Tag: Jamonta Waller

Auburn remains determined to flip KJ Bolden from Florida State

It appears that Hugh Freeze is feeling lucky after flipping Cam Coleman from Texas A&M.

Last week, wide receivers coach [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] visited Central High School in Phenix City to have a chat with five-star wide receiver Cam Coleman. The meeting went well, as Coleman flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Auburn.

After the flip, it appears as if Hugh Freeze and his staff are feeling lucky as they continue to pursue five-star safety [autotag]KJ Bolden[/autotag]. Freeze paid a visit to Bolden on Tuesday.

Bolden has been a popular target for Auburn, and they were in Bolden’s final five choices before he ultimately committed to Florida State on August 5. Despite his pledge to Florida State, Auburn has remained heavy in their pursuit of Bolden. Bolden visited Auburn during the weekend of the Georgia game and said that the atmosphere of Jordan-Hare Stadium “caught him off guard” but in a good way.

Now that early signing day is within eyesight, Freeze is making one final push to sway Bolden to the Plains. In a recent episode of The Inside Scoop from On3, Auburn Live’s Jeffrey Lee says that Auburn’s recent success of landing recruits such as Coleman and fellow five-star receiver [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] has changed the way Bolden views Auburn.

“Now they’ve got both of those guys, they’ve got Joe Phillips, they’ve got Jamonta Waller, they just added Cam Coleman. And I really think that’s opened KJ’s eyes,” Lee said. “Like oh, it’s not just one or two guys. This class could end up being really, really good. So I think with his interest level before, and now some of these recruits jumping on board certainly has opened his eyes with renewed interest in Auburn.”

As it stands currently, Auburn has the No. 11 recruiting class according to both 247Sports and On3. Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag], and [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] headline the class that features two five-stars, and ten four-stars.

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2025 4-star TE Ryan Ghea commits to Auburn

Auburn has landed a recruit on three straight days.

For the third time this week, [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and Auburn football have landed a key recruit. This time it was 2025 four-star tight end [autotag]Ryan Ghea[/autotag], who announced his commitment Sunday afternoon on social media.

Originally planning to commit in February, Ghea has visited Auburn six times this season, including his most recent trip on Nov. 7 and decided to go ahead and announce his pledge earlier than planned.

He is Auburn’s third commit in the past three days. [autotag]Laquan Robinson[/autotag], the No. 1 JUCO safety, committed on Friday and four-star edge [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] flipped from Florida on Saturday after Auburn’s dominant win over Arkansas.

Ghea is from Alpharetta, Georgia and is Auburn’s sixth commit in the 2025 cycle, giving the Tigers the No. 5 class in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings.

He quickly became one of [autotag]Ben Aigamaua[/autotag]’s top targets in the cycle and the Tigers did not shy away from letting him know that.

“It means a lot to me. It means once again that I am a priority to them and they think that I can be a part of their program and make an impact,” Ghea told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “I think he’s (Freeze) a great coach, great guy, great family man and he’s turning this program back to where it should be.”

He is the No. 308 overall player and No. 15 tight end in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 35 player from Georgia.

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Florida football loses 4-star EDGE commit to Auburn after loss

The Florida Gators lost a pledge from four-star edge rusher Jamonta Waller (Picayune Memorial) on Saturday. He’ll play for Auburn in 2024.

The Florida Gators are primed to bring in a top-five recruiting class once the 2024 cycle is all said and done, but four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] won’t be a part of it.

Waller committed to the Orange and Blue back in June, but he’s now decided that a different shade of the colors suits him better. Waller will be an Auburn Tiger next season. He announced the flip on Saturday.

Auburn and Penn State were the two finalists that came up short five months ago, but the Tigers never stopped pushing for Waller and finally won out in the end. Two in-season visits helped seal the deal for Auburn, and Florida welcoming in a large edge class in 2024 likely played a factor as well.

Fortunately, Florida has five-star LJ McCray, four-star Amaris Williams and three-star Kendall Jackson joining the program. While some are listed as defensive linemen, they’ll likely play on the edge rather than the interior. Williams is still talking with Ohio State but he remains committed to Florida at the moment.

Florida fell one spot in 247Sports’ team rankings from No. 3 to No. 4 overall in the class of 2024. Bringing in a top-5 class will still be a huge win for the Gators, but the program can’t afford to lose any more blue-chip talent, especially to other SEC schools.

