on July 27-28 when he comes into town for another unofficial visit, according to 247Sports.
This will be Adams’ third visit to the Swamp since he first made it to Gainesville in early April. He also camped with Florida’s coaching staff on visit No. 2 in June and is looking to make his official visit to UF on Oct. 15 when the Gators face the LSU Tigers, but that isn’t penciled into the schedule just yet. His only planned official visit as of publishing time is an Oct. 7 to Alabama.
Adams doesn’t have a date set for his commitment, but a decision should come before the early signing period. That means those October visits could heavily influence his decision and it’s to Florida’s benefit to be scheduled after ‘Bama.
“They (Florida) are definitely competing with all the other schools I have right now, and I just look forward to continuing to build this relationship,” Adams said to Swamp247. “I am already starting to narrow it down, but I haven’t posted and I doubt I will. I just am going to take it day by day and take some visits and then I will think about committing by early Signing Day.”
My top 4! @LSUfootball @OleMissFB @GatorsFB @GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/WPDfUHMudg
— TYREE “THE ANIMAL” ADAMS 6’6 285 (@TAdams1_) July 2, 2022
After missing out on five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] to Miami, going heavy on Adams makes sense. He’s a four-star talent and sits just outside of the top 200 overall players in the class of 2023 on both the 247Sports composite (No. 209) and the On3 consensus (No. 212).
LSU is viewed as the leader from the outside, but that’s often based on the Tigers’ dominance in the region. Florida’s new staff has extensive ties to the state of Louisiana and could prioritize Adams in the coming weeks to get him out of Bayou State.
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Alabama misses out on five-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa.
Happy Fourth of July Tide fans! I hope everyone is enjoying their Independence Day on this beautiful Monday.
Today has already been a busy day for [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag] and his staff in Tuscaloosa as the Tide was able to receive a commitment from four-star offensive lineman [autotag]RyQueze McElderry[/autotag].
Unfortunately for the Tide, Alabama has missed out on five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag] in favor of the Miami Hurricanes.
Mauigoa picked the Hurricanes over not only Alabama but also USC, Florida, and Tennessee among others.
Despite missing out on Mauigoa, Alabama is still in contention for another five-star offensive tackle in [autotag]Samson Okunlola[/autotag].
BREAKING: Five-Star OT Francis Mauigoa has Committed to Miami!
The 6’6 325 OT from American Samoa chose the Canes over Tennessee, USC, Alabama, and others.
More Here (FREE): https://t.co/PIDtTd3B1Q pic.twitter.com/CdUfY8uarB
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 4, 2022
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Vols’ target Francis Mauigoa announces college commitment.
2023 offensive line prospect Francis Mauigoa announced his college commitment Monday.
Mauigoa committed to Miami. Tennessee, USC, Florida, Alabama and Hawaii were finalists.
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Mauigoa is from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Tennessee has 14 commitments for its 2023 football recruiting class: Quarterback Nico Iamaleava Jr, tight end Ethan Davis, offensive lineman Ayden Bussell, defensive lineman Trevor Duncan, safety Jack Luttrell, edge rusher Nathan Robinson, wide receiver Nate Spillman, edge rusher Caleb Herring, safety Sylvester Smith, linebacker Will Stallings Jr., safety John Slaughter, linebacker Jeremiah Telander, defensive lineman Tyree Weathersby and cornerback Cristian Conyer.
Tennessee’s 2023 football commitment tracker
Tennessee Vols’ football recruiting: Vols’ targets announce July commitment dates
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Tennessee target Francis Mauigoa’s commitment time announced.
2023 offensive line prospect Francis Mauigoa is set to make his college commitment Monday.
Alabama, Florida, Miami, Tennessee, USC and Hawaii are finalists for Mauigoa. Mauigoa is slated to make his commitment announcement at 3 p.m. EDT Monday.
