Tag: Swamp247

Coveted CB decommits from Rutgers following Florida game day visit

Kaylib Singleton decommits from Rutgers following visit with the Gators this past weekend.

Florida football is in prime position to bring in cornerback Kaylib Singleton after his decommitment from Rutgers.

Singleton, a three-star recruit out of Oakleaf High School in Orange Park, Florida, made a visit to Gainesville this past weekend for the Gators’ 48-20 blowout victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

Singleton announced his decommitment on Sunday night.

“I’m truly thankful for the hospitality Rutgers have shown me since my commitment and I appreciate the coaching staff for giving me an opportunity to play for their school,” Singleton said. “I am decommitting and I’ve decided to reopen my recruitment.”

Singleton talks about the Gators

“I would say things have been smooth,” he said when talking with 247Sports last week. “I like their personality, and the way they coach. I talk to them on a personal level, and I feel like they’re real cool people, and real cool coaches. I like being around them, so that’s why I’ve still visited. They have good energy.”

Singleton on the visit to Gainesville

“I like the relationship I built with the players,” Singleton said according to Swamp247 after the visit. “I went to their dorm rooms and stuff, and we talked.”

He went on to say, “I just like the school and football-wise, that’s what stands out to me. Getting to know the coaches, they just got a new coach, Beyah Rasool. I got to know him a lot, and building relationships with them. He was taking us places so I got to talk to him a lot. He was cool.”

Recruiting Summary

According to 247Sports, Singleton is listed as the No. 82 player in the state of Florida and ranked No. 60 in the country at the cornerback position. According to the On3 Sports recruiting prediction machine, the Gators have a 95.1% chance of landing the three-star cornerback.

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What keeps Florida football fans awake at night heading into fall

Winning cures all ills in competitive sports.

The 2024 college football campaign is nearly here and the Florida Gators are facing a monumental challenge in head coach Billy Napier‘s third season at the helm.

Since the “shoe throw” game against the LSU Tigers near the end of the 2020 season, the Orange and Blue have suffered a severe deficiency of victories, having amassed a 17-24 record between the end of the Dan Mullen era and the current Napier regime. At the end of the day, everything comes down to wins, which was Swamp247 writer Jacob Rudner’s simple response to the question of what keeps each SEC fan base up at night.

“Napier and his staff have checked some critical boxes over the past two years, namely fixing the program’s ailing culture and boosting its productivity on the high school recruiting trail by landing some of the nation’s top players, including presumed QB-of-the-future DJ Lagway,” Rudner responded.

“But, entering Year 3, Napier is just 11-14 overall and 6-10 in SEC play — a record that doesn’t fly among a Gator fan base that craves a return to the university’s glory days on the gridiron.”

Florida’s season opener for 2024

The Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes square off on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida, to open their schedule for the 2024 season. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC Sports.

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Swamp247 gives its predictions for Florida-Kentucky in Week 5

Ahead of the Gators’ second SEC fight of the 2023 schedule, members of Swamp247’s staff offered their predictions for the upcoming game. 

The big game is nearly here as Florida football prepares for its Week 5 Southeastern Conference East division matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky. Ahead of the Gators’ second SEC fight of the 2023 schedule, members of Swamp247’s staff offered their predictions for the upcoming game.

Blake Alderman predicts a 23-20 finish in favor of Florida. “Realistically this game is a coin flip to me,” he noted. “I do expect Kentucky’s defense to make it tough on Florida, I think the Gators make a few more plays, and play sound enough on defense, to gut out a tough win.”

Graham Hall had nearly the same prediction at 24-20, but expects the Gators to add a point to their total. “How the inexperienced yet promising defensive backfield fares will go a long way in determining the outcome, but I see Florida escaping Lexington with a narrow win.”

Donavon Keiser agreed with Hall submitting a 24-20 prediction of his own. “(W)hile I’m still somewhat unsure which Florida to expect — the one that handled then-No. 11 Tennessee in Gainesville or the one that sleepwalked to a 22-7 win over Charlotte — I’m confident in Austin Armstrong and the Gators’ defense to will Florida to another victory.”

Finally, Jacob Rudner bucked the trend by picking Kentucky by a final score of 23-21. “I’ve gone back and forth with my prediction all week as you can make a strong case for either team but, with Florida on the road and Kentucky likely to blitz early and often, I’m settling on the home team to emerge victorious.”

Kickoff between Florida and Kentucky is scheduled for noon EDT, while the action can be followed on ESPN.

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Four crystal balls cast in favor of Florida by 247Sports

The Gators could be adding some more commitments to its recruiting class of 2024 soon after Florida recently earned four crystal ball projections from 247Sports’ experts.

