Tag: tj searcy

Quartet of Florida football freshmen earn All-SEC honors

These four Gators represent the future of Florida football.

The Southeastern Conference announced its Freshman All-SEC team on Thursday afternoon, which included four Florida football players.

Wide receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson[/autotag], edge defenders [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] and [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag], and safety [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] were among the listed names, giving the Gators a quartet of first-year standouts for the first time since 2012.

The All-SEC team was decided upon by the conference’s coaches.

Wilson, who is the most explosive athlete on the list, finished the season with 61 catches for 538 yards — both of which were second on the team to senior wideout Ricky Pearsall — along with a team-high six touchdowns through the air.

He also set the Florida single-game freshman record with 11 receptions against then-No. 1 Georgia in Jacksonville at the end of October. Wilson also earned the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Week award after the Arkansas game.

Collins recorded 23 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and sacks, four quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in 12 games as a freshman in Gainesville. His presence on the defensive line was key at times for a corps that suffered a great deal of attrition.

Similarly, Searcy also added depth to the D-line making a dozen appearances himself. He finished the fall with 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

Finally, Castell broke out early in his Gators tenure, emerging as starting-level talent for the team during preseason practice and providing much-needed talent in a disappointing defensive backfield.

He appeared in all 12 games with 11 starts and was Pro Football Focus’ highest-rated run defender among qualified players. Castell was named SEC Freshman of the Week and Shaun Alexander award after the Gators’ Week 3 victory against then-No. 11 Tennessee.

The Gator Nation will have to wait until the Orange and Blue game to see the team back in action. That intrasquad exhibition will take place inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium sometime this coming spring with a date and time yet to be announced.

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Florida leads FWAA Freshman All-American Watch List with 5 selections

Billy Napier has brought some talent to Gainesville and the Football Writers Association of America is taking notice of Florida’s freshmen.

The Football Writer Association of America named five Florida Gators to its 2023 Freshman All-American Watch List on Wednesday.

Florida’s five selections are the most by any team featured on the list and make up more than one-third of the SEC’s total selections (14).

Tight end Arlis Boardingham and offensive guard Knijeah Harris are the two offensive players on the list.

Boardingham has come into his own as Florida’s best pass-catching tight end and has 18 receptions for 105 yards and a team-high four touchdowns this year. Harris has performed well as a trusted piece of the interior line rotation.

Defensive linemen Caleb Banks and T.J. Searcy join safety Jordan Castell as the Gators defenders on the list.

Castell has been a starter from Day 1 and has led the team both on and off the field as a true freshman. Banks, a redshirt freshman transfer from Louisville, is also a starter. His 10 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss don’t seem too impressive, but he’s a crucial piece of Florida’s impressive front seven.

Searcy is an edge rusher who is behind Princely Umanmielen on the depth chart. Umanmielen has been one of the top pass rushers in the country this year, yet Searcy has still managed 17 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. His best game came on Saturday against South Carolina, so the best may be yet to come.

Eugene “Tre” Wilson III’s absence from this list might be the most startling thing about it, though. While Wilson has missed time with injury, he’s been the best freshman for Florida so far this year and looks like a key piece for the future, similar to Castell on defense.

Regardless, it’s apparent that Florida is loaded with first-year talent, which speaks to Billy Napier’s recruiting ability coming off a 6-7 Year 1 in the Swamp.

The last regime coaching staff didn’t seem too thrilled to recruit at a non-stop pace, but Napier seems to always be working.

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Where Florida’s 2023 recruiting class finished in the Top247

Eight players in Florida’s 2023 recruiting class finished the cycle ranked in the Top247.

247Sports updated its individual class of 2023 rankings, the Top247, one final time on Thursday, and the Florida Gators are bringing in a trio of top-100 recruits among plenty of other quality athletes.

Cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] leads the pack at No. 49 after moving up 23 spots following a strong postseason display at the Under Armour All-American game and practices. He’s the fourth-highest-rated cornerback in the class on 247Sports’ final board, and there’s plenty of reason to be excited about him as a Gator.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] just missed out on the top 50 at No. 53 overall, but he almost made as big of a jump as Jackson, moving 21 spots up the Top247. Another All-American game standout, Collins also shined at the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game to help boost his stock. He and Jackson could get early looks on the field at Florida and both enrolled early at the university.

Defensive lineman [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] is the final Gators signee ranked in the top 100. Moving up 16 spots to No. 82 in the final Top247 update, James was one of the early gems Billy Napier and his recruiting staff identified and got to work on. He’s also enrolled early and set to be a part of a strong incoming defensive line class.

They rank wide receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] just outside of the top 100 at No. 108, up four spots from No. 112. He’ll be a major addition to a receivers room that’s losing a decent amount of talent to the transfer portal and draft. Offensive lineman [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag] is next at No. 147, a one-spot improvement from the last update. The Florida State flip should be on the interior of Florida’s offensive line and joins the team as it loses four of five starters.

Rounding out the group is a trio of Gators signees that saw their rankings dip since the last update. Defensive back [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag] dropped from No. 152 to No. 160, wide receiver [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag] fell from No. 189 to No. 202 and edge rusher [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag] went from No. 234 to No. 244.

Mizell’s senior year ended before it began because of injury, so that’s not on him. Johnson actually improved in rating from a 93 to a 94, but that didn’t save him from others who made bigger jumps at the last minute.

In total, Florida had eight players crack the 2023 Top247 and plenty of other four-star recruits that sit just outside. Not to mention quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag] who would have led the group at No. 44 overall had he not been released from his national letter of intent.

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Where Florida’s 2023 recruiting class finished in final On3 rankings

Half of Florida’s 2023 recruiting class wound up in the On3 top 300 after the final update was released on Tuesday.

The Florida Gators already signed the bulk of its 2023 recruiting class, and the haul is looking even better than expected after On3 provided its last update to its independent rankings, the On300.

Ten of Florida’s signees cracked the top 300 and five players made it into the top 100.

Again, this is On3’s independent rankings, which is used to reach the more commonly cited On3 consensus or 247Sports composite rankings. Those are aggregate scores that use different formulas depending on the site and are used more often because they help eliminate any one service’s individual bias.

Several of Florida’s signees participated in All-Star games and boosted their stock with good performances against some of the top players in the class. The two most notable were cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag], who each moved up over 50 spots to break into the top 50.

Here’s a look at where each Florida signee from the class of 2023 finished in the On300 rankings.

Florida’s 2023 recruiting class is loaded with early enrolees

With early signing day in the books, we now have a better idea of which members of Florida’s recruiting class of 2023 will early enroll.

Florida head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] went over a lot in his post-early signing day press conference, but one of the major points discussed was just how many of the 20 signees will enroll early. According to Napier, the bulk of the class should arrive in the spring.

Of Florida’s 20 signees, Napier expects 18 to be in Gainesville for spring practices. Rather than listing each name that plans to early enroll, it’s easier to list those who won’t: wide receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] and defensive lineman [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag].

Adding 18 players to the roster a few months early could be huge for Billy Napier and Co. The Gators are replacing a ton of talent after many draft departures, dismissals and transfers. Getting the new Napier-recruited talent on campus early means more time to teach them the playbook, system, etc. More practice time means a better shot at finding early snaps, too.

“The other thing that’s going to help is you’re going to have 20 players that start in January,” said Napier during his early signing day presser, “and I think that translates to more reps and more teaching and more opportunity to get orientated to the university and just life in general in college. But I do think that there will be a number of this group (that compete for early playing time). They’re going to have to earn it.”

It can’t be overstated how important it was for Florida to bring in a group of recruits that were willing to enroll early, and Napier did an exceptional job making sure everything went according to plan.

