Tag: visit

Coveted West Coast offensive lineman takes in Gators during visit

The Gators are one of this big-time offensive lineman’s top six schools.

Billy Napier and the Florida football program played host to a plethora of prep prospects this weekend for the team’s first team scrimmage on Saturday. Among them was a coveted offensive lineman from the other side of the country.

Three-star offensive tackle John Mills out of San Francisco (California) St. Ignatius College Preparatory in the 2025 cycle dropped in to see the action in Gainesville and came away with a much deeper understanding of what the Orange and Blue have to offer him.

The 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pound trench warrior made the most of his time in Hogtown, starting early and pounding the pavement until his departure. Much of that time was spent with the Gators’ coaching staff.

Mills meets Florida’s coaches face-to-face

“We got in a little bit for 8 a.m. on Saturday morning before their meetings got started, so I was able to have breakfast with Coach (Rob)Sale that morning,” Mills tells Swamp247. “We got to sit and talk for about an hour before we went up for their meetings before the scrimmage.

“I got to talk with Coach (John) Decoster for the first time too on Saturday,” he continued.” That was even my first meeting with Coach Sale on Saturday. I had been talking mainly with Coach (Darnell) Stapleton before, but I’ve had many calls with Coach Sale. It was good to get to meet him too and put a face to a name.”

He even got a moment with the big man during a hectic day for the program.

“I got to talk with Coach Napier for a while heading down to the indoor for their walkthrough. It was good to catch up with him, and meant a lot that he took time out of a busy day to talk with me.”

What Mills thought of the scrimmage

“The scrimmage has to be the closest thing to a real game,” he noted. “I liked seeing the stuff they did before. I liked seeing the 1v1’s. Those are my favorite thing to see as far as drills, because you can really see the technique.

“I thought their Bull Gator Drill was awesome too. It was one of the coolest things to see, and they had everyone surrounding it and real hype. It’s like an Oklahoma drill basically, but it was so cool seeing everyone so hyped.

“Then they had a two-hour scrimmage with big hits, some crazy catches, and some crazy throws. I’ve been to a spring practice at Cal, but it wasn’t like that. Florida scrimmage really set the tone and was super cool.”

Upcoming visit schedule

Mills is currently in the midst of his spring itinerary, having visited two of his top six teams so far — the Gators and the California Golden Bears. His other four preferred schools are the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Washington Huskies, Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans.

His official visit schedule kicks off with the Cornhuskers on the weekend of April 27. The Golden Bears are next up on March 23, followed by the Huskies (May 31), Gators (June 7), Longhorns (June 14), and Trojans (June 21).

Recruiting summary

Mills is ranked No. 720 overall and No. 51 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 684 and 51, respectively.

Texas leads the way in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine with an 83.1% chance of signing the three-star recruit; Nebraska (4.7%), Florida (4.0%) and USC (2.5%) all follow behind, respectively.

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Wisconsin basketball gets visit from one of the transfer portal’s top players

Wisconsin needs some big-time help from the portal this offseason

Wisconsin is hosting Omaha transfer forward Frankie Fidler on a visit this weekend, according to NebPreps’ Ana Bellinghausen.

Fidler is fresh off a visit to Nebraska after entering the transfer portal this month.

Related: An early look at the Wisconsin basketball roster entering 2024-25

The three-year collegiate veteran averaged 20.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 45% shooting and 35% from 3 at Omaha in 2023-24. He is 247Sports’ 14th-ranked transfer and 3rd-ranked power forward in the portal. He is also a former high school teammate of Wisconsin star point guard Chucky Hepburn.

Wisconsin has starters minutes available with A.J. Storr and Tyler Wahl both gone from the 2023-24 team. Fidler would fill Storr’s role seamlessly and give the Badgers a much-needed scoring and shooting presence on the wing.

For more on Wisconsin’s roster and transfer portal activity, check out Badgers Wire’s ongoing 2024 transfer portal tracker.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Gators making early impressions on blue-chip defensive back

The Gators got this four-star in-state DB on campus recently, and he enjoyed what he saw.

