Gators hosting blue-chip OT for regular season finale vs FSU

This big-tim offensive line prospect will be in attendance for the UF-FSU matchup in the Swamp.

Lewisville (Texas) offensive tackle [autotag]Michael Fasusi[/autotag] confirmed a report from 247Sports earlier in the week that he would be in Gainesville this weekend for his first gameday experience.

Fasusi stopped by the University of Florida to see the campus back in July, but he’s just now getting a chance to experience what it’s like to be at the Swamp on a gameday — the FSU game, no less.

“The second we got to the campus, I thought it was a big campus and looked amazing,” Fasusi said after his first visit. “The people there, man the people there are full of support.

At 6-foot-4 inches and 285 pounds, certainly has the size to play tackle in the SEC, but he has plenty of other big programs knocking at his door. This visit should help him decide whether the Gators make the first cut in his recruitment.

Fasusi is a five-star talent according to the 247Sports composite as well as ESPN. The On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services, has Fasusi rated four stars and ranked at No. 17 overall and No. 2 among offensive tackles in the class.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida still pushing for this 4-star CB committed to Alabama

Four-star cornerback Jameer Grimsley is committed to Alabama, but the Gators are still pushing to flip him before December.

Florida’s recruiting class of 2024 is already ranked the third-best in the country, but the Gators are still pushing to add the final touches to the group before the early signing period starts in December.

One of Florida’s targets is Tampa Catholic cornerback [autotag]Jameer Grimsley[/autotag], who committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide back in July. The Gators are still pursuing him, though, and he’ll have at least two chances to see the team in action before the signing period, according to Blake Alderman of 247Sports.

Grimsley plans to be in attendance for both the Georgia and Arkansas games. While he won’t be able to interact with the staff at the neutral site game against the Bulldogs this weekend, he’ll get time with coaches during Week 10.

“I just want to get around everyone again,” Grimsley said. “Spend some time with the coaches, see the game, and watch the team play. I said I would keep watching them this season, but haven’t checked them out in person yet. They have wanted me to do that, so I am going to go up there.”

Florida coaches stopped by Grimsley’s school over the bye week. Secondary coach Corey Raymond is in charge of all of Florida’s defensive backs, so it only makes sense that he’s taken the lead on this effort. He’s kept communication lines open with Grimsley all year and isn’t slowing down because of a verbal commitment.

“I was thankful they came by to see me last week even though I have been hurt,” he said. “They dropped by last week and saw me doing some treatment and hung out for a while when we had practice. Feels good to know they are still going to go after me and make me a guy they want even though I am committed to Bama.”

Because Florida didn’t host Grimsley on an official visit over the summer, there’s still a chance to pull out all the stops right before the signing period. Schedules are tight, though, and a December official visit is cutting it close. Still, it might be worth all of the effort for this caliber of defensive back.

Grimsley is a consensus four-star recruit, ranked highest by On3 at No. 80 overall. The other three major recruiting services have him outside of the top 200, though. As a result, he drops to No. 174 overall on the On3 industry ranking.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Five-star in-state OL plans visit for homecoming game

A 5-star recruit the Sunshine State plans to be in town for the Florida Gators homecoming game against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

A five-star recruit from the class of 2025 is planning to be in Gainesville on Saturday when the Florida Gators take on the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Raines High offensive lineman [autotag]Soloman Thomas[/autotag] joins a growing guest list for UF’s homecoming game and is not committed to any schools, but he’s keeping his eyes on Florida.

Florida coaches have been in contact with Thomas on a consistent basis, and the recruit likes what the program has to offer. He visited the UF campus earlier this year.

“Consistency, the way they talk to me, and how they communicate with my family,” Thomas told Swamp247. “They have shown me their depth chart with the offensive linemen. They wanted to do that to show me how much they want me. We talked about number of offensive linemen as far as the depth chart. I think I am like top five in the country in offensive linemen. I would be a top guy on their depth chart. They let it be known they want me bad.”

