Tag: Marcus Stokes

Billy Napier open to boosting quarterback room this spring

We’re not sure who it will be and where he will come from, but the Gators are in need of some help in the quarterback room.

What was once a promising quarterback room in Gainesville has fallen like a house of cards over the past couple of months following the arrest of freshman [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] on child pornography charges, 2023 commit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ rescinded scholarship offer after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur on social media, and the NIL fiasco that followed [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga.

Man, it has not been a fun time for the Gator Nation of late, especially with star quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] heading into the NFL draft despite still being a bit wet behind the ears.

Now that the 2023 recruiting cycle is officially over, head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and his army of staffers are now turning their attention to the college football transfer portal in hopes of finding another scholarship quarterback to help add some depth to a thin corps. Essentially, there is a job opportunity open under center and the next month or two will serve as auditions for the part.

“I think if there’s an opportunity, there’s a player that passes evaluation,” Napier said according to Swamp247, “we certainly would be in the market for another player there.”

The Gators have already started the search for a new signal-caller, first checking in on former LSU Tigers QB Walker Howard, a former four-star prospect out of Lafayette (Louisiana) St. Thomas More in 2022 who was buried on the Tigers’ depth chart last season. However, 247Sports’ sources suggest that Florida has garnered very little interest from the young quarterback.

Also mentioned was former Washington quarterback Sam Huard, who was ranked No. 12 overall, No. 3 among quarterbacks and No. 249 among all prospects according to the 247Sports composite coming out of high school. However, the legacy football player chose California Polytechnic State instead.

The Gators currently have Wisconsin Badgers transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] (a former Ohio State Buckeyes transfer) and [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag] as the three scholarship passers on the roster. Time will tell if Napier and Co. can pull off the coup and bring another solid talent in to beef up the competition.

Former Florida QB commit signs with West Florida

Former Florida quarterback commit Marcus Stokes signed with the University of West Florida on national signing day.

Another quarterback that was committed to Florida during the 2023 recruiting cycle has landed elsewhere.

Three-star Nease (Ponte Vedra, Florida) signal caller [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] signed with Division II West Florida on national signing day. Stokes was the first quarterback to commit to [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s Gators when he flipped from Penn State in July, but Florida had to pull its offer in November when a video surfaced of Stokes using a racial slur while singing along to a song.

Although teammates publicly endorsed him during the controversy, the program’s decision was final. Stokes issued an apology and took responsibility for his actions with a now-deleted statement on social media.

“I was in my car listening to rap music, rapping along to the words and posted a video of it on social media,” Stokes wrote. “I deeply apologize for the words in the song that I chose to say. It was hurtful and offensive to many people, and I regret that.”

Stokes has the talent to play for a Division I program, but the recent controversy eliminated most of his options leading up to national signing day. Alabama A&M and Albany State, a historically black university, also showed interest, but ASU rescinded its offer after backlash from the community.

Now that he’s signed with UWF, Stokes can put the past behind him and work on proving himself both on and off the field. Argonauts head coach Kaleb Noble believes that he’s bringing in not only a quality player but a quality person as well. When the two met for a visit, the focus was on making sure Stokes’ public apology was sincere.

“(Stokes) has been through a lot as far as recruiting,” Nobles said to the Pensacola News Journal. “We feel he’s a really good addition as a person. We feel the talent is there, but we feel the talent is there with every one of these kids.”

Stokes is ranked No. 539 overall on the 247Sports composite, but he’s a four-star recruit ranked No. 25 among quarterbacks in the class on the site’s individual rankings. ESPN is even more bullish on Stokes, ranking him the 11th-best quarterback in the class.

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Former Penn State Class of 2023 QB target commits to Division 2 school

Where did this former Penn State and Florida four-star QB end up signing in the Class of 2023?

As the traditional signing period approached, it was worth monitoring where two recruits who had previously recommitted from Penn State ended up. One player who previously committed to Penn State, quarterback [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], did wind up staying relatively closer to his home in Florida, although his landing spot was a bit more off the radar than originally planned.

Stokes committed to West Florida on national signing day on Wednesday. His journey from committing to Penn State to the Division 2 program has been quite a wild one, to say the least.

Stokes originally committed to Penn State in 2022 but wen ton to flip his commitment to Florida. But Florida pulled his scholarship offer after a viral video in which Stokes used a racial slur made the rounds. Since then, the options for Stokes became far lower in profile with a couple of FCS programs, including Albany State, surfacing as the best potential spots. But even Albany State, an HBCU, rescinded its scholarship offer at the order of the university president.

Enter West Florida, a quickly growing Division 2 program that won a national championship in just its fourth year of existence in 2019. Stokes should easily be able to use his time at West Florida to show what he can do, and as time passes he could make himself an interesting transfer portal option in the future. After all, a four-star recruit starting out at a Division 2 school does not happen every year.

