Tag: Gavin Hill

Florida picks up commitment No. 18 from 4-star Alabama DL

Billy Napier can’t be stopped. Florida added commitment No. 18 to the class of 2023 on Saturday and jumped up a spot in the team rankings.

The Florida Gators earned a verbal commitment from four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] on Saturday.

Collins picked Florida over Alabama and Georgia at a ceremony held at Gardendale High in Alabama. Despite some technical difficulties, Collins delivered the news with an emphatic Gator chomp, signaling that UF had indeed picked up commitment No. 18 in the class.

He joins fellow defensive line commits [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] in the class with the potential to add four-star lineman [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] on Sunday. The 247Sports composite ranks Collins No. 70 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 6 among defensive linemen. Adding him moves Florida ahead of USC into the No. 12 spot on the 247Sports’ team rankings and adding James could move UF into the top 10.

Collins is now Florida’s highest-ranked commitment, per 247Sports’ rankings, and has the Gators on the cusp of bringing in one of the top defensive line classes in the country.

247Sports’ Blake Alderman reported that Collins narrowed things down to Alabama and Florida in the days leading up to the decision and informed Billy Napier‘s staff of his decision beforehand. It’s a big win for Napier, who proved he can go into Alabama as a first-year Power Five coach and land a kid the Tide wanted.

“I just fell in love with the program and the coaches,” Collins said. “They got a real plan. All the players have bought in for such a short period of time and that stuck out. The history all the coaches got and the energy they bring every day is something you want to be around.”

The early panic from Florida fans is now well in the past and Napier’s first real recruiting class is shaping up to be quite a success. Adding a few more blue-chip recruits ([autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] being the most important name on the wishlist) to round out a top-10 class should bring his approval rating to an all-time high.

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Gators pushing hard for local defensive lineman in class of 2024

Billy Napier has done well to keep local talent at home, and now he’s looking at another recruit in the Gainesville area.

If there is one thing Billy Napier has made clear since taking over the Florida Gators football team it’s that he wants to make UF the most desirable university in the state.

Napier has done well to bring in local talent, with 14 of the 16 recruits committed to the Gators in the class of 2023 coming out of Florida while the other two are Georgia kids. Two of those 14 are from Gainesville: four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] and three-star athlete [autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag]. Both are rising seniors at F.W. Bucholz High, but there’s also a rising junior that Napier has his eye on, three-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kendall Jackson[/autotag], according to 247Sports.

UF offered Jackson back in June after an impressive showing at one of the team’s Day One camps. Since then, the coaching staff has kept in touch with them and their message to Jackson is a familiar one: stay in Florida and be great at home.

“Their message to me is all the same. It’s they want me to stay home,” Jackson said. “That is pretty much the message every coach I talked to had. They said they want me to stay home. I talk with Coach (Kali) James from time to time when I call him … Coach James wants to make sure he keeps you close and let you know he is going to love you and that he wants you to be a Gator.”

At the time of the offer, Jackson wasn’t as well known in the recruiting space as he is now. He now holds the No. 388 overall spot on the 247Sports composite and is No. 33 among defensive linemen in the class. The service has him listed at No. 26 among those at his position in the site’s standalone rankings as well.

Those numbers could improve with a strong senior year, and Jackson is already receiving interest from some other Power Five programs. Miami is the other main school he’s gotten to know well over the summer, and he hopes to stop by both programs as well as Georgia and UCF over the course of the season.

There’s still plenty of time until he needs to make a decision, but Jackson says Florida is playing its cards the right way.

“Florida definitely is a top school for me,” he said. “I don’t necessarily have a number for anything right now. I am just keeping it open.”

Being a local talent, missing out on Jackson could look bad for the Gators, especially if it’s to the likes of another in-state program. Expect the UF staff to keep pushing for him until a decision is made.

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Who ruled Florida in football recruiting for June? The answer might surprise you.

You’ll be surprised which school won the recruiting war in the Sunshine State last month.

The college football recruiting trail was blazing hot in June matching the rising mercury, and while there were some ups and downs over the past 30 days, overall the Gators hung tough as the dog days of summer continue to roll in.

