Tag: Joshisa Trader

Miami (Fla.) gets surprise commitment from 5-star WR Joshisa Trader

Over the last two seasons, Trader has totaled 73 catches, 1,335 receiving yards and scored 13 touchdowns.

The last several weeks of the 2024 recruiting cycle have seen several unexpected commitments from high-end prospects.

On Thursday night, we got another when Chaminade-Madonna (Fla.) five-star wide receiver Joshisa “Jojo” Trader announced his commitment to Miami (Fla.).

Trader (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) had offers from 30 other programs, including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and LSU.

Earlier in his recruitment, Trader told 247Sports that Miami feels like family.

“It’s like a brotherhood down there… It’s like a family. I can relate to a lot of people down there and stuff like that. When you play together as a team, it gets real… I feel like they got a good group coming up right now. They’ve been doing a good job recruiting me and I can’t wait to see what they do this season.”

Over the last two seasons, Trader has totaled 73 catches, 1,335 receiving yards and scored 13 touchdowns. He has also put in work on the other side of the ball, posting two interceptions.

Nobody is higher on Trader than ESPN, who has him ranked No. 3 at his position, No. 4 overall in the state of Florida and No. 11 nationally in the class of 2024.
Trader coming in makes 17 hard commits so far for Miami’s 2024 class, which ranks No. 16 in the nation.

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Florida football hosts two 5-star prospects on Wednesday

Not satisfied with the recent run of recruiting commitments, Billy Napier and Co. continue their efforts on Wednesday.

Billy Napier and his army of staffers are back at it on Wednesday as they host a pair of five-star prep prospects out of Opa Locka (Florida) Chaminade-Madonna Prep on unofficial visits to campus. Not satisfied with the huge ump the program has made in the recruiting realm recently, the Gators’ brass continues to push forward in restoring glory to the Orange and Blue.

The first visitor of note is five-star wide receiver [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], who is among the top recruits out of the Sunshine State at any position. The 6-foot-3-inch, 198-pound pass-catcher confirmed with Swamp247 that he will participate in the 7-on-7 tournament Wednesday, which will be his third stop on campus and the first since his official visit at the start of the month.

Smith is ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 2 and 1, respectively. He is currently committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

His teammate at Chaminade-Madonna Prep, five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader, is also expected to be in attendance on Wednesday. The 6-foot-1-inch, 175-pound blue-chip receiver makes his second visit to Gainesville following an unofficial back in April, from which he came away impressed with Gators wide receivers coach Billy Gonzalez.

“He’s a good coach. A good passionate coach,” he told Swamp247 following his previous visit. “He was telling me about himself. He’s really big on family. He said how he invite his players over to his house and stuff like that to hang out. He’s got a pretty long list [of former players], some of them I didn’t know but I am sure they are good players.”

Trader is ranked No. 21 overall and No. 2 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking rates him at four stars and ranks at Nos. 31 and 8, respectively. The Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes both have a crystal ball prediction from 247Sports while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Hurricanes with a massive 91.8% lead.

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Florida still in the race for this 5-star ATH, official visit to come

Florida is hoping to win the sweepstakes for elite in-state wide receiver Joshisa Trader, who is still looking closely at his top five programs.

Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Hollywood, Florida) five-star athlete [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag] named a top five of Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State and Tennessee back in December, and he continues to focus on those five programs as his recruitment continues, according to a recent update from 247Sports.

The On3 recruiting prediction machine gives Miami the best odds to land him at 92.8%, but Trader said that each school is still pushing hard for him.

“All of the schools are recruiting me the same,” Trader said. “I’m going to be real, no one is recruiting me harder than the others.”

The plan is for Trader to take official visits during the spring and fall before making a decision. He could end up waiting until the end of his senior year to commit, so there is still plenty of time for any program in his top five to break through.

Trader’s next visit to the Swamp will give him a chance to meet the team’s new wide receivers coach, Billy Gonzalez. Although Trader is technically labeled an athlete, he’ll likely be catching passes at the college level.

Tennessee football recruiting: Vols’ top 2024 wide receiver targets

Tennessee football recruiting: Vols’ top 2024 wide receiver targets

Third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and his staff continue to recruit future Vols.

The Vols have five 2024 commitments, headlined by four-stars Jonathan Echols (athlete), JJ Harrell (wide receiver) and Kaleb Beasley (cornerback).

The Vols have the No. 9 overall recruiting class and No. 5 recruiting class in the Southeastern Conference, according to the On3 consensus.

Tennessee landed its first wide receiver commitment with Harrell. Harrell is the No. 13 wide receiver in the class of 2024, according to On3.