In case you’re looking for a full list of early enrollees, here’s a list of the players that should be coming to Gainesville in the spring:

  • 5-star quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag]
  • 4-star running back [autotag]Treyaun Webb[/autotag]
  • 4-star receiver [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag]
  • 4-star receiver [autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag]
  • 4-star offensive lineman [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag]
  • 3-star offensive lineman [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag]
  • 3-star offensive tackle [autotag]Bryce Lovett[/autotag]
  • 4-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag]
  • 4-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag]
  • 4-star defensive lineman [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag]
  • 4-star defensive linemen [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag]
  • 4-star linebacker [autotag]Jaden Robinson[/autotag]
  • 4-star cornerback [autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag]
  • 4-star cornerback [autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag]
  • 4-star safety [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag]
  • 4-star safety [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag]
  • 4-star safety [autotag]Bryce Thornton[/autotag]
  • 4-star athlete [autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag]

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Florida commits reassure fans that they are locked in

Florida’s class of 2023 is locked in and letting the fans know it. This class could be a gamechanger in Gainesville.

Sometimes, it’s good to set the record straight, and that’s just what Florida defensive line commit [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag] did on Wednesday when he took to Twitter to shut down his recruitment.

Searcy committed to the University of Florida on July 4, but he’s still listened to other programs over the past four months. That’s all changing, though. Searcy “completely shut down” his recruitment and is locking in his commitment to the Gators a month out from the early signing period.

The announcement comes at an important time in the Gators’ 2023 recruiting cycle. While a top-10 class seems like a given, Florida still has to get all 22 commits to put pen to paper. Verbal commitments are just that, verbal. A letter of intent locks things in, but Searcy’s announcement is about as close as you can get to a guarantee until that time comes.

Searcy wasn’t the only Gators commit shutting down rumors of him being a flip candidate. [autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag], the highest-ranked receiver in Florida’s 2023 class, also took to Twitter to reassure the fans that he is locked in with the Orange and Blue.

Offensive lineman [autotag]Roderick Kearney[/autotag], a former FSU commit who flipped to UF in October, also took to social media to confirm his decision as final.

Perhaps more will do the same, but it’s not necessary. Billy Napier has emphasized culture since he took over at Florida, and it seems like the first-year coach is finally making some headway with the current team. Bringing in hand-picked kids that match his style should only speed up that process, and we’re already seeing some high-character moves from a group of high schoolers.

The future is bright, and Florida fans should be excited about this incoming class.

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Florida commits in action during Week 2 of high school football

Take a look at how Florida’s top recruits fared this past week on the high school gridiron.

Week one of college football was plenty exciting, but there was still high school football action as well, and Florida’s commits put up some highlights.

Two players were on a bye, four-star receiver [autotag]Eugene Wilson III[/autotag] and four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag]. The latter has had an interesting high school journey that took another turn over the weekend.

A good chunk of the class was in attendance for Florida’s upset win over the Utah Utes on Saturday as well. Seeing the Swamp over capacity and experiencing Billy Napier’s first game day as the head coach of the Gators sat well with them.

Here’s a look at what Florida’s recruiting class of 2023 did over the weekend.

Florida picks up commitment No. 18 from 4-star Alabama DL

Billy Napier can’t be stopped. Florida added commitment No. 18 to the class of 2023 on Saturday and jumped up a spot in the team rankings.

The Florida Gators earned a verbal commitment from four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] on Saturday.

Collins picked Florida over Alabama and Georgia at a ceremony held at Gardendale High in Alabama. Despite some technical difficulties, Collins delivered the news with an emphatic Gator chomp, signaling that UF had indeed picked up commitment No. 18 in the class.

He joins fellow defensive line commits [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] and [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] in the class with the potential to add four-star lineman [autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] on Sunday. The 247Sports composite ranks Collins No. 70 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 6 among defensive linemen. Adding him moves Florida ahead of USC into the No. 12 spot on the 247Sports’ team rankings and adding James could move UF into the top 10.

Collins is now Florida’s highest-ranked commitment, per 247Sports’ rankings, and has the Gators on the cusp of bringing in one of the top defensive line classes in the country.