Thomas told 247Sports that the Florida Gators are in his top 10 school choices and likes the youth aspect of the team.

“With them being so new and young, it’s kind of hard to not trust that they are going to come up,” Thomas said. “It’s a chance to be legendary. The fanbase is crazy, and I got a lot of people here. It’s not too far from Jacksonville, so that is good for my family.”

Thomas stands at 6-foot-3-inches and weighs 278 pounds, using his frame to dominate in the trenches. The Jacksonville, Florida, native is the No. 21 recruit in the Class of 2025 and No. 4 among offensive linemen.

The five-star prospect will be in town on Saturday when the Florida Gators take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. EDT and the game will broadcast on the SEC Network.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida TE commit planning multiple visits after Auburn trip

One of Florida’s 2024 commits recently stopped by Auburn for an unofficial visit, but he has two trips to Gators games in the works, too.

Billy Napier and his recruiting staff landed a big commitment from four-star tight end [autotag]Amir Jackson[/autotag] back in June, but the Auburn Tigers and Miami Hurricanes are still pushing to flip him from the Gators.

Jackson recently visited Auburn for the Georgia game, but his head coach told 247Sports that he’s still locked in with UF.

“He liked it,” coach Jason McEachin said. “He said before he committed, he developed a good relationship with Coach (Ben) Aigamaua. He had an invitation and opportunity to go watch a good SEC football game. He enjoyed the atmosphere of the trip, but he’s still firm where he’s at.”

Nothing is ever guaranteed, but Jackson’s upcoming travel itinerary favors the Gators. McEachin said that Jackson should be in Jacksonville for the Georgia game and back in Gainesville for the Arkansas matchup. Jackson wants to see the blackout jerseys Napier is introducing against the Razorbacks. He has no plans to visit any other programs right now.

McEachin praised Florida for its “thorough” recruiting process. The Gators get to know the player and the person, which isn’t true all over the country.

Jackson is a consensus four-star recruit, ranked highest by ESPN at No. 96 overall in the class of 2024. He’s ranked No. 112 nationally, No. 11 among tight ends and No. 16 in the state of Georgia on the On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average from all four major services.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Blue-chip Bayou State LB sets game day visit with Florida

The list of recruits planning on attending the Razorbacks game continues to grow.

Florida football is nearing the midpoint of its regular season schedule but the weekly action has not slowed down Billy Napier and Co. when it comes to prioritizing recruiting. The Gators have hosted a myriad of prep prospects at their home games so far and look to continue that trend moving forward.

Among those planning to make the trek to the Swamp to see some gameday action is four-star linebacker/athlete [autotag]Keylan Moses[/autotag] out of Baton Rouge (Louisiana) University Lab in the 2025 recruiting class. The 6-foot-1.5-inch, 215-pound bayou product recently revealed his plans to attend an upcoming SEC matchup.

“I know for sure I’ll be at the Arkansas game,” he told Gators Online. The Gators will host the Razorbacks on Nov. 4 and will wear their all-black uniforms for the gridiron grind.

The Orange and Blue are not the only program courting the coveted recruit, with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida State Seminoles, LSU Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oregon Ducks, Tennessee Volunteers and Texas Longhorns joining Florida as the top eight schools courting Moses. However, the Gators seem to be making some strong connections with the high school junior.

“Honestly, I love Florida,” he admitted on Monday. “Talking to guys like coach (Cannon) Gibbs and coach (Jay) Bateman weekly makes the relationships and love grow more and more.

“Considering I’m trying to lock in on the season, if I lived closer, I’d definitely be at more home games. They just make it feel as home, and also considering their staff is predominately from Louisiana makes it even better.

“I’d say they definitely sit up pretty high my recruitment and continue to get higher and higher every visit. I definitely can’t wait to get back up there.”

Despite the difficulties the distance plays in making it down to Hogtown, the multi-talented prep has already visited campus several times during Naiper’s tenure, including two previous times in 2023. His November stop will be his first-ever live game in the Swamp.