Stokes obviously has an image problem that could not be cleaned up in time during this recruiting cycle, and it remains to be seen if that viral video has tarnished his college career for good or not. But here’s hoping playing at West Florida allows his Stokes to find a way to redeem himself moving forward, including off the field.

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Penn State’s 2023 football commitment tracker

The Penn State football Class of 2023 commitment tracker has been updated with the latest recruiting development

The Class of 2022 was great for Penn State, but it’s already time to turn the page toward the Class of 2023. And James Franklin and the Nittany Lions already had a few commitments on the board for the Class of 2023 as the signed letters of intent were coming in for the Class of 2022.

We’ll be keeping track of every commitment that goes on the board for Penn State in the Class of 2023. But knowing that odds are pretty good at least one player will have a change of heart somewhere along the recruiting process, we’ll keep tabs on what they are doing up until signing day.

This tracker will be updated accordingly when needed. It was last updated on February 1, 2023.

Gators get commitment from this 2023 quarterback recruit

The Gators added some depth in their quarterback room with this commitment.

The quarterback room has been an absolute nightmare for Florida football after the departure of [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to the NFL draft as well as seemingly endless issues with other players. With [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] kicked off the team for child pornography charges, the revocation of 2023 commit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ scholarship offer after a video of him using a racial slur surfaced, and the [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga to boot, it is a tough time to be a signal-caller for the Orange and Blue.

One of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s solutions to patch up his fledgling corps was the addition of Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], who grades a strong “meh” among both the media and fanbase. Not content with just that addition, the program added some more depth under center with the commitment of two-star quarterback [autotag]Jordan Gile[/autotag] out of Chattanooga (Tennessee) Christian School in the 2023 class, who made his announcement on Twitter Tuesday night.

There is not much available as far as scouting evaluations on the incoming freshman but you can check out his Hudl senior highlight video below.

Gile is ranked No. 162 at his position nationally and No. 86 overall in his state according to 247Sports — good enough for a two-star rating. Neither On3 nor Rivals have any data on him.

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Gators’ 2023 quarterback status one of biggest stories to follow

The Gators are not alone in their QB issues but things might be worse in Gainesville than elsewhere.

Things have been rough for the Florida football program of late, especially at the most important position on the field: quarterback. With [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] departing to the NFL draft along with the drama that has followed a pair of Gators commits, [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. cannot be feeling too confident right now.

However, the Orange and Blue are not the only program undergoing turmoil with their signal-caller corps as they join four other schools in Sports Illustrated writer Richard Johnson’s list of top undetermined QB situations heading into 2023. Here is what he has to offer on Florida, which will come across as rather obvious.

There may not be a more unclear quarterback situation in the country than what Anthony Richardson leaves behind at Florida. As the [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] saga continues behind the scenes, the Gators have Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] and bowl game starter [autotag]Jack Miller[/autotag] on the depth chart. That’s a relatively bare cupboard unless Florida plans to hit on someone in the spring transfer portal cycle.

Not only have the Gators faced the above-mentioned attrition under center, but they also lost [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] after he was charged with possession of child pornography as well as [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], who was dismissed from the program after a video of him using a racial slur surfaced on social media. Suffice it to say, it has not been a great few months in Gainesville.

Florida fans will get their first chance to assess the quarterback situation for themselves if and when the Gators play in their annual Orange and Blue game, for which a date and time has yet to be set.

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Could Penn State welcome back Marcus Stokes to the Class of 2023?

Penn State needs a QB. Could this former commit still be the missing piece?

If you ask Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] how many quarterbacks he would like to have on his roster, he will tell you anywhere between three and five. After the departures of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] and [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag], Penn State will have a pair of freshmen returning to represent the team’s only returning quarterbacks with [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag]. But Penn State is adding Jaxon Smolik to the program as a late-blooming prospect in the Class of 2023, giving Penn State three quarterbacks on the roster going into 2023. Still, the Nittany Lions will likely be on the market to add at least one more quarterback in 2023, and one possible addition could still come through the recruiting process.

Enter [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag], a four-star talent out of Florida who at one point was committed to Penn State in the Class of 2023. In fact, it is because Stokes eventually decommitted from Penn State that caused Franklin and his staff to bring in Smolik as its quarterback in the Class of 2023. Stokes flipped his commitment from Penn State to Florida but the Gators ultimately pulled his scholarship offer after a controversial video of Stokes went viral. And now, Stokes could come back to Penn State as a result.

The On3 prediction machine has been leaning pretty hard on Penn State once Stokes became available again with a 66.3% chance of joining the Nittany Lions. But the prediction machine is a bit difficult to trust at times and could change at any moment. And given the nature of Stokes’ situation, there are no crystal ball predictions on the board at 247Sports. Forecasting where Stokes goes after committing to Penn State and then Florida and having a scholarship offer pulled for a negative viral video is difficult. Stokes has baggage that any program bringing him in now will have to address to some degree. Kids are dumb and will do dumb things. Stokes isn’t the first nor will he be the last. But the content of Stokes that resulted in his scholarship pulled is a PR issue that must be addressed in this day and age.