247Sports’ Blake Alderman reported that Collins narrowed things down to Alabama and Florida in the days leading up to the decision and informed Billy Napier‘s staff of his decision beforehand. It’s a big win for Napier, who proved he can go into Alabama as a first-year Power Five coach and land a kid the Tide wanted.

“I just fell in love with the program and the coaches,” Collins said. “They got a real plan. All the players have bought in for such a short period of time and that stuck out. The history all the coaches got and the energy they bring every day is something you want to be around.”

The early panic from Florida fans is now well in the past and Napier’s first real recruiting class is shaping up to be quite a success. Adding a few more blue-chip recruits ([autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] being the most important name on the wishlist) to round out a top-10 class should bring his approval rating to an all-time high.

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Where do the Gators stand nationally after picking up latest commitment?

Adding four-star edge rusher TJ Searcy to the commitment list gave Florida a boost in the team recruiting rankings.

After adding four-star edge rusher [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag] on July 4, the Florida Gators have once again improved their standings in various team recruiting rankings.

UF started Monday ranked No. 45 on 247Sports’ class of 2023 rankings and jumped up to No. 38 after adding Searcy, who took over as the team’s highest-rated commit. Florida is still at No. 7 in the conference rankings behind Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and South Carolina, in that order. The Razorbacks are at No. 1 because they have 19 commits under their belt but that should change as more and more decisions come in.

On3, which ranks Searcy as a top-50 recruit in the class, bumped Florida into the top 15 after the commission came in. Five of those six same SEC schools are once again ahead of Florida in the rankings with the exception of South Carolina, which doesn’t appear in the top 25. UF lands at No. 14 directly behind No. 12 Arkansas and No. 13 Tennessee.

As the top-15 ranking may suggest, On3 has a fairly optimistic view of what Napier’s accomplished and thinks the class can still be as strong as fans expect it to be.

Despite losing out on recruits, including quarterback [autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], Billy Napier earned a huge commitment from Searcy on July 4 to get Florida back on track. Searcy, one of the nation’s top defensive linemen, is the top-ranked prospect in the Gators’ defensive-heavy 2023 class. The group currently includes five four-stars.

Landing Searcy was a big win for the Gators, but Florida is far from finished in this recruiting cycle. With several targets deciding throughout the summer, UF could continue to climb these rankings.

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Florida football lands commitment from 4-star DL on Independence Day

It’s an Independence Day surprise! The Florida Gators have picked up another commitment from the class of 2023.

After teasing a decision by the end of the summer over the weekend, four-star edge rusher [autotag]TJ Searcy[/autotag] has committed to the University of Florida over Clemson, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Upson-Lee (Thomaston, Georgia) recruit made things official on Independence Day with a post on social media that read “Happy 4th” with an emoji of a Gator and a blue heart above his commitment photo.

Searcy is the second four-star edge rusher to join the class along with former UCF commit [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag]. Although he’s listed as a defensive lineman by most recruiting services, Searcy is headed to Florida as a JACK edge rusher and is expected to play a similar role to the one [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. will have this year. His strength is rushing the passer but he also possesses the versatility to drop back into coverage if necessary.

Outside linebacker coach Mike Peterson played a key role in getting him to Gainesville, and now the job is to develop a relatively raw prospect into an NFL-ready player. At 6-foot-5-inches tall and 250-pounds, Searcy certainly has the frame to succeed in the SEC.

Florida is back up to No. 38 overall on 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings. Losing [autotag]Tommy Kinsler[/autotag] on Saturday caused the Gators to dip back into the 40s, but Searcy brings the commitment list back up to nine players and raises the average grade of the class from 0.8964 to 0.9006 as the newest top recruit.

The 247Sports composite ranks Searcy at No. 153 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 20 among defensive linemen. The On3 consensus has him in the same spot in its national rankings, but it’s worth noting that On3’s individual rankings have him at No. 49 overall.

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