Tag: gage wilcox

2023 TE recruit an intriguing prospect for Florida’s depleted corps

This 2023 recruit could help the Gators rebuild its tight end room back to glory.

The tight end position for Florida has quickly become a contentious topic as injuries have decimated a corps that not long ago was among the best in the business. A potential career-ending injury sustained by redshirt freshman [autotag]Gage Wilcox[/autotag] in spring practice combined with redshirt freshman tight end Nick Elksnis and sophomore tight end Jonathan Odom also joining him in the trainer’s room has the Gators teetering perilously near the edge at a position that has become increasingly important in the modern game.

Long gone are the days of [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag], who now hauls in passes for the Atlanta Falcons, while 2021 starter [autotag]Kemore Gamble[/autotag] entered the transfer portal and headed down the turnpike to join the UCF Knights for the 2022 campaign. While the Gators did sign three tight ends in the 2023 class, it behooves the program to ensure a long-term pipeline of talent at the position.

One of Florida’s options when it comes to cultivating the next crop of student-athletes is three-star tight end [autotag]Reid Mikeska[/autotag] out of Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland, who has been reported to have high opinions of the Orange and Blue under new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] after a visit to campus on April 2.

“It was my first time in Gainesville and I really enjoyed it,” he told Swamp247. “Had a lot of fun. They’re definitely a school very high up on my list.”

Mikeska’s primary point of contact has been tight ends coach [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag], who was the one who extended an offer to him recently. The 6-foot-5.5-inch, 233-pound prep had some encouraging words to say about him.

“I’m a real big fan of coach Peagler,” Mikeska said. “He was kind of with us the whole day. He’s a really smart coach. I definitely think he’s a coach that can develop me.”

The Lone Star State prospect ranks No. 436 overall and No. 24 at tight end nationally according to the 247Sports Composite, while the On3 Consensus ranks him at No. 533 and No. 26, respectively. Neither publication has a lead school in his recruitment but On3 has nine programs — including Florida — listed at 8.1% in its predictions.

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Florida’s TE room just got tighter after ‘potentially career-ending’ injury

Terrible news for Gators fans and Gage Wilcox. We hope the best for the young man.

The tight end position has been an area where Florida football is running thin this spring and things just took a turn for the worst on Thursday. Head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] announced that redshirt freshman [autotag]Gage Wilcox[/autotag] suffered what he called a “potentially career-ending” injury during an early practice, joining redshirt freshman tight end [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] and sophomore tight end [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] in the medical tent.

According to Swamp247, Wilcox had missed practice over the past four sessions but could not be ascertained exactly when the injury occurred. When asked about the event, Napier offered, “It’s very unfortunate. That’s part of the game though.”

It is also still unclear exactly what the nature of the injury was.

The absence of Wilcox, Elksnis and Odom leaves only [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] as the lone active scholarship tight end on the roster this spring. However, the recent squeeze at the position has Napier and his staff trying out senior defensive end [autotag]Dante Zanders[/autotag] and walk-on junior linebacker [autotag]Noah Keeter[/autotag] as possible replacements.

The former was recruited as a three-star at the position out of high school and appeared there a total of 15 times in his freshman years. The latter was a two-way player in high school, with tight end being his role on the offensive side of the ball. So at the very least, there is some experience behind that shallow depth.

You can count on the Gators taking a serious look at the transfer portal in the coming weeks to help fill this gaping void. In Napier’s own words: “When you have three guys that get injured at a position that was already thin, it throws a little wrench in your plan.”

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Florida looks to steal this tight end commit from Florida State

The Gators are looking to shore up their tight end room with this Seminoles commit.

The recruiting trail continues for Florida football as new head coach Billy Napier navigates the Gators into what everyone hopes will be a promising future. The acquisition of top prep talent is a sure way to turn around a floundering football program and his army of staffers are burning the midnight oil in their efforts to woo top prospects to Gainesville.

One of the areas of concern heading into the 2022 season and beyond is at tight end, which currently only has two scholarship players who naturally play the position — senior [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] and redshirt freshman [autotag]Gage Wilcox[/autotag]. Florida could bolster its room with the addition of three-star prospect Randy Pittman from A. Crawford Mosley in Lynn Haven, Florida, who recently paid a visit with the Orange and Blue.

Currently a Florida State commit, the 6-foot-2-inch, 230-pound prospect stopped by on Saturday to watch Florida’s sixth spring practice and meet with the coaches. Unfortunately, Wilcox did not participate while [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] and [autotag]Jonathan Odom[/autotag] were out with injuries, so he did not get to see much from his potential peers, but did come away with a positive impression of staff, including tight ends coach William Peagler.

“It was amazing out there,” Pittman told Jacob Rudner of Swamp247. “The tempo that was going on, the way that [head coach Billy] Napier was moving everyone around and coaching and teaching people how things work over here, it was amazing.”

