Tag: Julian Humphrey

These two Gators commits are ‘freak’ athletes per 247Sports

The Gators recruiting class of 2022 has some elite speed

Recruiting isn’t easy. It takes talent to know that a kid will pan out by the time they reach playing age for a program. Then, there are the “freaks” of the recruiting class — players who are so physically exceptional that it’s hard to ignore them. The Gators have two “freaks” in its 2022 class, cornerback Julian Humprhey and athlete Isaiah Bond, according to 247Sports.

Both players appeared in the top 20 of a list of 50 prospects 247Sports considers “freaks.” Humphrey earned the No. 14 spot for his elite speed. The track star recorded a 4.38 40-yard dash over the summer. Bond is a speedster too and can catch anything the quarterback throws near him.

Bond can flat out fly. Georgia’s most recent AAAAAA state champion in the 100 and 200-meter dashes set personal records in both races this spring going 10.48 and 21.05, respectively.

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Bond committed to the Gators in May and continued to make official visits to other schools throughout the summer. He recently reaffirmed his commitment to the Gators and said that he is locked in with Florida. Bond is the No. 6 athlete in the country according to 247Sports.

Humphrey committed in May as well and has received interest from Texas A&M over the summer. He’s the No. 14 ranked cornerback nationally, according to 247Sports.

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These four Florida football commits made the newest Rivals250 list

One Gator moved up over 150 spots and into the top 50.

The Gators had four recruits from their class of 2022 named in the new Rivals250 rankings: inside linebacker Shemar James (No.40), cornerback Julian Humphrey (No. 55), athlete Isaiah Bond (No. 90) and quarterback Nick Evers (No. 199).

In addition to being the highest-ranked of the bunch, James was one of the biggest movers on the list overall. He joined the top 40 after moving up 170 spots since the last update. In fact, James was the single biggest mover on the list aside from those who jumped up from outside the top 250.

Humphrey comes in as the seventh-best cornerback nationally and Isaiah Bond is the fourteenth-best athlete in his debut ranking. Evers is the only Gator commit outside of the top 100 but he ranks as Rivals’ No. 9 dual-threat quarterback since they separate them from pro-style quarterbacks.

A pair of elite targets for Florida also placed well on the list. Walter Nolen, was again named the nation’s best defensive linemen at No. 2 on the overall list and defensive back Austin Ausberry jumped up 106 spots to No .95 in the country. Nolen placed Florida in his top three earlier this month and Ausberry has the Gators in his top six.

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This Florida defensive back commit plans to still visit other schools

Florida cornerback commit Julian Humphrey reiterated his commitment to the Gators last weekend despite his plans to visit other schools.

Most coaches in college football don’t like it or they even install a rule where their commits can’t take any more visits to other programs. However, coach Dan Mullen has been lenient with his Florida commits and allowed them to visit other schools. The Gators cornerback commit Julian Humphrey has taken advantage of that and has traveled to Georgia and Texas A&M since the NCAA dead period was lifted at the start of June along with visits to the Swamp.

The Houston, Texas product made the trek to Florida last weekend for Friday Night Lights. Like many other commits in town, he elected to work out to compete against some of the best players in the country.

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“The trip was amazing just like always,” Humphrey said, according to Swamp247. “A trip to Gainesville is always the best. The highlight was whenever I got here with the warm welcome. I talked to Dan Mullen and talked to him about life and stuff. The highlight was Friday Night Lights in the stadium that was live.”

He enjoyed competing last weekend because he was able to see how his future coaches like cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar and safeties coach Wesley McGriff in action.

“Coach Jules told me when I first get here he’s going to throw me right when I get here to get my feet wet,” Humphrey said. “He said it would be Jason Marshall and Jaydon Hill if he’s still here and me getting into the rotation and when Jaydon leaves it will be me and Jason Marshall. But if I come here and beat everyone I have a chance to start.”

When asked about his visits to see the Aggies and the Bulldogs, he said he’s doing it to have fun because he only has this chance once. But he reiterated his commitment to Florida. In the fall, he hopes to visit Alabama and then come back to the Swamp when the Gators face the Crimson Tide.

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Florida official visit reassured cornerback this recruit’s decision to commit to the Gators

Defensive back Julian Humphrey finally made the trek to UF after he took several visits to other schools after the dead period was lifted.