The Florida Gators are preparing for the upcoming Orange and Blue game on April 13 and during the team’s spring practice sessions there’s usually a plethora of highly touted recruits from the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Although there’s actually one member in the class of 2026 who’s doing his best to make an early impression with the Gators while the program is also making early strides in recruiting the young prospect.

Four-star defensive back Jaelen Waters out of Seffner (Florida) Armwood paid a visit to Gainesville this past Monday and spoke with Swamp247 about his most recent trip to the Swamp on Monday.

“I got to see how they do some drills and how they take certain angles, and what some of the coverages look like in their defense,” Waters said. “Just seeing some of the things they work on was good to see. I couldn’t get to see their actual practice, so it was good to see some of the things they had been working on.”

Recruiting profile

Waters is ranked No. 166 overall and No. 14 at his position nationally according to the On3 industry ranking while Rivals has him at Nos. 196 and 17, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Gators a 68.7% chance of signing him, followed by the South Florida Bulls (1.9%), Central Florida Knights (1.7%) and Florida State Seminoles (1.4%).

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Saints hosted Penn State pass rusher Chop Robinson for pre-draft visit

Add Chop Robinson to the list of prospects meeting the Saints before the 2024 NFL draft. The Penn State pass rusher already visited New Orleans:

One of the New Orleans Saints’ pre-draft visits almost slipped under the radar. Penn State pass rusher Demeioun “Chop” Robinson told the Daily Collegian’s Sam Woloson that he visited the Saints the week before the school’s March 15 pro day; the same week in which the team met with Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd at their headquarters in Metairie. Robinson is an impressive athlete, and he can move and make plays unlike anyone else the Saints have at defensive end.

Robinson, 21, weighed in at a hair under 6-foot-3 and 254 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine, and he put up great numbers in athletic testing drills: timing the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds and clocking the short shuttle in 4.25 seconds, with a 6.94-second mark inn the three-cone drill at his pro day. He also leapt 34.5 inches vertically and 10 feet, 8 inches broad. That combined in a 9.79 Relative Athletic Score, which is well within the range that lines up with the Saints’ own in-house metrics.

He’s undersized by New Orleans’ standards, but both head coach Dennis Allen and college scouting director Jeff Ireland have expressed an eagerness to add different body types and more versatile athletes at defensive end than they’ve valued before. After tying for the fourth-fewest sacks in the NFL last season, they can’t afford to be so picky.

And Robinson could be a good get. He’s commonly projected to go in the first round, possibly as early as to the Saints at No. 14, though most mock drafts have him being picked after other players like UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Florida State’s Jared Verse. He had 17.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 22 games at Penn State, having started his college career at Maryland. Pro Football Focus charting credited him with 48 pressures in 2022 (12 games) and 26 of them in 2023 (10 games), when he missed time with an unspecified head injury after a bad collision against Ohio State. He’s healthy now and hoping to put his best foot forward when meeting with NFL teams like the Saints.

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Gators looking to coordinate official visit with in-state defensive lineman

The Florida Gators coaching staff hosted a 3-star defensive lineman last Friday, and now the two parties hope to coordinate for another official visit.

The Florida football program is giving its all to stay on top of the 2025 recruiting cycle, already booking a plethora of official visits with local and out-of-state prospects.

Now the UF coaching staff is trying to coordinate with four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Wilnerson Telemaque[/autotag] for a return visit, according to reports from Swamp247. The high school junior just made an official visit this past Friday.

“I was there basically all day” Telemaque said. “It was fire to see coach Chatman, getting to talk with him, and the other people on the staff like Coach (Mike) Peterson and Coach (Billy) Napier. I went around the school and saw the campus a bit to see spots I haven’t seen. We got to tour the school and talk some ball.”

Telemaque and the Gators coaching staff spent the majority of the visit in the film room, breaking things down from the third-person perspective, since the football team was on an off-day.

