While it’s always nice to pick up a pledge from a recruit early in their high school career, as it allows you to start planning out roster decisions years in advance, there are certainly downsides.
Those players frequently change their minds as their recruiting process picks up and they land more offers, and that’s the exact situation Florida finds itself in with 2024 running back Jerrick Gibson. The four-star prospect (and No. 1 running back in his class, per 247Sports) committed to the Gators way back in July, but on Tuesday, the Jonesboro (Georgia) Mundy Hill product made the decision to reopen his recruitment.
First of all I would like to thank Coach Mullen and Coach Knox for blessing me with my first D1 offer and opportunity to play for the Florida Gators.With that being said I've decided to de-commit from the University of Florida.Please respect my decision
— Jerrick4 (@gibson_jerrick) February 15, 2022
As Gibson mentions, Florida was the first FBS school to offer him back in June under the previous staff, and he made his commitment just over a month later. Since then, he’s picked up offers from schools like Michigan State, Arkansas and South Carolina, and he’s unofficially visited in-state Georgia.
The Gators may still be a factor in his recruitment down the line, but for now, they need to start looking elsewhere for running backs in 2024. Luckily, they have nearly two years to figure that situation out.
With Gibson’s departure from the class, Florida is left with no players currently committed in its 2024 class and just one in 2023. Coach Billy Napier certainly has some work to do, but he also enters his next two recruiting cycles with an almost entirely blank canvas.
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