Moses is ranked No. 158 overall and No. 15 at the athlete position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him as a linebacker who is also ranked at Nos. 158 and 15, respectively.

LSU currently holds a crystal ball prediction from 24Sports while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine agrees with a near-lock of a 95.1% chance of signing him. Florida is second in the latter list with just a 1.2% probability of landing the coveted student-athlete.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida hosting in-state 2026 QB for homecoming game this weekend

The Florida Gators are planning to host one of the top sophomore quarterbacks in the country, Jesuit’s Will Griffin, for the Vanderbilt game.

It might seem way too early to be talking about the recruiting class of 2026, but the reality of college football is that the top quarterbacks in any given class typically figure out their college plans by the end of their junior year in high school.

Nine of the top-20-ranked quarterbacks in the class of 2025 are already committed, and two of the top nine sophomore signal callers in the country are locked up as well. That’s why Florida is hosting Jesuit (Tampa) quarterback [autotag]Will Griffin[/autotag] on Saturday for the homecoming game against Vanderbilt, according to 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong.

Griffin is getting early looks from Florida’s Big 3, but the Gators and Seminoles appear to be out in front early. This visit should keep UF ahead of FSU. The atmosphere will be perfect. Florida is seeking revenge at home for a game it never should have lost in 2022 and it’s homecoming. The Swamp will be rocking.

The Gators hosted Griffin for the spring game back in the fall, but this will be a completely different experience.

Griffin is a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports and Rivals. Neither ESPN nor On3 has graded him yet, but the expectation is for Griffin to fight for a fifth star over his next three high school seasons. He’s already played 32 varsity contests — dating back to the seventh grade — and has 1,146 yards and 11 touchdowns through five games this year.

247Sports ranks him No. 60 overall in the class, No. 5 among quarterbacks and No. 8 among 2026s from the state of Florida.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Four-star in-state defensive back sets plans to visit Florida

A four-star defensive back from Daytona Beach, Florida set up his next visit to the University of Florida.

The Florida Gators have hosted a plethora of high school recruits this season. Ranging from the classes of 2024 to 2026, head coach Billy Napier has been aggressively building his future with the Florida football program.

There were 26 visiting recruits at The Swamp when the Gators hosted the Tennessee Volunteers in Week 3. Florida pulled off the upset and left a lasting impression on a few prospects, including Mainland High School (Daytona Beach) defensive back [autotag]Zavier Mincey[/autotag].

Mincey really liked what he saw out of Napier and Co. and is planning to visit the UF campus again this season.

“I am going to be at Florida for the Arkansas game, the blackout game,” Mincey told Swamp247. “Trying to do Florida State vs. Miami too, but working on it still.”

Florida will line up against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Nov. 4. Both the fans and players will be wearing all-black.

The Class of 2024 recruit is No. 79 in the nation according to 247Sports and is No. 5 at the safety position. The crystal ball predictions have Mincey committing to the Gators. Mincey will announce his commitment on Jan. 6, 2024.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida basketball hosting 4-star big man on first day of fall practice

Just a week out from making his college decision, local four-star power forward Ryan Jones stopped by the University of Florida once again.

Florida basketball is starting up for the fall, and the Gators hosted a major recruiting target on the first day of practices.

The Rock School (Gainesville) power forward [autotag]Ryan Jones[/autotag], a four-star recruit ranked in the top 70 of all 2024 prep hoopers, stopped by the University of Florida on Monday, according to Gators Online’s Keith Niebuhr

Jones plans on making his college decision in under a week on Oct. 2. It’s hard not to read into a last-minute visit to UF, but it is just a short drive from where he lives. He told Niebuhr that he saw a clear difference in the team from prior visits.

“I went on some unofficial visits there last year and I see a difference in their energy from the year before with what they’re bringing in this year,” Jones said.

An official visitor two weeks ago, Jones remains high on the Gators in the final days ahead of his commitment. He’s set on joining a program with a coaching staff that he can trust to have few to no issues with. Whether that’s Florida or not remains to be seen.