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Auburn flips elite pass rusher Jamonta Waller from Florida

Hugh Freeze and Co. have flipped yet another elite prospect.

Auburn was a finalist for four-star edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] back in June when he committed to the Florida Gators and they never stopped recruiting the talented pass rusher after missing out.

That decision paid off on Saturday when he announced he was flipping his commitment from the Gators to the Tigers on social media.

While Auburn never stopped recruiting Waller, they made their move during the season after he visited the Plains to watch them play Georgia and Ole Miss. The visits allowed him to see just how [autotag] Ron Roberts[/autotag] would use him in his defense, where he projects to play the jack position and rush the passer.

Waller is the No. 75 overall player and the No. 6 edge in the 247Sports composite ranking. The Picuyuna product is also the No. 2 player from Mississippi.

He becomes Auburn’s third-highest-ranked commit, behind only five-star prospects [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] and [autotag]Demarcus Riddick[/autotag]. He is Auburn’s second commit at edge, joining four-star [autotag]TJ Lindsey[/autotag].

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Blue-chip Gators DE commit makes ESPN’s top 5 prep highlights

Another future Gator was among the top five prep performers for ESPN.

Billy Napier has made monumental moves on the recruiting trail this year, catapulting his program into the upper echelon of collegiate gridiron destinations. Among the many highly-regarded recruits expected to join the team in 2024 is four-star defensive end [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag].

ESPN’s Blake Baumgartner put together his five top plays from the prep ranks last week and included a pair of Gators commits, with an appearance from him and his standout performance for Picayune (Mississippi) Memorial.

“If Billy Napier gets Florida back to competing for SEC titles, its defense might have to carry the weight,” Baumgartner begins. “And Waller, one of two five-star prospects in the Gators’ third-ranked class, along with QB DJ Lagway (Willis, Texas), will be a force to be dealt with by opposing offensive linemen.

“The Picayune Memorial High School (Mississippi) defensive end demonstrated why in a 42-7 win over Long Beach High School (Mississippi) on Friday,” he continued.

“Waller, who’s ranked No. 18 overall in the ESPN 300, had 39 tackles (23 solo) with 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks in the seven games he had played coming into the weekend.”

The Magnolia State product is rated at four stars and ranked No. 70 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking also rates him at four stars and has him at Nos. 78 and 7, respectively.

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This 5-star LB commit will be at Grill in the Ville on Saturday

This big-time blue-chipper will be among the many in town this weekend for Grill in the Ville.

Florida football’s first edition of its midsummer Grill in the Ville event, which welcomes prep prospects from a range of recruiting classes into the Swamp to build a closer relationship with Billy Napier and the Gators’ staff, is set to take place on Saturday, July 29 in Gainesville.

One member of the 2024 recruiting class who will be in attendance that day is 247Sports five-star linebacker [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] out of Picayune Memorial (Mississippi). The 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound defender committed to the Orange and Blue back on June 19, choosing the Gators over the Auburn Tigers and Penn State Nittany Lions.

“The people,” Waller On3’s Hayes Fawcett. “It just felt like home both times I went to Gainesville. They made me feel like a priority. I realized I wanted to be a Florida Gator at 4 a.m. last night, that’s when I knew it was home. So I woke up this morning and called coach Billy.”

Waller is rated at four stars and ranked No. 69 overall and No. 6 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking also rates him at four stars and has him at Nos. 64 and 7, respectively.

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Flurry of 4-star commits sends Florida surging up to No. 3 nationally

After getting commitments from five four-star 2024 recruits in the last week, Florida’s class is now ranked third in the nation.

No college football program has been more busy recruiting over the last six or seven days than the Florida Gators. Since this past weekend, Billy Napier and his staff have gotten five blue-chip recruits from the class of 2024 to commit, plus another couple of three-star prospects. They have been particularly active in acquiring highly-ranked high school recruits from the ultra-competitive state of Georgia.

Here’s a look at each player that has announced their commitments to Florida and where they rank in their class going by On3’s national rankings.