Vols Wire breaks down the top 2024 wide receiver targets for Tennessee. The top wide receiver targets for the Vols are listed below.

Florida commit and target among ESPN’s 2024 recruits to watch

Take a look at who made ESPN’s list.

With national signing day and the 2023 recruiting class in the rearview mirror, attention turns to the 2024 class and the players that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] will target.

The 2024 class is a big one for Napier and his staff. The 2023 class was the first one that Napier was in charge of for the entire cycle. After being hired in December 2021, Napier had little time to keep together a class that former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] put together. The 2022 class saw the program’s first-ever player from IMG Academy in Bradenton when Kamari Wilson signed with the Gators.

The 2023 class was an improvement from 2021 and showed what Napier prioritized in recruiting. According to On3, of the Gators’ 20 high school recruits, 16 were considered blue-chip prospects (four or five stars). 70% of the 2023 class consisted of players from the state of Florida, compared to just 25% from the 2022 class.

It seems like Napier is on pace to, at a minimum, maintain the same level of quality from the 2023 class. In a recent article by ESPN, Tom VanHaaren makes a point to mention Florida commit [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] as one of the three 2024 quarterbacks with a five-star grade. That is particularly important to the Orange and Blue, given the [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga that the program went through over the last six weeks. After his commitment in December, Lagway has been vocal about his openness to recruit for the Gators.

One player that could use a call from DJ Lagway is Hollywood, Florida, native [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag]. The Chaminade-Madonna wide receiver is the top player at his position in the 2024 class. In addition to the Gators, programs like Ohio State, Miami and Florida State are all pushing hard to secure his services. Landing a player like Trader would go a long way in re-establishing the Gators as the best in-state option for top talent in the state of Florida.

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Quick hitting Ohio State football recruiting update – Holiday edition

Recruiting didn’t take the holiday’s off #GoBucks

First, I hope your holiday season was filled with great family fun and the sharing of gifts to your loved ones. This one fan of a school in Ann Arbor sure received a great Buckeye gift for the holidays

There is one aspect of college football that never takes a break: recruiting. [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] and [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] didn’t take too much time off for the holiday while preparing for their game against Georgia in the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag]. The staff also kept up with recruits during the holiday weekend.

Find out below a few presents that Ohio State is trying to secure on the recruiting trail.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.

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Gators land in top 5 for this South Florida 5-star wide receiver

The Gators are pushing hard for 2024 five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader, who just included Florida in his top five.

Five-star wide receiver [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag] named his top five programs on Christmas and the Florida Gators have made the cut, according to On3’s Chad Simmons.

Trader named Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State and Tennessee as his finalists, although there’s still plenty of time for other programs to break into that list. The Chaminade-Madonna Preparatory School product plans to commit after his senior year, which is just under a year away.

He’s visited each of his top-five programs save for Tennessee, with Miami being his most frequented school. That’s not too big of a surprise considering he’s a South Florida native, but it does give the Hurricanes a bit of a home-field advantage that the Gators will have to overcome to secure a commitment.

For Trader, getting to know the coaching staff is paramount. He said that “relationships are very important” to him, and he’s in constant contact with each of his five finalists. Florida’s scheme and history of producing NFL-caliber receivers are a plus, too.

“I like Florida’s speed and how they play fast,” Trader said. “They have produced a lot of top receivers over the years too. It is a good program that is going to produce big-time players at my position.”

This race could come down to a three-way in-state battle, but Ohio State has as good a shot to land Trader as any. The Buckeyes have already earned a commitment from Trader’s high school teammate, [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], who is also the nation’s top-ranked receiver.

Bringing in the duo would be a major win for OSU, and the Buckeyes already have a good track record recruiting in the area. The class of 2023’s top receiver, [autotag]Brandon Inniss[/autotag], is from South Florida (American Heritage-Plantation) and is joining the team this year.

Trader plans to take his time and admits that official visits could change his view, but the expectation is that he’ll commit in December of 2023. He’s ranked No. 8 overall on the On3 consensus and is No. 4 among receivers.

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Another 5-star 2024 WR plans visit to Florida for LSU game

Florida will host the top two receivers in the class of 2024 on Oct. 15 when the LSU Tigers come to town, per reports.

For those who aren’t caught up to speed on the class of 2024 yet, two of the top receivers in the group hail from Chaminade-Madonna Preparatory School in Hollywood, Florida. Their names are [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag] and [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag]. Each has received a five-star designation on the On3 consensus and is ranked within the top five regardless of position.

As one might expect, the Florida Gators are looking to keep the in-state talents in-state, and the next step is an unofficial visit from the dynamic duo on Oct. 15, according to Gators Online.

