2021 Recruit Profile: Florida Gators Commit WR Daejon Reynolds
Daejon Reynolds, Wide Receiver
School: Grayson High School
Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 208 pounds
247Sports Composite Rating: Four stars, No. 38 WR, No. 21 overall (Georgia), No. 208 overall (national)
Recruitment History:
As a highly sought after prospect in the class of 2021, wide receiver Daejon Reynolds has received serious attention from big-name schools. With many offers piling for the prospect out of Georgia’s services, Reynolds has racked up a total of 39 offers up to this point.
Having many power five conference schools extending their hand to the talented youngster of out Grayson High School, including the likes of LSU, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Florida State—all of which he has visited—it comes to no surprise that the Gators were all in on securing his commitment.
Showing up early to the Reynolds party back in March of 2019, a connection between Reynolds, his primary recruiter Billy Gonzales, and the rest of the program began to be built.
With ties to the Florida program reaching close to home—as he is friends and now teammates with long time quarterback commit Carlos Del Rio—Reynolds showed serious interest in the program leading up to the Gators Junior Day.
With Del Rio consistently pushing Reynolds to commit to Florida over the weekend, Reynolds would soon thereafter announce his decision to attend Florida as a student-athlete on February 3rd, 2020, his 17th birthday.
Holding firm in his commitment since deciding to wear the orange and blue for three to four years, Reynolds has provided much more in recruitment than his talents alone.
Coming as a positive for Florida, similar to his pal Del Rio, Reynolds has embraced the responsibility of representing the Florida program and selling it to his peers in an attempt to play alongside some of the most talented prospects in the nation.
As a heavy recruiting presence for the Gators, Reynolds has been seen on numerous occasions jockeying for prospects to bring their skills to UF on Twitter, in an attempt to build a deep and talented 2021 class.
By doing so, the Gators get an extra recruiter in the field, and Reynolds gets a roster that he is comfortable with to will compete in order to make his college career memorable.
Where He Fits:
Standing at 6-2, 208 lbs., Reynolds fits the mold of players that have taken over the Florida program in the last three years.
Accounting for 1,534 yards on 88 receptions and 14 touchdowns last season, Reynolds proved that he was a valuable part of his offense’s success in the 2019 season.
Exemplifying solid length and an already tuned route-running prowess, Reynolds brings an impressive toolbox to the Gators passing attack. Frequently being used in a variety of ways during his time at Central Gwinnett high school before moving to Grayson, Reynolds showed a high level of versatility in the passing game.
With impressive speed for a player of his stature, Reynolds was used in a number of screen or bubble type plays out of a trips formation (three wide receivers on one side of the field in a bunch set at the line of scrimmage).
Having the ability to make plays happen when catching the ball in the flat, Reynolds was able to turn short-yardage passes into significant gains with a mixture of vision and elusiveness from would-be tacklers.
On the other hand, Reynolds was also widely used as a jump ball threat, given his large size. Often being a mismatch in terms of height compared to his opposition, Reynolds provides a viable threat to high point the ball over smaller sized defenders.
Given his ability to create separation at the line with a quick first step off the ball, Reynolds can often make up for his average athleticism with superb technique and timing—whether that be getting off the line or going up for a jump ball. Exhibiting that talent on passes down the field or in red-zone situations, Reynolds is able to haul in catches in traffic at a high level and rarely come up empty-handed when he’s given a legitimate chance.
In the Gators offense, Reynolds will see his fair share of targets in numerous different ways. He is yet another player on the roster that has a sense of unpredictability in the way he will be utilized play in and play out.
With a skillset that the coaching staff can get creative with, Gonzales was able to land himself a player who—if he lives up to his potential—projects to be a multi-year starter who can see a high volume of targets come his way.