Picayune Memorial (Miss.) 4-star LB Jamonta Waller

National ranking: No. 61

Good Counsel (Md.) 4-star LB Aaron Chiles

National ranking: No. 108

Dublin (Ga.) 4-star DL Nasir Johnson

National ranking: No. 272

Clinton (NC) 4-star DL Amaris Williams

National ranking: No. 180

Portal (Ga.) 4-star TE Amir Jackson

National ranking: No. 129

South Gwinnett (Ga.) 3-star OT Marcus Mascoll

National ranking: No. 643

Creekside (Ga.) 3-star DL Michai Boireau

National ranking: No. 917

Florida’s class of 2024 now has 16 hard commits and ranks No. 3 in the nation after being placed No. 19 just a week ago.

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Five-star linebacker commits to Florida, adds to recruiting haul

The Gators are en fuego on the recruiting front as we hit the 2/3 mark of June.

Florida football’s recruiting efforts have been en fuego the past several days and Billy Napier and Co. continue to rope in some of the top prep prospects in the 2024 class into the Swamp. Following yet another successful official visit weekend, the Gators received yet another commitment from one of the best in the nation.

Jamonta Waller, a 247Sports five-star linebacker out of Picayune (Mississippi) Memorial, announced his intention to join the Orange and Blue on Monday, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. The 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound defender’s decision was based on his experience with the staff after two visits to Hogtown.

“The people,” Waller told Fawcett. “It just felt like home both times I went to Gainesville. They made me feel like a priority.”

“I realized I wanted to be a Florida Gator at 4 a.m. last night, that’s when I knew it was home. So I woke up this morning and called coach Billy.”

The Gators won out over the Auburn Tigers and Penn State Nittany Lions for the Magnolia State standout.

Waller is rated at four stars and ranked No. 71 overall and No. 7 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking also rates him at four stars and ranks him at Nos. 61 and 7, respectively.

Interestingly, 247Sports had a crystal ball prediction for the Ole Miss Rebels while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine had favored Florida with a 74.5% chance of landing him before his commitment.

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Florida football in 3-way fight for 5-star Magnolia State EDGE

The Gators have been rising meteorically for the rising high school senior’s signature. 

Billy Napier and the Florida Gators are still in the mix for one of the top edge defenders in the 2024 recruiting cycle despite a hyped-up recent official visit with a Southeastern Conference rival.

Five-star prospect (per 24Sports) [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] out of Picayune (Mississippi) Memorial paid a visit to the Auburn Tigers last weekend and came away impressed with Hugh Freeze’s program in the early goings. However, the Plainsmen are among the top three schools on the 6-foot-2-inch, 225-pound defender’s preferred programs list according to 247Sports — which also includes the Penn State Nittany Lions.

That said, the Gators have been rising meteorically for the rising high school senior’s signature.

“They hit me up every day, Coach Armstrong, Coach Mike Peterson, they came to my school like three times and made it know I’m the No. 1 priority for the Florida Gators” Waller said. He’ll take his official the weekend of June 16.

“That’s going to be a huge visit too, I’m ready to get back over there.”

Waller is rated at four stars and ranked No. 102 overall and No.  at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking also rates him at four stars and ranks him at Nos. 81 and 7, respectively.

The Magnolia State product has one crystal ball projection from 247Sports for the Ole Miss Rebels and On3’s Recruiting Prediciton Machine agrees, giving them a 77% chance of landing him. Auburn, the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida follow behind, respectively, at 4.3%, 3.7% and 3.1%.

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Four-star EDGE Jamonta Waller has ‘great visit’ to Auburn

The Tigers impressed Waller during his official visit.

[autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] is one of the top football players in the country and Auburn’s top target at EDGE.

Auburn hosted Waller for an official visit over the weekend and the four-star prospect enjoyed his time on the Plains.

“Good man, it was a great visit,” Waller told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente. “The whole weekend has just been great. We went bowling, we ate at a lot of good places and just being around the coaches, that was great, too.”

The Picayune, Mississippi native included Auburn in his top 10 schools on May 13 and told Clemente that he could be making another trip to the Plains.

He is the No. 102 overall player and No. 9 edge rusher in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is also the No. 2 player from Mississippi.

With Auburn recruiting him as a jack linebacker, Waller is being recruited by defensive coordinator [autotag]Ron Roberts[/autotag] and spent some time with him on the visit.

“Coach Roberts, he’s a cool dude,” Waller said. “He’s real, he’s going to tell you everything that you need to know, I got all my questions answered. He’s a cool dude.”

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder is coming off a dominant junior season for Picayune Memorial High School. He made 106 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in 15 games.

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