The Florida Gators were pegged as the favorites to land four different recruits from the class of 2024 on Wednesday.

Swamp247’s Blake Alderman cast four different crystal ball projections in favor of Florida. Alderman believes that Florida is in the driver’s seat for four-star safety [autotag]Jarvis Boatwright[/autotag], three-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kendall Jackson[/autotag], three-star athlete [autotag]Kevin Levy[/autotag] and unranked safety [autotag]Josiah Davis[/autotag]. Jackson previously had a crystal ball cast for him in favor of Florida by 247Sports area recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins.

Boatwright and Davis keeping interested in Florida after Patrick Toney’s departure is a good sign for the program. Cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond will coach all UF defensive backs in 2023, and he’s clearly not losing a step in the recruiting realm after taking on more on-field responsibility. Boatwright, who is the highest-ranked of the quarter at No. 401 overall on the 247Sports composite, could still end up with another of his top five programs (FSU, Tennessee, South Carolina and UCF), but Alderman thinks Florida is in the “best spot for him.”

Levy is listed as a wide receiver on 247Sports’ position rankings, but the Gators are looking at him as a cornerback, making him the third defensive back to pick up a crystal ball to Florida on Wednesday. Raymond’s been recruiting him and is a big reason Levy is considering UF, but FSU is also invested in this race.

Jackson is a local kid from F. W. Bucholz that could end up staying in Gainesville. He has family ties to the program and is a regular visitor on campus. All signs point to Florida here.

Alderman’s crystal ball projections all came in with a six out of 10 confidence rating. There is still plenty of time for the class of 2024 to figure out what they want to do, but these guys might be the closest to committing.

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This 2023 safety is ‘really high’ on Florida following third visit

Bryce Thornton’s third trip to the Swamp offered far more one-on-one time with coaches than his previous visits had.

Last Sunday, Milton High (Alpharetta, Georgia) safety [autotag]Bryce Thornton[/autotag] made his third unofficial visit to the Swamp. The three-star recruit was part of a smaller group of visitors that came to Gainesville on the final day of the quiet period, which led to him receiving more attention than he had on previous visits, according to Swamp 247.

“This was more one-on-one,” Thornton said. “I got to hang out with (defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick) Toney more and it was less people (on campus).”

He also got to spend time with head coach Billy Napier and cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] as well on the visit, and all three coaches made it known that he was a priority target for them. They went over [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag]’s film to give Thornton an idea of where he’d fit into the offense. Right now, his versatility projects to time at both free and strong safety, and Florida could use him at the STAR position if necessary.

Thornton won’t decide until November, though, and he has officials lined up throughout the season. Miami gets him first from Sept. 23-25 for the game against Middle Tennesee, and Alabama gets him over the Oct. 7 weekend when the Crimson Tide host Texas A&M. Then, it’s off to Florida on Oct. 21 during one of the Gators’ bye week, and LSU vs. Alabama is his final scheduled visit on Nov. 5. He’s looking to add a fifth to the itinerary as well.

Alabama and Florida are considered the frontrunners right now, but November is a long time from now and feelings can change depending on how things go over the fall. Thornton didn’t outright name the Gators as leaders, but his comments to Swamp247 following the visit were favorable for UF.

“I’m really high on Florida,” he said. “I just love it when I’m down there. I just have a great vibe when I’m down there and I feel like I could stay there and live there.”

Thornton is ranked No. 45 among safeties in the class of 2023 and is a top-500 recruit on the 247Sports composite (No. 486). On3’s individual rankings do have him listed as a four-star recruit and up to No. 27 at his position, though.

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Gators, Billy Napier ‘deep in negotiations,’ per report

It’s looking like Louisiana’s Billy Napier might be the winner in Florida football’s head coaching sweepstakes.

Almost from the moment Florida fired Dan Mullen, there has been a lot of smoke surrounding their interest in Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Billy Napier. A report published by Swamp247 on Thursday seems to indicate that the parties involved are close to reaching an agreement for Napier to take the reins of the Gators’ football program.

The full write-up is behind a paywall, and thus, we’ll refrain from quoting extensively from it. However, the juiciest tidbits are clear — Florida is “pretty deep in the negotiation stage” and “barring some late unforeseen snags, it’s sure looking like Napier to Florida.”

This report is fresh on the heels of the Swamp247 podcast making similar, albeit less definitive, claims of mutual interest.

”I’ve done a lot of back-end digging with some Louisiana contacts, both on the ULL side and at LSU, and Billy Napier is going to leave for a bigger job this offseason. I feel very, very confident saying that,” stated one the of co-hosts.

