Tag: Mike Peterson

Three-star EDGE will make official visit to Gainesville next weekend

The Florida Gators football staff is expecting a widely scouted 3-star EDGE to make an official visit to campus next weekend

The Florida Gators have been hard at work to get the best players out of the 2025 recruiting cycle, and they’re not looking to hit the brakes anytime soon with Spring practices right around the corner.

The Gators coaching staff coordinated with three-star edge rusher [autotag]Tylon Lee[/autotag] to set up an official visit next weekend, with Lee planning to tour the campus on March 9.

Florida linebackers coach Mike Peterson and Lee have been in close contact recently, according to reports from Swamp247. The bond is something that the Milton, Florida native appreciates about the UF football program.

“It’s been awesome,” Lee said. “Getting the connection and the vibe. That is the type of coach I love. One that makes you feel like you can be at home. As you go somewhere for college, you leave your real parents. The coaches are there to step up and be like parents kind of. They get you to work on and off the field, but it’s their responsibility to do good and treat you good.”

“I love how he talks to his players and build relationships with all of them. He tells them the good and the bad. We are clicking with the bond and he even talks to me about the good stuff and the bad stuff. Life has adversity, so I feel like the bond he has with me can help me when that comes around.”

Landing a commitment from Lee will be a huge boost to Florida’s recruiting class, with the Pace High edge rusher ranking at No. 32 for his position and is rated No. 461 on the 247Sports composite scale.

Neighboring Florida on Lee’s recruiting list are Penn State, Duke and Florida State.

Gators hosting 5-star EDGE on official visit in June

Florida is beginning to lock in official visit dates for the summer. This five-star edge rusher is the latest to make plans with the Gators.

Picayune (Mississippi) Memorial edge rusher [autotag]Jamonta Waller[/autotag] wasn’t a five-star recruit when he made his first trip to the University of Florida earlier this month, but he was granted the elite status by 247Sports on Tuesday and is also planning on returning to Florida for an official visit, according to Swamp247.

The return trip to the Swamp should come over the weekend of June 2. Waller got to see most of what the school has to offer during his spring trip, but the team will be rolling out the red carpet for an official visit. He’s already close with the coaching staff, especially outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag], and should only benefit from an entire weekend around the coaches.

At 6-foot-2-inches tall and 225 pounds, Waller has the size to do a lot for Florida. The nice thing about Waller is that he’s not going to be limited to coming off the edge, although that’s where he might shine the most. Florida sees him playing in multiple spots if he joins the team, and that’s helped UF surge in his recruitment.

“They really jumped up,” Waller said to Swamp247 after his first visit. “It’s really because the Florida Gators see me doing some stuff all over. They said I can play some inside linebacker and outside linebacker, edge. All of that.”

Ole Miss currently leads the way on On3’s recruiting prediction machine with 86.9% odds to land Waller. An official visit to UF should change those numbers, though, and a potential June 9 trip to Penn State could also affect things.

Waller recently attained five-star status by 247Sports’ measure. He’s still a four-star recruit on the composite rankings, but 247Sports’ standalone list has him at No. 22 overall and No. 5 among edge rushers. The On3 industry ranking, which is similar to the 247Sport composite, has him at No. 121 overall and No. 10 among linebackers in the class.

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Gators getting this 2025 EDGE on campus this weekend

The Gators are hosting this promising young prospect this weekend.

Things are starting to heat up in Gainesville and it is not entirely due to the changing of the seasons. Rather, the month of March represents a return to the college football recruiting grind as [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and the Gators get set to host a flurry of talented young prospects on campus now that the dead period has expired.

One of several high school prospects set to visit the Swamp on the opening weekend according to Swamp247 is Highland Home (Alabama) edge rusher [autotag]JaKaleb Faulk[/autotag], who will be making his third visit to Hogtown this time around. The 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound defensive lineman received an offer from the Gators last summer while on campus with his older brother [autotag]Keldric Faulk[/autotag] for his official visit and followed up with a game-day visit in November.

Outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] and off-field assistant [autotag]Jamar Chaney[/autotag] have the most time into Faulk’s recruitment, with former defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] also involved before his departure to the NFL.

The high school sophomore already made a stop with the Auburn Tigers on Wednesday to open up his spring visit schedule, with the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers also on his itinerary.

Neither 247Sports nor On3 currently have ratings or rankings for Faulk. However, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has Florida out front for his talents with a 35.6% chance of signing him. The Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels follow behind at 21.1%, 9.5% and 7.9%, respectively.

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This class of 2025 safety is visiting the Swamp in March

The Gators are getting one of the top safeties in the class of 2025 on campus this spring for his first trip to the Swamp.

The Florida Gators offered four-star Good Counsel (Olney, Maryland) safety [autotag]Faheem Delane [/autotag] back in January, and now he’s locked in a March visit with the team.

Gators Online initially reported that Delane had plans to visit Florida in the “first weekend of March,” at the beginning of the month. Almost two weeks later, 247Sports confirmed that report with a more firm March 4 date.

