Tag: Jonathan Decoster

Florida football flips IOL previously committed to FSU

Florida’s barrage of commitment flips continued on Tuesday with the commitment of former Florida State offensive line commit Daniel Pierre Louis.

Florida’s recruiting staff continued to dominate the month of November by flipping Seminole Ridge (Loxahatchee, Florida) interior offensive lineman [autotag]Daniel Pierre Louis[/autotag] from the Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday.

Pierre Louis’ commitment to Florida comes immediately after his official visit with the Gators, during which he watched the Orange and Blue take down the LSU Tigers in an upset win on Saturday.

The Seminoles landed him on Oct. 15 — over both Florida and North Carolina State — but major changes in Tallahassee affected his recruitment.

Coaches make the difference

Florida State recently fired offensive coordinator/line coach Alex Atkins, who played a vital role in securing a pledge from Pierre Louis. With the FSU coaching staff in flux, Florida co-offensive line coach [autotag]Jonathan Decoster[/autotag] was able to step up over the weekend, according to Gators Online.

“He’s Haitian and I’m Haitian, so we connect really well,” Pierre Louis said. “We have a bond where he gives me great feedback and tells me where to improve and also shows me little tips and tricks to keep elevating my game. He shows me development of other players like me that they brought into their program. Overall, the vibes are really good. He’s been showing me what their plans for development are, like, how they go into each week and their grade-out sheets. It’s been really nice.”

Pierre Louis is also getting close with Rob Sale, the Gators’ other offensive line coach. He also has a relationship with four-star quarterback Tramell Jones, who recently flipped from Florida State to Florida.

All eyes now shift to five-star Florida State commit Solomon Thomas, who also voiced his displeasure with the firing of Atkins.

Recruiting Summary

Pierre Louis is a consensus three-star recruit, ranked the highest by On3 at No. 52 among interior offensive linemen in the class of 2025. The 247Sports composite ranks Pierre Louis No. 803 nationally and No. 55 at his position, while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 949 and 77, respectively.

A flurry of flip predictions came in on Monday as Pierre Louis notified Florida State of his decision. Swamp247 insider Blake Alderman and Zach Blostein submitted crystal ball predictions within minutes of each other around 10 a.m. ET on Monday, followed by On3 vice president of recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong (10:22 a.m. ET) and Gators Online insider Keith Niebuhr (10:38 a.m. ET).

Gators Online recruiting analyst Corey Bender (1:26 p.m.) and On3 Warchant senior recruiting analyst Michael Langston (1:53 p.m.) also submitted predictions in the afternoon.

Florida is ranked No. 24 in the On3 industry team recruiting rankings and No. 28 in the 247Sports team rankings — up from Nos. 27 and 31, respectively.

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Class of 2026 4-star coming around on Florida after visit

Changes on the coaching staff soured four-star offensive tackle Micah Smith on Florida at first, but now he’s coming around to the Orange and Blue.

Florida’s coaching staff changes initially hurt the team’s chances with four-star Vero Beach High offensive tackle [autotag]Micah Smith[/autotag]. However, some quality time with the new guys during a visit to The Swamp has flipped Smith’s opinion, according to On3’s Keith Niebuhr.

“It changed today,” Smith said. “I really like Coach Napier. Two coaches left (the program). Those were my best coaches at Florida. They left and (Florida) kind of fell on my board. But meeting (offensive line coach Jonathan Decoster) today was really nice.”

A member of the class of 2026, Smith still has plenty of time to get comfortable with the staff. He was in town for a Friday Night Lights 7-on-7 tournament at Florida, which is how most rising juniors get on campus. If all goes well, he’ll be back in Gainesville this time next year for an official visit.

The Gators should get him back on campus in about 10 weeks when the Miami Hurricanes come to town to open the regular season.

O-line coach Jon Decoster’s experience

It didn’t take long for Decoster to win over Smith. Coming from the NFL is an immediate green flag for any coach when a recruit is looking to learn more about them. There’s a level of expertise there that’s gong to impress any high school athlete, and there doesn’t appear to be any sort of style clash between the two.

“He’s going to recruit me with the way he coaches,” Smith said of Decoster. “I really like the way he coaches. And the technique. He took me in his room. His technique, it was amazing. Just the stuff that he coached and the players actually did it. That really impressed me.”

Of course, Florida has two offensive line coaches on staff. Rob Sale is also developing a relationship with Smith now that contact limitations have been lifted on the class of 2026.

Recruiting Summary

Smith is a four-star recruit everywhere but the On300 rankings, where he holds three-star status and is ranked outside of the top 200 nationally.

However, both major composite rankings have him listed as a four-star talent. The 247Sports composite has him at No. 90 nationally and No. 10 among offensive tackles, while the On3 industry ranking puts him at Nos. 102 and 10, respectively.

The On3 recruiting prediction machine indicates that its a Sunshine State Big 4 race for Smith, with UCF in the lead. The Knights own 20.9% odds to land Smith, followed by the Miami Hurricanes (18.3%) and Gators (15.7%). Florida State is less of a threat in fourth place with 8.9% odds.

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Florida add Cleveland Browns assistant to coaching staff

The Gators are plucking Cleveland Browns offensive assistant Jonathan DeCoster from the NFL and pairing him with Rob Sale to get Florida back to two O-line coaches.

Cleveland Browns offensive assistant Jonathan DeCoster will join Billy Napier’s coaching staff at the University of Florida, according to On3’s Corey Bender.

Reports over the weekend pointed to the move coming together, but Bender says the “move is official.” DeCoster will fill a void left by Darnell Stapleton, who is now with the Washington Commanders. Florida still has Rob Sale as the other half of its position-coaching tandem

DeCoster is coming off three seasons with the Browns — one as an offensive quality control coach, the other as an offensive assistant. He spent eight years coaching college ball before his time in Cleveland, including stops at LSU (grad assistant TE coach), Old Dominion (TE coach) and West Virginia State (grad assistant OL coach).

As a player, DeCoster was a four-year starter at right tackle for the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns. His high school days were spent in Miramar, Florida, which could lead to important recruiting connections in the South Florida region.

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Browns hire Jonathan Decoster as the offensive quality control coach

Decoster comes up from the college ranks

There haven’t been many changes to the Cleveland Browns coaching staff this offseason, a very welcome departure from the franchise norm. But the team did bring in someone new on the staff.

Jonathan Decoster has been hired by the Browns as the offensive quality control coach. The team officially announced the hiring earlier this week.

This is Decoster’s first NFL coaching job. He spent 2020 as the tight ends coach for Old Dominion, though the Monarchs did not play last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m very excited and very fortunate,” Decoster said via the Browns. “This is a unique opportunity to join an NFL organization, but especially the Browns and what they’re doing over here. They’re building something special. Getting to work with some pretty famous offensive minds in Coach Stefanski and Coach Callahan as well, it’s an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

He does have some familiarity with several Browns players. Decoster, 33, worked as a graduate assistant for the LSU football program from 2017-2019. He has primarily worked with tight ends in his coaching career but he played offensive tackle in college at Louisiana.

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