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound prospect is from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Tennessee has 14 commitments for its 2023 football recruiting class: Quarterback Nico Iamaleava Jr, tight end Ethan Davis, offensive lineman Ayden Bussell, defensive lineman Trevor Duncan, safety Jack Luttrell, edge rusher Nathan Robinson, wide receiver Nate Spillman, edge rusher Caleb Herring, safety Sylvester Smith, linebacker Will Stallings Jr., safety John Slaughter, linebacker Jeremiah Telander, defensive lineman Tyree Weathersby and cornerback Cristian Conyer.
Tennessee’s 2023 football commitment tracker
Tennessee Vols’ football recruiting: Vols’ targets announce July commitment dates
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The Gators lost one of their commitments in the 2023 cycle but it’s not the end of the world.
In an announcement posted on his Twitter account on Friday evening, three-star offensive tackle [autotag]Tommy Kinsler[/autotag] made known his decision to decommit from the Florida Gators. Kinsler committed to the Gators on June 19, but that pledge lasted only twelve days. This development is a frankly unexpected one, he’s been considered all but a lock to play for the Orange and Blue since this recruiting cycle started.
An Ocala native, Kinsler is well within Gator country. However, it looks like another Florida-based team is trying to stick their grubby paws into the area that should be Billy Napier’s home base of recruiting. Kinsler’s decommitment is coming hot on the heels of his official visit with Mario Cristobal’s Miami team. Then, immediately after dropping the news that he was stepping back from Florida, four 247Sports experts added crystal ball predictions in favor of the ‘Canes.
“Dear Gator Nation,” wrote Kinsler, “after days of deep thought and prayer, I have decided to decommit from the University of Florida. This was a very hard decision for me and my family. I would like to thank the entire Florida Gators coaching staff for the time, effort, and energy they put into recruiting me. Please respect this decision.”
There are two ways to look at this. The first is to shrug and point out that Kinsler is replaceable. He’s big, but so are a lot of other linemen in the country. His three-star rating reflects a possible SEC contributor, but a name-brand school like Florida can put a hard press on just about any three-star recruit and have a good chance at getting them.
On the other hand, it’s alarming that offensive line coaches [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag] and [autotag]Darnell Stapleton[/autotag], who had such immense success with the Ragin’ Cajuns couldn’t get complete buy-in on their system from a hometown recruit they’ve been on since day one.
Here’s hoping a commitment from [autotag]Monroe Freeling[/autotag], [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag], or [autotag]Payton Kirkland[/autotag] is right around the corner.
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One of the top-ranked offensive tackle recruits in the country has Florida in his final five and is ready to decide on Independence Day.
It’s down to Florida, Alabama, Miami, Tennessee and USC for IMG Academy five-star offensive lineman [autotag]Francis Mauigoa[/autotag]. The top-ranked offensive tackle in the country now has a commitment date locked in, according to 247Sports. He’ll make the announcement live on CBS Sports HQ on Monday, July 4, at 3 p.m. EDT.
Mauigoa could land at any of the five schools he’s still considering after taking official visits to each of them in June. Florida was only his second official visit, but it’s also the school he’s visited the most as well.
“That visit was crazy,” Mauigoa said to Swamp247 following the trip. “It was one of my favorite official visits. I keep on coming back here, you start to feel like more of a relationship. I’m starting to feel that bond and now I am comfortable with them.”
Despite those comments, Florida is far from favored in this race. Mauigoa’s final trip to Tennessee provided some familiarity for his family with Nico Imaleava’s grandfather on campus. Iamaleava and Maugioa’s dad hit off speaking Samoan with each other, and there’s a level of comfortability that isn’t present at other schools. It’s the same reason Hawaii has hung around as the sixth option.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine favors the Volunteers in this race right now, but things could change in the coming days. Once Mauigoa’s decided, he’ll focus on his senior season and get ready for early graduation.
The 247Sports composite ranks Mauigoa at No. 9 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 1 among offensive tackles in the class. He’s also considered the third-best recruit out of Florida in the cycle.
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