This will be Delane’s first trip to the Swamp, but he’s been in touch with outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] for a while now. Delane is looking forward to meeting him in person and getting to meet more of the staff.

Plenty of Power Five programs are pursuing Delane. Alabama, FSU, LSU, Ohio State and Miami are just a few names that have offered him a scholarship so far. As an elite member of the class of 2025, he’s likely to pick up a few more over the next two years.

It’s good for Florida to get started on Delane early, and a visit should give him a better idea of whether UF is the right fit for him or not. He already emulates former Gator [autotag]CJ Gardner-Johnson[/autotag] on the field, which is a good sign for Florida.

Delane is not yet ranked by 247Sports, but On3 and Rivals have him listed as a four-star recruit. He’s currently No. 18 overall on the On3 consensus and is No. 3 among safeties in the class of 2025.

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4-star DB planning Florida visit after securing offer

Florida is looking to get four-star safety Ka’Davion Dotson on campus in the spring after extending him an offer before the dead period.

One of the recruits from the class of 2024 Florida offered before the start of the dead period was four-star Duncanville (Texas) safety [autotag]Ka’Davion Dotson[/autotag].

After picking up the offer from UF in January, Dotson is eager to get on campus in Gainesville and check things out, according to 247Sports.

“I am looking forward to getting there (Florida) after the dead period,” Dotson said to 247Sports. “They are one of the first schools I want to try and get out to when things open back up. I am going to link up with my dude, coach Joe Hamilton to get me their schedule so I can lock in a date.”

Hamilton helps recruit Texas area talent and has helped outside linebacker coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] and co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Patrick Toney[/autotag] court Dotson. Getting him on campus to meet the staff in person is the next step now that Dotson has an offer under his belt.

A March visit is likely, but Florida will have to fit into his schedule with plans to stop by Arkansas and LSU in place. A Sunshine State loop that hits Florida, Florida State and Miami could be in store.

At one time, Dotson had things narrowed down to a top 10. Several offers have come in since then, so the new plan is to cut things down to a top 15 in the near future. Once he narrows things down, he’ll figure out which schools he wants to spend his five official visits on over the summer and commit before his senior year begins.

A spring visit should go a long way in securing Florida’s chance of being one of the five programs Dotson returns to over the summer. Right now, LSU is the heavy favorite on the On3 recruiting prediction matching with 88.7% odds to land him.

Dotson is ranked No. 160 overall on the On3 consensus and is No. 13 among safeties in the class. He figures to play the STAR position at Florida if that’s where he ends up, but he could play a true safety spot as well.

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5-star 2025 EDGE rusher gives Gators perfect score after visit

The Gators already made a great impression on one of the biggest recruits in the 2025 cycle.

Florida football’s recruiting efforts have switched gears after the passing of national signing day for the 2023 cycle, and now [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. turn their attention to the next classes in an effort to restore glory to the Orange and Blue.

Among those on the Gators’ radar is five-star EDGE rusher [autotag]Jared Smith[/autotag] out of Birmingham (Alabama) Spain Park, who recently paid a visit to the Swamp and came away very impressed. The 6-foot-6-inch, 230-pound recruit attended the program’s Junior Day last weekend and offered the following to Swamp247’s Blake Alderman his first face-to-face with the Gators’ staff.

“I was wondering about things like how the scheme works, how I would fit in, but I loved it as soon as I got down here. The people, the atmosphere, they care about academics more than being on the field. Those were some of the things I loved the most. I got to tour the campus, buildings, stadiums. The stadium was nice. They have a really nice field and locker room.

“On a scale of 1-to-10 I think the visit was a 10. I just like the people, just the coaches. The coaches really stood out. How they are all really connected, and how connected they are with your teachers and tutors. They are on you about your grades. With Coach Napier, we had a long discussion about the Hawkins Center where the tutors are. He got done telling me how they are top five in the country as far as academics. That’s great.”

Spearheading the young student-athlete’s recruitment is outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag], who has been the main point of contact and has spent significant time with Smith.

“Coach Peterson keeps it straightforward and he’s a really good man.”

Smith is rated at five stars and ranked No. 4 overall and No. 1 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 consensus rates him as a four-star recruit and has him at Nos. 5 and 2, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Georgia Bulldogs out in front for his services with a 40.4% chance of landing him, while the Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers and Gators follow at 18.5%, 15.9% and 13.2%, respectively.

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Florida staff visits 4-star teammates toward end of contact period

Florida coaches were in Georgia this week to check in with a pair of blue-chip teammates.

Florida outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] was one of the latest to stop by Schley County High (Ellaville, Georgia) to see blue-chip teammates [autotag]Jalewis Solomon[/autotag] and [autotag]Zayden Walker[/autotag], according to Gators Online.

Solomon is an athlete in the class of 2024 ranked in the top 100 by On3 and Walker is an edge rusher ranked No. 3 overall in the class of 2025. Both received four-star designations from On3, but Walker should be a five-star once the class of 2025 matures a bit.