Recruiting rankings

The Opa Locka, Florida, native is ranked No. 635 overall and No. 62 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 667 and 58, respectively.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the West Virginia Mountaineers a 33.8% chance of signing him, followed by the LSU Tigers (22.3%), Minnesota Golden Gophers (19.2%) and Florida (5.7%).

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Gators expecting a summer visit from 4-star WR from IMG Academy

The Florida Gators are building its guest list for the summer and are expecting a highly regarded 4-star from IMG Academy

The Florida Gators have a growing guest list of top-rated recruits for this summer, and a coveted wide receiver from IMG Academy has just announced his plans to visit the UF campus.

Four-star wideout [autotag]Raiden Vines-Bright[/autotag] has been in contact with the Gators coaching staff for a while now, receiving an official offer back in January. But now the prospect will return to take in more of the college atmosphere on June 9, according to Swamp247.

Vines-Bright and Florida receiving coach Billy Gonzales have been in contact since January, discussing concepts and how the high school junior would be utilized if he chose Florida. It also helps that Vines-Bright has a prior connection with now-former Gators wideout Ricky Pearsall, being as they’re both from Arizona.

“Smart dude, (Gonzales) really knows what he’s talking about,” Vines-Bright said. “The way he explained their concepts to us. Also, he coached my good friend Ricky Pearsall, who went to my old high school. We train together and our parents our friends, so that’s definitely a factor.”

Other schools in the hunt

Florida does have some stiff competition to out-recruit, between Arizona State, Washington and Notre Dame; all of whom he has set official visits with during his summer slate of campus tours.

Raiden Vines-Bright hails from Bradenton, Florida, ranking as the No. 331 recruit on the 247Sports composite scale, and is No. 46 among all wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

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Blue-chip 2026 QB recruit plans return visit to Florida after ‘great’ trip

After receiving an offer last week, this coveted QB prospect is looking to get back to Gainesville soon.

The recruiting frenzy continues for Florida football after things opened back up with the current contact period and the Gators have wasted no time getting back into the swing of things.

Last Friday, Billy Napier and Co. extended a scholarship offer to four-star quarterback [autotag]Brodie McWhorter[/autotag] out of Kingston (Georgia) Cass in the 2026 cycle after his visit to the Swamp. The 6-foot-1-inch, 190-pound passer came away very impressed with what the Orange and Blue had to offer.

“What stood out most was the love shown from every single coach. They were definitely making me feel like a top priority while I was there,” he told Gators Online. In particular, it was Napier and offensive analyst Ryan O’Hara who stood out the most.

“My talks with coach Napier and coach O’Hara were great,” McWhorter noted. “What’s special about Florida is coach Napier played quarterback at the highest level, so he has done this and been in my shoes before. The main message from him was just to keep doing what I was doing. He said me and (Graham) Mertz‘s game are very similar, so that’s what makes it awesome with me.”

As far as getting back to Gainesville, it appears he has an open invitation to return.

“They told me I could visit any time I wanted,” said McWhorter. “I might go back for the spring game, but I’m not sure what my schedule is looking like.”

Recruiting summary

McWhorter is unrated and unranked by the 247Sports composite but the On3 industry ranking has him at No. 229 overall nationally and No. 20 at his position; Rivals has him at Nos. 100 and 7, respectively.

On3s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Georgia Bulldogs out front with a narrow 24.8% chance of landing him, followed by the Florida State Seminoles (21.7%), Mississippi State (12.6%) and South Florida (10.5%).

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Blue-chip offensive lineman ‘loves’ Florida, receives offer after recent visit

“Florida is definitely up there.”

A four-star offensive tackle made a visit to Gainesville during spring practices, and he liked what he had to see.

The Florida Gators are well into their spring practice sessions, which is the typical time for the football program to welcome in top recruits in hopes to reel them in as part of the 2025 recruiting cycle.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Kevin Brown[/autotag] recently paid a visit to Gainesville from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and based on the interview conducted with On3, Brown seems very elated about an opportunity being available at UF.

Brown made his rounds on UF campus and even got a gander at all the facilities that are available to student-athletes.