One of new head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s biggest goals in turning around a struggling Florida football program is to dominate the recruiting scene within his school’s home state. Despite the recent decommitment from one three-star Sunshine State prospect, seven of the Gators’ current eight commits hail from the Sunshine State. However, the Orange and Blue were not the overall winners on their home turf last month.

According to Jon Santucci and Chris Boyle over at the Gainesville Sun, it was the Ohio State Buckeyes who lured the most top prospects from the Gators’ own backyard in their recent ranking of the 10 schools that fared the best on the recruiting trail in the nation’s southern-most state. Here is how they justified their No. 1 pick.

If it feels like Florida boundaries should be redrawn to add Columbus, there’s a good reason. Ohio State has dominated the state this cycle with six commitments. The Buckeyes put an exclamation point on an already loaded class with the top two receivers in the state (and maybe the nation) in Tate and Inniss. Anything the Buckeyes do in Florida between now and December will just be showing off.

While a northern school coming in and carpetbagging talent from the south is enough to get any Gator fan’s blood boiling, Florida did rank second on the list (keeping in mind that this was published before the recent decommitment news).

Billy Napier and his staff had a great close to the month, picking up commitments from defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag], cornerback [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag], edge rusher [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Tommy Kinsler[/autotag] in an eight-day period. The Gators now have eight players committed from Florida and, from what we’re hearing, are doing a great job building relationships around the state.

Florida is followed by the Miami Hurricanes at No. 3, with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Clemson Tigers, Pitt Panthers, Michigan State Spartans, Cincinnati Bearcats, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Maryland Terrapins trailing behind, respectively. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma Sooners, Tennesee Volunteers, Texas A&M Aggies and UCF Knights all earned honorable mentions on the list.

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Florida football recruiting rises in rankings after recent blue-chip commitment

The Gators got a boost in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings with their recent commitment from Sharif Denson.

Florida football got some good news on the recruiting front recently when 247Sports gave the Gators a 10-spot bump in their rankings for the 2023 class after four-star cornerback [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] committed to the program on Monday. While still sitting outside the top 25, UF moved up from No. 38 to No. 28 nationally in the prestigious publication’s rankings.

The boost comes on the heels of some disappointment for the Orange and Blue as highly-sought quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] picked the Miami Hurricanes while four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag] chose the Florida State Seminoles as their collegiate destinations.

The 5-foot-11.5-inch, 170-pound defensive back is a legacy at Florida through his parents, both of whom competed on the track team during their time at the university, which likely made a difference in his decision.

Denson is Florida’s ninth commitment in the class of 2023, the eighth of whom coming from within a 350-mile radius of campus — on par with Billy Napier’s desire to dominate the hotbeds of talent that reside nearby. Out of Gainesville, there is four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] and three-star wide receiver [autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag], while four-star edge rusher [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] (St. Petersburg), four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] (Bradenton), three-star offensive lineman [autotag]Bryce Lovett[/autotag] (Rockledge), three-star wide receiver [autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag] (Eustis) and three-star offensive lineman [autotag]Tommy Kinsler[/autotag] (Ocala) round out the rest of the eight.

Four-star athlete [autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag] is the ninth recruit, hailing from Sharpsburg, Georgia, and represents the only other projected defensive back in the class so far, though Florida is still going after top-ranked cornerback [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag].

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Gators land third 4-star defensive commitment of the week

The Gators added another four-star recruit to its class of 2023 on Monday.

Jacksonville is Gator country.

That was the message repeated throughout four-star Bartram Trail defensive back [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag]’s commitment video on Monday. Joined by a group of former Gators from the Jacksonville area, Denson made his pledge to the University of Florida and became the third four-star defensive commit to join Billy Napier‘s recruiting class of 2023 in the last week.

Denson, who has long been considered Florida’s to lose, picked his parents’ alma mater over Miami and Texas A&M after taking unofficial visits to all three programs in June. He set the top three on Wednesday with plans to take officials throughout the season.

Defensive Coordinator and safeties coach [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] has been a key player in this recruitment as had cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag], according to Gators Online. Denson feels that the duo has the potential to mold him into an NFL-ready defensive back. The plan is to play him at the STAR position but also at outside corner since his versatility allows it.