Florida offered both players in November and hosted them for the South Carolina game. The staff paying them a visit just goes to show how seriously they are taking the duo, and this relationship dates back at least a year to the 2022 Orange and Blue Game.

Florida isn’t short on competition for the duo. Deion Sanders and Colorado recently joined a group of contenders that includes recruiting heavyweights such as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee and USC among others.

Solomon will be the first to commit, but whoever gets him could stand a good chance at landing Walker in the next cycle. They aren’t exactly marketing themselves as a duo, but it’s hard not to recruit one blue-chip defensive player when another plays right next to him.

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Florida’s coaching staff visiting pair of 5-star recruits on Monday

While the madness ensues in the transfer portal and NFL draft declarations, the Gators are on the recruiting trail on Monday.

Monday marked a big day in the college football world as it marked the start of the NCAA transfer portal period, which has been at the forefront of the minds of millions of rabid fans. However, in the background amidst the portal din and NFL draft declarations, the recruiting trail is also heating up after the end of the no-contact period on Friday.

While the 2022 campaign left a lot to be desired on the field for the Florida Gators, off the field, head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and Co. have done a remarkable job pulling the program out of the recruiting doldrums up to a consensus top-10 class for this cycle. The staff’s efforts were once again on display according to Swamp247 with Napier, linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] and co-defensive coordinator [autotag]Sean Spencer[/autotag] scheduled to visit a pair of five-star recruits on Monday who remain undecided in the 2023 class — Montgomery (Alabama) Carver five-star teammates [autotag]Qua Russaw[/autotag] and [autotag]James Smith[/autotag].

Both have visited Gainesville twice before, logging an unofficial visit during the Friday Night Lights event at the end of July while also dropping in for an official visit for the LSU game.

“They see me more being used like Brenton Cox, but they said they could use me in different spots so I can make plays the whole game if it came to that,” Russaw told Swamp247 prior. “They see me being someone to fill in for Cox though.”

His teammate expressed similar sentiments for the program recently.

“I liked the scheme. They put people in the position to make plays. They see me being like a three or four technique or even playing some zero. Coach Spencer said he likes how I play impressive and get up the field and cause havoc. He said I can fit into what they do with how I play.”

The two high school seniors have already spent three of their five official visits on the Georgia Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers, as well as the Gators, and both still plan to use another this coming weekend with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The two top prep prospects are considered to be a package deal by most in the recruiting circles.

Russaw is ranked No. 31 overall and No. 5 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 23 and 2, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has ‘Bama far out front in the race for his talents with a 74.7% chance of landing him, with Auburn and Florida following at 14.2% and 4.4%, respectively.

Smith is ranked No. 15 overall and No. 2 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 14 and 2, respectively. The Tide also are also in the lead for the five-star’s talents according to On3’s RPM with a narrower 42.3% chance of signing him, while Georgia, Auburn and Florida follow at 26.7%, 23.1% and 4.4%, respectively.

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5-star Notre Dame decommit sets official visit date to Florida

Florida and five-star edge rusher Keon Keeley have figured out a date for his official visit to the Swamp, and he’ll be in town to see the Gators in an SEC matchup.

Those following the recruitment of five-star edge rusher [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag] know that the Notre Dame decommit pledged to use an official visit on the Florida Gators in late August. According to 247Sports, Keeley has now set a date of September 10 for that visit, which is Florida’s week two matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Keeley has plans to stop by three schools so far. Ohio State will get him in week one for their matchup against Notre Dame and Alabama has October 7 locked in for the official visit. He used one on Notre Dame in June as well, so there’s room for one more team to get in the race.

Florida last hosted Keeley in March, which was his first meeting with Billy Napier and the new staff. Outside linebackers coach [autotag]Mike Peterson[/autotag] made a strong impression on him and the Gators have kept in close touch with him since. The On3 recruiting prediction machine favors Alabama to earn his commitment, but the Gators are viewed as a close second.

Keeley is a top-seven recruit in the class of 2023, according to On3 and 247Sports, but ESPN and Rivals are more bearish on him at Nos. 24 and 19, respectively. On3’s consensus rankings, which equally weights all four services, have him at No. 11 overall and No. 1 among edge rushers.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Outside Linebackers

The Gators have a decent amount of depth at outside linebacker, but it’s Brenton Cox Jr. who leads the group heading into the 2022 season.

After going over the defensive linemen on the team in detail, it’s time to talk about Florida’s outside linebackers room heading into 2022.

These are the edge rushers of the team that are expected to cause havoc opposite of [autotag]Princely Umanmielen[/autotag] at the strongside defensive end spot. [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. leads the group and is returning for his third year at Florida.

The Gators are only losing two players at the position, [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] to graduation and [autotag]Khris Bogle[/autotag] to the transfer portal, and they added two freshmen in the most recent cycle. Florida still has plenty of depth on the edge, though. Cox should be good for 13 starts barring injury, and there’s a trio behind him that can do the job if he does need any rest.

Here’s a look at all eight outside linebackers/JACK/edge rushers on the 2022 Florida Gators football roster.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Tight Ends

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Offensive Line

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Defensive Line