“I was really just being toured around campus and loved that,” Brown said. “It’s a beautiful campus and I love how old school it feels; it feels homey like family. The weather was awesome too.”

“Their facilities, man,” Brown continued. “They’re top tier and you can tell they put a lot of money into it. It’s top-notch for Division I colleges, so that’s what stood out. Also, the weight room and their recovery stood out too, it’s crazy,

Brown was able to squeeze in a few conversations with members of the Florida coaching staff, including offensive line coach Rob Sale. The young recruit was overly impressed with Sale, and said he’d be interested in training under him.

The blue-chip recruit is still making his rounds to top colleges in the nation but Florida is apparently toward the top of Brown’s list.

“Right now, I’m still trying to see what D1 colleges are all (about),” Brown said. “What I’ve came up with, they are all nice enough and I’m trying to see where I fit in with these colleges.”

“Florida is definitely up there,” Brown concluded. “I love Florida.”

The prospect from Harrisburg High School (Pennsylvania) is a four-star offensive tackle according to both On3 and 247Sports, ranking as the No. 91 overall recruit in the nation and No. 13 at his position.

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Saints free agent OL Andrus Peat visiting Titans on Monday

New Orleans Saints free agent Andrus Peat is visiting the Tennessee Titans on Monday. The veteran offensive lineman could be in high demand:

New Orleans Saints free agent Andrus Peat is visiting the Tennessee Titans on Monday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The veteran offensive lineman could be in high demand after playing well at left tackle in 2023, having spent most of his NFL career at left guard.

If Peat is signed away by another team, the Saints will not receive a compensatory pick in the 2025 NFL draft. That’s because he agreed to a reworked contract last summer which cost him a pay cut, with the Saints agreeing to tear up the last year of his deal, allowing him to reach free agency ahead of schedule.

That’s a tough break seeing as the Saints are forfeiting $13,638,000 in dead money after past restructures with Peat. That’s how much salary cap space they’ll be without if he’s playing elsewhere, without the promise of a comp pick coming back in next year’s draft.

But it might be necessary. Peat has struggled with injuries throughout his career, being limited to 111 of 147 possible games in the regular season. The Saints overpaid him relative to performance and have had to work around his contract for a while, so this dead money cap hit isn’t anything new. If this is it for Peat in New Orleans, he’ll be off the books altogether in 2025. And if he’s leaving the Saints need to invest in a quality insurance policy should Trevor Penning continue to struggle at left tackle.

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Top-rated offensive lineman details latest visit to UF

The Florida Gators hosted 4-star interior lineman for an official visit back in January.

The Florida Gators have been hosting a plethora of top-rated recruits throughout the duration of spring practices, and a top-rated interior lineman from Paramus, New Jersey detailed all the goods from his recent visit with the program.

Four-star lineman [autotag]Malachi Goodman[/autotag] sat down with Swamp247 to reveal what went down ever since he received his offer from Florida on Jan. 17.

“It was my first time over there,” Goodman said. “It was a cool place. I had a good visit at Florida. The campus and facilities were all nice, and the coaches were really welcoming.”

Goodman is claiming that he wants to wrap up his tour of different programs before narrowing down his choices of top schools.

“I feel like I have to visit the rest of the schools that I am going to try to before I can answer who stands out or who I like,” Goodman said. “Also will be able to answer who I want to take an official visit to. I just need to visit more schools before I can make any top schools.”

All that aside, the high school junior was able to have a sit down with Florida offensive staff members like offensive coordinator Rob Sale, line coach John DeCoster, and former offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton, who has since moved on to the NFL with the Washington Commanders.

“(Stapleton) was the main coach I was talking to, but it’s going good getting to know Coach Sale. I feel like we are building a connection. I like (DeCoster), he seems pretty cool. I like that they have two offensive line coaches there. Watching the practice, I like how intense and fast-paced they are.”

Malachi Goodman is a four-star recruit from Paramus Catholic High (New Jersey). He’s currently rated by 247Sports as the No. 113 prospect in the nation while ranking at No. 8 for interior offensive lineman. Goodman is sitting on offers from USC, Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State.

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