“I was able to watch the tight ends working on the drills doing different types of blocks, reblocks and things like that,” he added. We got to break down some offensive plays and some offensive schemes. It was nice.”

Pittman committed to the Seminoles on April 16, 2021, but has kept the door open for other schools to court him and has continued to make visits over the past several months. While FSU is obviously in the lead for his services, UF is hot on the trail with UCF throwing its hat in the ring as well according to On3, with Tennessee, Florida Atlantic, South Carolina and West Georgia also listed as suitors.

The in-state three-star tight end is the No. 396 prospect in the nation and No. 21 among 2023 tight ends in the 247Sports Composite while landing at No. 509 overall and No. 26 at his position on the On3 Consensus.

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Gators football drops to No. 8 in latest ESPN 2021 class rankings

ESPN unveiled their latest 2021 recruiting class rankings on July 23, and for the second-straight update, the Gators fell down the list.

ESPN unveiled their latest 2021 recruiting class rankings on July 23 (subscription required), and for the second-straight update, the Florida Gators fell down the list.

While the July 6 rankings saw the Gators drop two spots, the latest assessment was only a one-spot fall, resulting in the program slotting in at No. 8.

The Ohio State Buckeyes occupied the top spot, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide, who moved up 11 spots, the largest jump of any program to make the network’s top-25.

Mack Brown’s North Carolina Tar Heels, Jeremy Pruitt’s Tennessee Volunteers, and Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers, the reigning College Football Playoff national champions, completed the top-five.

“Dan Mullen’s third consecutive top-10 class in Gainesville is a near lock coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons and top-10 Associated Press Poll finishes, as well as the hiring of ace recruiter (tight ends coach) Tim Brewster,” ESPN began in their breakdown.

“Brewster immediately addressed the need at tight end with ESPN 300s Gage Wilcox and Nick Elksnis. There are two quarterbacks in the class in ESPN 300 Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and four-star Texan Jalen Kitna.

“A pair of ESPN 300 wide receivers are in the fold in Trevonte Rucker from an hour’s drive away and Georgia playmaker Daejon Reynolds. A third ESPN 300 wide receiver is Marcus Burke from Jacksonville powerhouse Trinity Christian.

“ESPN 300 in-state athlete Charles Montgomery could play on either side of the football. ESPN 300 Chief Borders is a versatile jumbo athlete who projects as an outside linebacker. A talented secondary group is made up of ESPN 300 and Tennessee flip Kamar Wilcoxson, LSU flip Dakota Mitchell, and four-star safety Donovan McMillon.

“ESPN 300 defensive end Tyreak Sapp will likely move to defensive tackle long-term. Four-star defensive end Justus Boone was a high-ceiling win out of the Palmetto State.”

The largest reason for Florida’s drop was four-star Baltimore, Maryland cornerback Clinton Burton, Jr.’s flip to the Boston College Eagles on July 17. Burton, Jr. was the second-highest rated commit in the cycle for the program, garnering a rating of 85 from ESPN, trailing only Sapp’s 86.

To make up for this loss, the Gators secured McMillon’s pledge the day after Burton, Jr.’s departure, and added Burke two days after that.

Overall, seven Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools made ESPN’s cut, representing over one-quarter of the list. Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs are No. 13, followed by Jimbo Fisher’s Texas A&M Aggies at No. 18, and Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers at No. 22.

Other notables include Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines at No. 10, Manny Diaz’ Miami Hurricanes at No. 11, Kirk Ferentz’ Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 21, and Mike Norvell’s Florida State Seminoles at No. 23.

This No. 8 rating from ESPN is two spots higher than 247Sports’ view of Florida’s collection of prospects, which pegs the program at No. 10 nationally.

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18 Florida Gators commits named to Sports Illustrated’s All-American watch list

Featuring recruits in the 2021 class from all 50 United States, Sports Illustrated released their first annual All-American watch list.

Featuring recruits in the 2021 class from all 50 United States, Sports Illustrated released their first annual All-American watch list on July 15.

John Garcia, Jr., SI’s Director of Recruiting, spearheaded this project and AllGators’ Demetrius Harvey composed the initial list of the 18 Florida Gators commits to make the cut.

A total of 1,000 prospects earned this preseason recognition, with more than 700 of them having already announced their collegiate destination.

10 of the future Gators to receive this honor project to contribute on the offensive side of the football in Gainesville, led by Ocala four-star wide receiver Trevonte Rucker.

The No. 33 wideout in the class, per the 247Sports Composite, Rucker stands just under six feet and tips the scales at a reported 157 pounds. He will need to add some muscle to withstand the physicality of the Southeastern Conference, but strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage should have little trouble accomplishing that.

