Corey Bender of Gators Online submitted a pair of On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine picks in favor of Florida on Friday. Four-star offensive lineman [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] and four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag] are the two names he expects to end up with the Gators when all is said done.
Both recruits are rated four stars on the On3 consensus and come out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Harris has been linked with Florida recently, picking up a handful of crystal ball predictions from the 247Sports staff as well. He’ll decide on May 7 and has already named the Gators as one of the five finalists in his recruitment. Bender said that a source close to Harris told him that it would be a “real shocker” if the 6-foot-3-inch, 327-pounder ended up elsewhere.
With that in mind, Bender logged his prediction with a 75% confidence level, the highest of the three picks cast in favor of UF. The RPM has Harris at a 95.5% chance to land in Gainesville. He’s the No. 384 overall recruit on the On3 Consensus and the No. 27 interior offensive lineman.
Norman is the higher-ranked recruit of the two at No. 123 overall and No. 17 among defensive linemen, but Bender’s confidence level is only at 50% with him. Florida has been aggressive in recruiting the in-state blue-chipper and are sitting on top of things along with LSU and Texas A&M. Norman’s opinion of Florida has become more favorable with every visit, and Billy Napier and Co. are only ramping things up as the summer approaches.
Norman could decide over the summer or as early as May, and Bender believes that the Gators have done enough to get the call if things ended today. There is, however, a game-changing offer out there that could affect the climate of Norman’s recruitment. If Dabo Swinney and Clemson come knocking, Florida could face some serious competition.
If the Gators can nab both of these guys over the summer, the recruiting class will look a lot stronger than it does right now. Napier needs a big haul in 2023, and these could be some of the first dominoes to fall in his plan.
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