LSU comes into town that day, and the list of blue-chip visitors is growing by the hour. Extending Trader an invitation is smart for a few reasons. First, getting him and Smith on campus at the same time could help amplify the impact of the visit. Wide receivers coach [autotag]Keary Colbert[/autotag] has put together a strong class of pass catchers for 2023, but he’s looking to land the best of the best in 2024.

The second and perhaps more important reason is that Trader has been vocal recently about Florida’s lack of effort when it comes to recruiting him. He flat-out said Florida could do more, and this is an appropriate response if Colbert is serious about landing five-star recruits. Chaminade-Madonna has arguably the top receiving core in the country, and a little more effort could help bring that group to Gainesville.

UF still has Ohio State, Miami and Texas A&M to beat out for Trader’s services, and the Buckeyes are heavy favorites as the top wide receiver destination in the country right now, but the door is certainly open with well over a year until the class of 2024 puts pen to paper.

It’ll be interesting to see what Trader and Smith think about UF after experiencing a game day in the Swamp, especially an LSU game day.

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This 5-star WR ‘sees a difference’ with Florida under Napier

Florida’s made contact with the top-ranked receiver in the class of 2024, but he thinks they could be doing more.

Florida wide receivers coach [autotag]Keary Colbert[/autotag] has landed commitments from several elite pass-catchers during the 2023 cycle, but he’s going after a five-star when it comes to the class of 2024.

On3’s Chad Simmons caught up with the top-ranked receiver in the class of 2024 and the No. 3 overall recruit on the On3 consensus, [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag], and the Gators were one of many teams discussed. Ohio State is currently in the lead, and Florida has a lot of ground to make up, but Trader says he’s seeing the difference in Gainesville now that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s group has taken over.

“I see a difference,” Trader said. “The receivers are doing better from last year. (Florida) got a better coaching staff. To me, they got a better coaching staff.”

Ohio State‘s Brian Hartline is one of two wide receiver coaches ranked higher than Colbert on 247Sports recruiter rankings. If Colbert makes Trader a priority, it could be a fun battle to watch over the next year. The only problem is that Florida hasn’t quite given Trader the attention he thinks he deserves.

“This (is) their first time really recruiting me,” he said. “At first, when they (weren’t) recruiting me, they didn’t really pay attention to me, but I noticed that. They did pay attention to other people they had to recruit to get them there, so I noticed that. I understood that. Going on now, they’ve been better recruiting (me), but I feel like they could do more.”

Whether the Gators answer that call remains to be seen, but Trader has made it known that he wants the Gators to step up. Landing him would be quite the statement by Colbert. Hartline and OSU have created a wide receiver factory that’s routinely brought in some of the best names at the position around the country. Keeping the Florida kid at home that Hartline wants is how top-five classes are built.

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This 5-star WR ‘sees a difference’ with Florida under Napier

Florida’s made contact with the top-ranked receiver in the class of 2024, but he thinks they could be doing more.

Florida wide receivers coach [autotag]Keary Colbert[/autotag] has landed commitments from several elite pass-catchers during the 2023 cycle, but he’s going after a five-star when it comes to the class of 2024.

On3’s Chad Simmons caught up with the top-ranked receiver in the class of 2024 and the No. 3 overall recruit on the On3 consensus, [autotag]Joshisa Trader[/autotag], and the Gators were one of many teams discussed. Ohio State is currently in the lead, and Florida has a lot of ground to make up, but Trader says he’s seeing the difference in Gainesville now that [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s group has taken over.

“I see a difference,” Trader said. “The receivers are doing better from last year. (Florida) got a better coaching staff. To me, they got a better coaching staff.”

Ohio State‘s Brian Hartline is one of two wide receiver coaches ranked higher than Colbert on 247Sports recruiter rankings. If Colbert makes Trader a priority, it could be a fun battle to watch over the next year. The only problem is that Florida hasn’t quite given Trader the attention he thinks he deserves.

“This (is) their first time really recruiting me,” he said. “At first, when they (weren’t) recruiting me, they didn’t really pay attention to me, but I noticed that. They did pay attention to other people they had to recruit to get them there, so I noticed that. I understood that. Going on now, they’ve been better recruiting (me), but I feel like they could do more.”

Whether the Gators answer that call remains to be seen, but Trader has made it known that he wants the Gators to step up. Landing him would be quite the statement by Colbert. Hartline and OSU have created a wide receiver factory that’s routinely brought in some of the best names at the position around the country. Keeping the Florida kid at home that Hartline wants is how top-five classes are built.

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