Four-star cornerback Julian Humphrey committed to Florida in late May, but it didn’t stop him from visiting other schools once the NCAA dead period was lifted this month. He made trips to Ohio State, Alabama and Texas A&M before seeing Gainesville.

247Sports ranked him as the 15th best cornerback and the 128th best player in the class of 2022.

He officially visited the Gators the second weekend of June. This visit went so well for Humphrey and Florida that it confirmed his decision to originally commit.

Humphrey said one of his favorite aspects of seeing the Gators program was hanging out with the coaches and players.

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One of the main reasons he originally committed to UF was because of its knack when it comes to producing talented defensive backs. Cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar emphasized this point to the 4-star Houston, Texas, native.

“They were telling me at first that committing to Florida was the best thing I could have done to be the best,” Humphrey said, according to Swamp247. “I committed to Florida because I know Florida is great with DB’s. They put out at least two DB’s every year, and I know I can be one of those DB’s. I came here a long time ago as a kid and I kind of remember it. It’s DBU right here in Florida.”

While a prospect officially visits a program, the coaching staff usually designates one of its players to host the recruit. Star defensive back Kaiir Elam hosted him last weekend. Humphrey said that Elam’s message to him was to avoid distractions once you get on campus and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

He added that his commitment to the Gators is still strong. However, he still wants to take visits to other schools in the future because he missed out on these experiences during the dead period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Humphrey said he plans to take official visits to Alabama, LSU and the Aggies.

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Penn State ready for recruiting push as NCAA dead period is lifted

James Franklin and his staff have a busy June lined up as the NCAA lifts its nationwide recruiting travel restrictions.

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This is a monster week on the college football recruiting schedule. For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, official visits will once again be permitted by the NCAA. Penn State is among the many powerhouse programs ready to take full advantage of the opportunity to return to some sense of normalcy in recruiting.

Penn State’s Class of 2022 has already been coming along nicely despite the NCAA restrictions on recruiting out of caution amid the pandemic. According to the latest team composite rankings from 247 Sports, Penn State currently has the No. 6 class in the nation with 11 commitments currently on board. But now that the recruiting game is about to open up, Penn State must work even harder to keep a top 10 class as the competition really heats up.

Penn State has a couple of official visits lined up for this week with Florida running back Kaytron Allen scheduled to visit Happy Valley on Friday. The four-star recruit out of IMG Academy would be a big win for Penn State, who was unable to secure a commitment out of Florida in its scaled-back Class of 2021. Four-star offensive tackle Ryan Brubaker, from Denver, PA, is also scheduled for an official visit that same day.

After the official visits at the end of the week, James Franklin and members of his coaching staff are flying down to Tallahassee to participate in Florida State’s premier football camp. A summer after football camps were prohibited due to the pandemic, this is yet another opportunity to create some interaction with recruits from a fertile football area. Franklin knows the value of Florida recruits, and getting a chance to work with a program like Florida State in this environment could benefit the Nittany Lions moving forward.

Next week, on June 11, will be a significant day for Penn State as 12 players are currently scheduled to make an official visit, including four-star players in Maryland defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton, Philadelphia cornerback Keenan Nelson Jr., Florida linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, New Jersey cornerback Jaeden Gould, Indiana defensive lineman Joe Strickland, Reading running back Nicholas Singleton, and Florida athlete Keon Sabb.

Penn State has 13 more players visiting Happy Valley the following week, including Florida commitment and cornerback Julian Humphrey, from Texas. Penn State commits Drew Shelton (offensive tackle) and Alex Bacchetta (punter) will also be in town. So will Virginia four-star running back Ramon Brown, who previously listed Penn State in his top seven, although Penn State could have some ground to make up in his recruiting process. As of now, Penn State has nine players scheduled to make an official visit to the campus on June 25.

So yes, June is a big month for James Franklin and his staff. But it will also be a challenging one because the NCAA recruiting restrictions are lifted for everybody, from Ohio State and Michigan to Florida and Georgia, and Oklahoma and Texas and beyond. And like Penn State, all of those programs are looking forward to returning to a more standard method of recruiting and sales-pitching.

Game on.

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Gators were an easy choice for this recently committed 4-star cornerback

Florida’s getting some early work in on the 2022 recruiting class, and their latest commit is eager to be part of the program.

