Tag: wesley bissainthe

Florida football is pushing for this 4-star in-state linebacker to rebuild its recruiting class

Florida may have lost its top linebacker commit last month, but the Gators are making a push to land another 4-star.

Florida lost its top two commits in October, dropping the 2022 recruiting class down to No. 23 in the country. Four-star linebacker Shemar James’ de-commitment left a hole at the position, and Florida has set its sights on another four-star to replace him: Wesley Bissainthe.

Bissainthe named Florida in his top five in September along with Florida State, Miami, Penn State and West Virginia. He plans on visiting Gainesville again for the Gators’ matchup with FSU, according to Gators Territory. His last visit to the Swamp was an official one during the Vanderbilt game. Bissainthe will also attend Florida State’s game against Miami on Nov. 13, so he could be close to picking between the three Florida schools that made the last cut.

“Florida is a great school,” Bissainthe said. “I talk with Coach Robinson and Mullen. They show me how they would use me in the defense and stuff like that.”

The 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pounder projects to play as a MIKE linebacker for the Gators, but he says he can “play anywhere on the defense.” Bissainthe is ranked No. 196 overall on the 247Sports Composite and is a top 25 prospect in the state of Florida.

Bissainthe is one of the few elite linebackers not committed at this point in the recruiting cycle. He hopes to make a decision before the end of the year and plans on enrolling early after announcing his commitment.

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These two 4-star defensive prospects have planned official visits to the Swamp

Florida’s matchup with Vanderbilt on Oct. 9 means more than you think now that these two 4-stars are visiting.

Florida will host a pair of four-star recruits on official visits when Vanderbilt comes to the Swamp, according to 247Sports. Defensive lineman Quency Wiggins and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe will be in Gainesville on Oct. 9 for the game.

Wiggins, the No. 96 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite, visited back in the summer and has named Florida in his top five along with Alabama, LSU, Texas and USC. He’s kept in contact with the coaching staff regularly since and is one of the Gators’ top priorities for 2022. After seeing the campus in his last visit, Wiggins is focusing on the gameday environment this time around.

The defensive line recruit will be traveling from Alabama but the linebacker, Bissainthe, is an in-state target for the Gators. Florida has already landed four-star Shemar James and three-star EJ Lightsey, but Dan Mullen is still pursuing targets at the position.

Bissainthe has already made official visits to the other four schools in his top five: Florida State, Miami, Penn State and West Virginia. The Gators get the last impression on him, and Bissainthe should commit around Thanksgiving weekend if all goes as planned.

247Sports rates Bissainthe as the fifteenth best linebacker in the country and he sits at No. 121 overall. Landing him would ensure a strong linebacking core for the future, and the Gators are in a good spot to land one or both of the four-stars visiting for the Vanderbilt game

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Gators make top five for this in-state 4-star linebacker

Wesley Bissainthe has narrowed down his decision to just five schools. Three of them are in Florida.

Four-star linebacker Wesley Bissainthe named Florida in his top five on Wednesday after fielding offers from over 30 schools during his recruitment.

Florida joins Florida State, Miami, Penn State and West Virginia in Bissainthe’s top five. The Miami Central product made it to all five schools over the summer, but his trip to Gainesville wasn’t an official visit. With hopes of deciding before the December Early Signing Period, Bissainthe plans to officially visit UF soon, according to 247Sports.

The Hurricanes hosted Bissainthe for the Appalachian State game last weekend and FSU plans on bringing him out in the next few weeks as well. While Penn State may have the best recruiting class of 2022 so far, the Florida schools seem to be in the lead for the Miami native.

247Sports ranks Bissainthe as the fifteenth best linebacker in the country and the sixteenth best recruit out of Florida. Rivals is a bit less bullish on him, ranking Bissainthe at No. 23 positionally and at No. 42 in the state. Both outlets list him as a four-star prospect and have early projections of him committing to Miami.

Bissainthe says he’d like to commit around Thanksgiving, and Florida could use him alongside Shemar James and EJ Lightsey. Linebackers have been a fairly strong position for the Gators recently, and it looks like all efforts are being made to keep that unit bulked up.

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Penn State ready for recruiting push as NCAA dead period is lifted

James Franklin and his staff have a busy June lined up as the NCAA lifts its nationwide recruiting travel restrictions.