“I think there’s a lot of interest in Billy Napier from Florida’s end. I do not know if he’s the No. 1 target… but I do think he checks off a lot of [athletic director Scott Stricklin’s] boxes. So, I think he’s the guy right now that you gotta really keep an eye on.”

When asked about his future with the program on Wednesday, Napier dodged the question. He simply stated there has been ‘no decision yet’ before pivoting to praise his team for their hard work and good performance on the field.

The 42-year-old Napier has been the head coach of the Ragin’ Cajuns since December 2017, but has a far more extensive history at big-name successful programs. He’s held positions at Clemson, South Carolina State, Alabama, Colorado State, Florida State, and Arizona State before leading the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns to two Sun Belt championship games.

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Linebacker EJ Lightsey breaks down commitment to Florida

Three-star linebacker EJ Lightsey became the 12th commit of Florida’s 2022 recruiting class. He spoke about why he chose the Gators.

Three-star linebacker EJ Lightsey became Florida’s 12th commit in its 2022 recruiting class when he chose the Gators Monday. He is the second linebacker to team up with Florida this cycle. Four-star linebacker Shemar James gave his pledge to the Orange and Blue back in June. After his commitment, he spoke with Swamp247 to explain his commitment.

He said his recruitment came down to Florida, Georgia Tech, Auburn, LSU and Georgia. The Gators gained an advantage over the others due to their great atmosphere.

“Just the people there made them stand out,” Lightsey said, according to Swamp247. “I feel like if I go there and do what I need to do, I can get on the field. When you talk about academics, they are in the top 10 for that plus a good football team. That is one of the things I really thought about too when I was committing.”

His relationship with linebackers coach Christian Robinson played a significant factor in his decision. Lightsey believes he can help him get to the next level if he heeds his coaching.

“It was a big thing getting there on the visits I took, but the love he showed me was something that helped us bond,” Lightsey said. “Ever since he offered me, he’s been in touch with me and reaching out to me and making sure we are good. He makes sure my family is alright and he gives me more of a family vibe than a coach. He talks to me about life and we talk almost every day. I feel like I can talk to him about anything and he is more than just a coach to me.”

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Lightsey said that he was a silent commit to Florida since June. He committed to the Gators back during Friday Night Lights. Coach Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham were really excited when he gave them the news.

When projecting where he’ll play when he gets to Florida, Lightsey said the coaches told him that they believe he can play its three linebackers spot because of his versatility.

He added that he’ll come back to the Swamp when the Gators play Alabama.

“I really have seen everything, but now I just want to experience game day and all that,” Lightsey said. “I want to bond with the people and the school and people around the campus. I have seen everything, but just want to see a game day experience. It’s going to be rocking in there too with it being the Alabama game.”

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The time is now: It’s finally Jacob Copeland’s turn to shine

Florida will need wide receiver Jacob Copeland to have a strong 2021 after it saw its three best skill-position players leave for the NFL.

Wide receiver Jacob Copeland came to Florida in the 2018 recruiting class as a player who could play three years for the Gators and depart for the NFL because he was a top 100 player nationally. But life has played out differently than expected because he is entering his fourth year with coach Dan Mullen and has seen seven of his skill position teammates be selected in the NFL draft.

This season the Gators will rely on Copeland to be their top receiver after former Florida stars Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes went to the NFL. Mullen affirmed his faith in Copeland by awarding him with the No. 1 jersey. The jersey is a good omen for Copeland because every Florida player who has donned the number has gone on to be a first-round draft pick.

“It’s a really big privilege and I’ll feel like I’ll be accountable for everything that comes with the number,” Copeland said, according to Swamp247.

He added that his mindset has changed since the jersey number change. Copeland said he tries to help the younger receivers out more and make sure they understand everything because it was something he struggled with during his first years at Florida.

“I didn’t understand the development part of what was going on,” he said. “As I got older and seeing what it all took, the receivers, they come on, they catch on slowly, and they learn the process of what the game’s all about.”

However, many college football fans and media experts have doubts about whether the Gators can replace that kind of production from 2020.

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“I don’t too much get into that because I know I got a great receiver coach,” he said. “Coach Billy (Gonzales) going to work us to death. He’s going to always make sure everybody on the same page. He’s going to push you to your limits. As long as I’ve got him in my corner, I feel like I’m going to be good this year, all the receiving corps, at that.”

But one thing is for sure, Copeland is ready.

“He always preached that, he’s going to tell you that all the time,” he said. “Like, ‘Your time might not be now, it might be a week from now, it might be a year from now, two years from now. It’s all come down to when you’re going to be ready for your time to come.'”

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