Each of the other two other receiver commits, Seffner’s Charles Montgomery and Loganville, Georgia’s Daejon Reynolds, both fellow four-stars, made the cut, as well. While listed as a wideout in this exercise, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Montgomery will likely line up in the backfield and see some carries at the collegiate level, too.

Both quarterback pledges, four-star Carlos Del Rio-Wilson and Burleson, Texas three-star Jalen Kitna, also earned the nod from SI.

Set to play his senior season at Grayson High School, where he will be teammates with Reynolds, Del Rio-Wilson has been steadily rising in the recruiting ranks after a strong showing at the Elite 11 Finals in Nashville, Tennessee from June 29-to-July 1.

Other offensive commits to receive this recognition were Tampa four-star tight end Gage Wilcox, and four three-stars, Jacksonville tight end Nick Elksnis, and Orlando’s Javonte Gardner, Stone Mountain, Georgia’s George Jackson, and Lynn Haven’s Adrein Strickland, all offensive tackle prospects.

On the defensive side of the football, Fort Lauderdale four-star defensive end Tyreak Sapp, Florida’s highest-rated player in the class, led the charge. He was joined by future linemates Justus Boone, another four-star from Sumter, South Carolina, and Fort Myers three-star Christopher Thomas.

Carrollton, Georgia four-star Chief Borders was the lone linebacker pledge to make the list, with the other four future defensive Gators, Baltimore, Maryland’s Clinton Burton, Jr. and Bradenton’s Kamar Wilcoxson, both four-stars, and Winter Park’s Dakota Mitchell and Tampa’s Jordan Young, each three-stars, all residing in the secondary.

This means all 18 of Florida’s current high school commits made the list, with the two other players in the cycle, four-star outside linebacker Diwun Black and three-star guard Deyavie Hammond, both being junior college transfers.

247Sports ranks the program’s 2021 class as the ninth-best in the nation, while ESPN is slightly higher on the group, pegging them at No. 7.

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Florida Gators fall two spots in ESPN 2021 football recruiting rankings

ESPN released their updated 2021 recruiting class rankings on July 6 with the Florida Gators dropping two spots to No. 7 in the nation.

ESPN released their updated 2021 recruiting class rankings on July 6 (subscription required), with the Florida Gators dropping two spots to No. 7 in the nation.

“Dan Mullen’s third consecutive top-10 class in Gainesville is a near lock coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons and top-10 Associated Press Poll finishes, as well as the hiring of ace recruiter Tim Brewster,” the network began of their breakdown.

“Brewster immediately addressed the need at tight end with ESPN 300s Gage Wilcox and Nick Elksnis. There are two quarterbacks in the class in ESPN 300 Carlos Del Rio and four-star Texan Jalen Kitna.

“A pair of ESPN 300 wide receivers are in the fold in Trevonte Rucker from an hour’s drive away and Georgia playmaker Daejon Reynolds. ESPN 300 in-state athlete Charles Montgomery could play on either side of the football.

“ESPN 300 Chief Borders is a versatile jumbo athlete, who projects as an outside linebacker. ESPN 300 (cornerback) Clinton Burton, Jr. starred at the Under Armour Future 50. Joining Burton in a talented secondary group is ESPN 300 and Tennessee flip Kamar Wilcoxson and LSU flip Dakota Mitchell. ESPN 300 defensive end Tyreak Sapp will likely move to defensive tackle long-term.”

Last month was a busy one on the recruiting trail for Mullen’s staff, as the program added Mitchell, Wilcoxson, and Tampa cornerback Jordan Young in a four-day span from June 18-21.

Despite this run on talented players in the defensive backfield, the Gators were jumped by the Oregon Ducks, who moved up two spots in ESPN’s rankings to No. 5, and LSU, who saw a whopping five-spot increase to No. 6.

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Holding steady, the Ohio State Buckeyes continue to occupy the No. 1 spot, with the North Carolina Tar Heels, Tennessee, and Clemson Tigers completing the top-four.

Led by Del Rio, who will play his senior season at Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia, Florida has 10 commits ranked in the ESPN 300, the second-most in the Southeastern Conference, trailing only LSU’s 11.

Other SEC schools to make ESPN’s top-25 were the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 13, Georgia Bulldogs at No. 14, Auburn Tigers at No. 21, and Texas A&M Aggies at No. 23.

While the two-spot drop is not what Gator fans would like to see, this No. 7 ranking is still two places higher than the program’s rating on 247Sports, which grades Mullen’s group as the ninth-best in America.

Florida is still chasing several players in the upcoming cycle who could vault the program back into the top-five, including Miami five-star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, a player whom the school possesses all four of his Crystal Ball predictions, and IMG Academy four-star linebacker Xavian Sorey, considered by many industry experts to be an Alabama lean but one position coach Christian Robinson has been prioritizing.

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