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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