Whether or not Penn State gives Stokes a second chance remains to be seen, but there is no question he fills the hole Penn State is looking to plug. Although, at this point, maybe Franklin would prefer to add a more veteran presence to the quarterback room through the transfer portal. Allar got some good opportunities to play last season but there is no question the position is very raw on meaningful experience going into 2023, even with terrific upside potential in Allar. The quarterback position is a legitimate concern for 2023 even if just focusing on the depth.

Adding Stokes helps the depth, but the experience factor is still lacking if that ends up being the case.

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Where did the players who decommitted from Penn State end up?

Where did the players who decommitted from Penn State end up in the Class of 2023, and who is still out there?

Penn State just welcomed 22 new members to its football program with the signing of its Class of 2023, although there could still be some more room for another recruit or two or new pieces coming through the transfer portal. But there are some players that got away from Penn State during the recruiting process, which is perfectly normal in this game. Every school deals with a handful of players who change their minds after committing to them at some point in the process because high school students are allowed to change their minds for whatever reason they choose when it comes to where they will be going to college. Such was the case for Penn State with a number of players opting to back off a commitment to the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2023.

Fortunately for Penn State, [autotag]Mathias Barnwell[/autotag] was a rare case where he came back to committing to Penn State after decommitting.

“When he committed, wanted to make sure they were comfortable, truly knew what that was,” head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] said when reflecting on the recruiting efforts of Barnwell that ultimately led to Barnwell signing with Penn State in the Class of 2023. “His eyes started to wander in 10th grade, then committed back to us, which doesn’t always happen.”

Penn State could still end up welcoming another player or two that had previously committed to Penn State before backing off of it along the way. Quarterback [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Ejani Shakir[/autotag] are two players still available in the recruiting pool. Each had committed to Penn State in the past before stepping back. In the case of Stokes, he flipped his commitment to Florida before having his scholarship offer pulled after a controversial video of Stokes went viral. Shakir merely wanted to take more time to weigh his options, it seems. Both players are currently projected by recruiting analysts and metrics to end up at Penn State, but time will tell how that all plays out.

Here are a few others who backed off a commitment to Penn State and where they each ended up in the early signing period.

Who’s next at QB for Florida? Here are some transfer portal options

Here are some of the top names to keep an eye on in the transfer portal as the Gators look for their next signal-caller.

Florida football faces some serious attrition at the quarterback position after the departure of starter [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] to the NFL draft and the dismissal of [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] from the program due to criminal charges. Add the revocation of 2023 recruit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag]’ scholarship due to unacceptable behavior, and [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] has quite a pickle to deal with this offseason.

The good news is the program has done very well bolstering its depth under center for the long term, earning commitments from 2023 five-star signal-caller [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] as well as 2024’s [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag].

Unfortunately, there is only [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] and a few other untested young gunslingers to help bridge the quarterback room in the interim, which means the Gators will need to dip into the NCAA transfer portal for at least one potential starter in 2023.

Take a look below at the list of potential transfer portal targets Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre put together in the second edition of his hot board, along with some relevant rankings and stats to go along with them.

USA TODAY Sports sees UF among teams in search of transfer portal QB

USA TODAY Sports sees the Gators as major players in the transfer portal at the quarterback position.

Florida football is currently dealing with significant depth issues at the quarterback position after starter [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] declared for the 2023 NFL draft while his backup [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] was dismissed from the team following child pornography charges. To make matters worse, four-star 2023 commit [autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] had his scholarship offer rescinded after a video of him using racist slurs surfaced in the media.

It has not been a great time to be a Gators signal caller of late. But at the same time, a tremendous opportunity has opened up in Gainesville for the right quarterback to fit into [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s system.

According to USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg, who published his 10 Power Five teams looking for gunslingers in the transfer portal, Florida is among those in most need of some help via college football’s de facto free agency system, landing at No. 10 on the list. Here is what he has to offer on the Gators’ situation.

The Gators recently hosted Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz, indicating coach Billy Napier’s need for a plug-and-play starter after Anthony Richardson opted into the NFL draft. Mertz is an interesting recruit not just for his experience – he battled through extended runs of inconsistent play as a multiple-year starter for the Badgers – but for being more of a traditional pocket passer. If the Gators sign Mertz or someone with a similar skill set, what would that indicate about how the offense will look in 2023?

The Badgers transfer certainly appears to be one of the best bets for the program at this point but there are still a lot of moving parts to address. However, the long story short is that the Gators will need to seek help from somewhere because 2023 commit [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] will unlikely be ready for the SEC grind while [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] is still a wildcard.

Eventually, someone will have to step up, and it is very unlikely that person is currently on the roster.

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