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This is a monster week on the college football recruiting schedule. For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, official visits will once again be permitted by the NCAA. Penn State is among the many powerhouse programs ready to take full advantage of the opportunity to return to some sense of normalcy in recruiting.

Penn State’s Class of 2022 has already been coming along nicely despite the NCAA restrictions on recruiting out of caution amid the pandemic. According to the latest team composite rankings from 247 Sports, Penn State currently has the No. 6 class in the nation with 11 commitments currently on board. But now that the recruiting game is about to open up, Penn State must work even harder to keep a top 10 class as the competition really heats up.

Penn State has a couple of official visits lined up for this week with Florida running back Kaytron Allen scheduled to visit Happy Valley on Friday. The four-star recruit out of IMG Academy would be a big win for Penn State, who was unable to secure a commitment out of Florida in its scaled-back Class of 2021. Four-star offensive tackle Ryan Brubaker, from Denver, PA, is also scheduled for an official visit that same day.

After the official visits at the end of the week, James Franklin and members of his coaching staff are flying down to Tallahassee to participate in Florida State’s premier football camp. A summer after football camps were prohibited due to the pandemic, this is yet another opportunity to create some interaction with recruits from a fertile football area. Franklin knows the value of Florida recruits, and getting a chance to work with a program like Florida State in this environment could benefit the Nittany Lions moving forward.

Next week, on June 11, will be a significant day for Penn State as 12 players are currently scheduled to make an official visit, including four-star players in Maryland defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton, Philadelphia cornerback Keenan Nelson Jr., Florida linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, New Jersey cornerback Jaeden Gould, Indiana defensive lineman Joe Strickland, Reading running back Nicholas Singleton, and Florida athlete Keon Sabb.

Penn State has 13 more players visiting Happy Valley the following week, including Florida commitment and cornerback Julian Humphrey, from Texas. Penn State commits Drew Shelton (offensive tackle) and Alex Bacchetta (punter) will also be in town. So will Virginia four-star running back Ramon Brown, who previously listed Penn State in his top seven, although Penn State could have some ground to make up in his recruiting process. As of now, Penn State has nine players scheduled to make an official visit to the campus on June 25.

So yes, June is a big month for James Franklin and his staff. But it will also be a challenging one because the NCAA recruiting restrictions are lifted for everybody, from Ohio State and Michigan to Florida and Georgia, and Oklahoma and Texas and beyond. And like Penn State, all of those programs are looking forward to returning to a more standard method of recruiting and sales-pitching.

Game on.

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4-star outside linebacker Wesley Bissainthe receives Auburn offer

Auburn has offered four-star outside linebacker Wesley Bissainthe out of Miami Central High School.

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Auburn is going after one of the most talented linebackers in the 2022 class.

On Sunday night, four-star outside linebacker Wesley Bissainthe out of Miami Central High School announced that he has received an offer from Bryan Harsin and the Tigers’ coaching staff.

Ranked the No. 8 outside linebacker and No. 110 overall player in the 2022 class, Bissainthe holds offers from a lot of other powerhouse programs such as Miami, Florida State, Alabama, Florida, LSU and Oregon among many others.

Here is his scouting report from 247Sports:

A new-age linebacker with a thin, wiry frame. Has some length to him. Should be able to eventually get up to 225 pounds. Moveable piece that can play all three downs. Tested well on the lasers summer before junior season. Able to turn and run with wide receivers down the seam or running backs up the sidelines. Slippery blitzer that will dip and rip his way around the corner in hopes of getting home. Agile feet allow him to skirt blocks and contain outside runs. Closes gaps in a hurry. Aggressive tackler always looking to make a hit. Must, however, get more consistent as a finisher and add some functional strength once he reaches the next level. Secured a starting role as a sophomore at one of the Sunshine State’s more storied high school programs and could own three state title rings by the time he graduates. Likely to be a multi-year starter at the Power 5 level given athletic profile and mindset as coaches think he’s mature beyond his years. Ability to cover and play in the box suggests that he has a good chance to eventually hear his name called early on in the NFL Draft with everyone trying to air it out.

The hometown Hurricanes currently have the early lead for his commitment.

Texas offers four-star 2022 outside linebacker from Florida

Texas recently extended an offer to four-star linebacker Wesley Bissainthe from Miami, Florida.

Texas recently extended an offer to a rising four-star prospect out of Miami, Florida. Continue reading “Texas offers four-star 2022 outside linebacker from Florida”