Jones is a consensus four-star recruit, ranked highest ESPN at No. 63 overall in the class of 2024. The On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services, puts him at No. 66 overall and No. 9 among power forwards in the class.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

South Florida cornerback talks game day visit to the Swamp

Gators Wire Exclusive: Gators are getting to know one of the top defensive backs in South Florida — American Heritage’s Jordan Rich.

Among the many recruits in Gainesville on Saturday for Florida’s 22-7 win over Charlotte was American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) cornerback [autotag]Jordan Rich[/autotag].

Plenty of Power Five stars have come out of American Heritage in the past, including former Florida cornerback Marco Wilson, and Rich — a junior — is just getting to know the Gators and UF. He made contact with coach Larry Williams just two weeks ago, but a quick trip to campus only has Rich more interested in the Orange and Blue.

“Driving around, I loved what I saw about the campus,” Rich said. “I was treated really well when I arrived, so the trip was good … I would say that UF’s facilities and their attention to detail with regard to hospitality are next level.”

The Gators haven’t offered Rich — a class of 2025 recruit — yet, but he plans on returning for a camp in the future after meeting Florida defensive backs coach Corey Raymond for the first time. Raymond told Rich that he wanted to get some work in with him over the summer.

Only Western Michigan has extended an offer right now on the football front, but Rich is also one of the best centerfielders in a loaded South Florida baseball scene.

He led Heritage with a .414 batting average, a .509 on-base percentage, 38 runs and 36 hits as a sophomore. Rich also swiped 16 of 17 bases and played lockdown defense en route to the Patriots’ first state title since 2012.

The Florida State Seminoles and Missouri Tigers have already hosted him on baseball visits. Rich says that he would like to keep playing both sports, but he’ll pick the option that’s best for his future even if it means dropping one sport.

“In terms of football, UF is the first school to show interest,” Rich said. “The other college visits were baseball visits. I do have UF as a favorite and it is high on my list, though.”

Florida could use a true centerfielder and an elite baserunner on the diamond, and Rich is a key player for one of the best prep football programs in the state.

Most recently, Rich took the field against two of the top receivers in the senior class — Ohio State commit (and Florida flip target) Jeremiah Smith, who was also at the Charlotte game, and Miami Commit Joshisa Trader. He nearly came with an interception. His junior season highlights can be found below, courtesy of Hudl.

Rich has flown under the radar until now, but a visit to an SEC program usually begins a domino effect of sorts. None of the four major services have given him a recruiting grade yet, but that should change in the coming months, especially as more tape comes out.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Nation’s top WR recruit will be at Florida for Charlotte matchup

The Florida Gators are hosting Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1 ranked receiver in the class of 2024, on Saturday.

The Florida Gators are getting the nation’s top wide receiver recruit, [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], on campus Saturday for the Charlotte game, according to Swamp247.

The Gators have been after the Chaminade Madonna (Hollywood, Florida) pass catcher for months in an attempt to flip him from his Ohio State commitment. Five-star quarterback DJ Lagway has been a key piece in the effort to flip Smith, and he’ll be on campus Saturday as well.

UF most recently hosted Smith in July, just ahead of the August dead period. Florida State and Miami are the other two schools still pushing for the in-state recruit. He’ll visit the Hurricanes for the Georgia Tech game (Oct. 7) and Florida State for the Miami game (Nov. 11) . Smith also has a visit to Ohio State locked in for Oct. 21.

His recruitment should “go down to the deadline,” but he’s still a future Buckeye at publishing time. The expectation is for him to sign during the early period.

The Gators would use Smith as an outside “X” receiver and in the slot. The player comp Billy Napier gave him was Calvin Ridley, whom he coached at Alabama.

Smith is ranked No. 1 overall on the On3 industry ranking, which uses a weighted average of all four major recruiting services. ESPN is the most bearish on him at No. 9 overall, but he’s firmly in the top two everywhere else.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.