Florida is now up to nine commits in the class of 2023 and No. 17 on the On3 team recruiting rankings list. Denson is the second-highest-ranked recruit in the class so far at No. 196 overall on the On3 consensus. Only former UCF commit [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] is ranked higher, and [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] is right behind him. All three four-star recruits have been added within the week.

Four-star athlete Aaron Gates is the only other projected defensive back in the class so far, and Florida is still going after top-ranked cornerback [autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] as well.

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Gators land commitment from local 4-star defensive lineman

Four-star defensive lineman Gavin Hill is the eighth recruit in the class of 2023 to commit to the Gators.

The Florida Gators picked up another commitment from the class of 2023 on Saturday night. Four-star F.W. Bucholz (Gainesville) defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] made the announcement on Twitter after teasing a decision earlier in the day.

Hill’s decision comes at a critical time for Billy Napier‘s staff. The first-year head coach recently penned an open letter to the fanbase following some unrest caused by recruiting woes. Landing a local four-star should restore some confidence in the process, and the Gators needed to make some moves on the defensive line.

Ranked No. 259 overall on the 247Sports composite, Hill is the second-highest ranked recruit currently committed to Florida. [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag], a four-star edge rusher who recently flipped from UCF, is the only player ahead of him.

The announcement doesn’t come as much of a surprise after Hill left a camp at Florida with an offer and quickly returned for an unofficial visit. That was all that was needed to get a verbal commitment.

Hill will join his Bucholz teammate, receiver [autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag], at Florida. The older Whittemore, Trent, is currently a Gator as well, so there’s a bit of a pipeline being established with the school. Napier’s been big on keeping in-state talent in Florida, and he’s doing a good job of locking down the immediate area.

Florida’s class ranking moved up to No. 34 from No. 39 on the 247Sports recruiting list.

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Florida football logs a crystal ball prediction for this local 4-star DL

Gainesville local gets a crystal ball prediction from 247Sports.

Billy Napier and the Florida football recruiting team got some good news on Thursday when 247Sports released its first crystal ball prediction for four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] out of Gainesville (Florida) Buchholz in favor of the Gators. The local standout is among the top 50 in the nation at his position and has an inherently intimate connection with the program given his proximity to campus.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 255-pound lineman received an offer from Florida on Wednesday after his impressive performance at the team’s one-day camp held on campus. According to Swamp247, Hill is rather shy around the media, but its sources reported that he was very happy with the offer given that it has been his dream school since childhood. Also noted was his athleticism, which allowed him to work out on the other side of the line at tight end as well.

Hill is currently ranked No. 258 overall and No. 38 nationally at his position according to the 247Sports composite. 247Sports’ crystal ball projection is the only significant one so far among scouting services.

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Two 4-star recruits plus a 2024 prospect to visit Florida on Tuesday

Napier and Co. are getting a head start on the new open season for recruiting.

After nearly a month-long dead period in February, recruits are able to head out again to see different colleges like Florida and others across the country. Most will opt to wait for this weekend to visit the Swamp, but not 4-stars Eugene Wilson III and Gavin Hill and 2024 defensive lineman Kendall Jackson. They made the trek to Gainesville on Tuesday to visit coach Billy Napier and Co.

Wilson is the only prospect who currently holds a scholarship offer from the Gators. Napier and wide receiver coach Keary Colbert extended an offer to the Tampa-based recruit and called Florida his “dream school” after a strong showing at Under Armour Miami camp last month.

So far, Colbert and area recruiter and defensive line coach Sean Spencer have led the charge for Wilson.

“I think they are great guys, and it’s easy to converse with them from the times I have talked to them,” he told Swamp247. “We laugh and stuff, and it never seems like there is any tension in the conversation at all. You can tell when they talk ball, they know what they are talking about. It’s been really good. I can just tell they are easy to build a relationship with.”

He added that coach Colbert is the one he has spoken to the most. Wilson said he’s laid back and reminds him of his receiving coach at his high school.

Hill and Jackson are the other two prospects coming to see the Swamp and are a bit more local than Wilson. They play football up the road at Buchholz in north Gainesville.

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