The NCAA recruiting dead period is about to be lifted, meaning that beginning on June 1st, teams can host or visit recruits. For recently committed cornerback Julian Humphrey, though, in-person contact wasn’t necessary in order to make a choice.

Humphrey, a four-star cornerback recruit from the state of Texas, is a fast and well-built player who will make a fine addition to the Florida defensive secondary. He made his choice to play in the Swamp official on Thursday afternoon, to immediate and resounding praise from the pertinent experts. His physical traits and background as a wide receiver make a cocktail of building blocks for a playmaking defensive back, regardless of where he settles in on the roster.

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Humphrey discussed his commitment to the Gators with Rivals shortly after the announcement was made, explaining that Florida’s attentive recruiting made the choice to commit an easy one.

“Most schools usually offer and go, but I talk to [the Gators] every single day, so why not them?” he quipped.

There’s also plenty to love about Florida in his eyes. He was highly complimentary of head coach Dan Mullen, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, and defensive backs coach Jules Montinar.

“I love Florida because of the coaches. I want to go to a place where I’m going to be coached by the best. I want to be coached by coaches who already put DBs out in the NFL. I want to be coached by the best pretty much and who are known for putting out DBs.”

To him, the Gators were an obvious selection for the next step in his football journey. It’s encouraging to see the team effectively extending their reach outside of their very backyard, especially as Mullen is often criticized for not more resoundingly outperforming Florida State and Miami among in-state recruits. Humphrey still has an official visit to Penn State on the books for mid-June, but their pitch would have to be jaw-droppingly impressive to sway him from his commitment.

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This 4-star Gators cornerback recruit called a ‘special player’ by 247Sports

The Florida secondary was their Achilles heel during the 2020 campaign, but head coach Dan Mullen is putting in the work to plug the gaps.

Across the college football landscape, attention is turning to the 2021 season as teams’ spring games are finished and the last high-impact transfers settle on their next destination. However, the Gators are already making headway on their recruiting class for the 2022 season. That early work landed a commitment from cornerback Julian Humphrey, a top-150 player in the class, on Thursday.

The commitment is a big deal for the Gators, who are faced with the monumental challenge of digging themselves out of the hole they’re in from a team defense standpoint. Experts were quick to applaud Florida’s newest addition, including high praise from three pertinent experts from the 247Sports network.

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Recruiting Director Steve Wiltfong had nothing but positive things to say about Humphrey immediately after his commitment, indicating that his traits are desirable for an outside corner.

“On his film he’s a playmaker in the secondary. He gets his hands on the football and he has the change of direction quickness,” wrote Wiltfong. “He can play press, he can play off, he covers downfield, has the makeup speed you’re looking for, and he can attach to receivers. He shows physicality and he checks off a lot of the boxes.”

Another expert from the 247Sports network, Andrew Ivins, was able to see Humphrey prior to his commitment and came away with the impression that he could be a significant contributor to the Gators down the road.

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“I think he has a chance to be a really special player,” Ivins said. “He’s a guy with a ton of foot speed, but he’s also got a big, long frame and kind of the ideal measurable to be a field corner. I saw him at Pylon Atlanta back in March and I thought he was pretty good in coverage and man coverage. He’s still not the most fluid of guys, but when he gets coached up it will all come together. He’s absolutely a guy who can be a starter in the SEC.”

Texas area expert Gabe Brooks is also all-in on the traits, indicating that his physical gifts could make him a viable option to be deployed as a versatile piece of Florida’s defensive backfield.

“This is a big corner, who has high-level speed, which has been proven in a track environment with the 10.55 that is verified, which is smoking. I think he’s down in the low 21’s in the 200, so he will be transferring that elite track speed to the football field in college. You’re betting on size, length, speed and you’re usually not going to go wrong with that,” wrote Brooks. “He’s someone who could potentially play anywhere if they needed to move him around in the secondary.”

By all accounts, the Gators seem to have done well in convincing Humphrey to be a part of the future of the program. The team is constructing a vision for their future after losing their core to the 2020 draft and 2022 seems to be the target year for Florida’s resurgence. Humphrey has a shot to be a part of something special as head coach Dan Mullen works to add the right players to his system.

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