Florida Gators May Recruiting Recap: Commits; Official Visits Start to Line Up

Taking a look back on Florida's busy month of recruiting in May.

Photo: Gators offensive tackle commit Bryce Lovett; Credit: Zach Goodall

With the offseason, better known as recruiting season, in full swing, the month of May was a busy and successful one for the Florida Gators which saw them land three commitments, lock in a number of official visits and get high profile kids on campus.

Florida got the month started off with a late addition to the 2022 recruiting class by adding the mountain of a man in JUCO OT Jordan Herman on May 3. Standing at 6-foot-8, 370 pounds the Hutchinson Community College (Ks.) transfer should provide some instant depth along the offensive line.

Less than a week later, the Gators kick-started their 2023 class in a big way with two commitments on May 7, from IMG Academy (Fla.) OL Knijeah Harris and Buchholz (Fla.) ATH Creed Whittemore. Whittemore, the younger brother of current Florida pass-catcher Trent Whittemore, committed to join the Gators' receiver room as a do-it-all slot with tremendous versatility.

Harris is a three-year high school starter, two of which for national powerhouse IMG Academy, who will play along the interior offensive line at the collegiate level and has played the vast majority of his snaps there in high school. However, he has shown some versatility to be able to play along the entire line in a pinch.

The third and final commitment of the month from a high school recruit came from Rockledge (Fla.) OT Bryce Lovett. Lovett had been on campus a handful of times and it honestly just seemed like when, and not if, he would commit to UF. Lovett did just that by pulling himself off the market on March 16.

However, the fun did not end there: On May 21, the Gators were able to secure the commitment of Arizona State WR transfer Ricky Pearsall after he visited campus. Pearsall should come in and make an immediate impact for Florida likely sliding in as the starter at slot.

Since the introduction of early signing day, prospects taking official visits during the spring/summer months have become a lot more prominent. That is no different for the Gators as a good number of recruits used the month of May to lock in their OV to Gainesville.

Below is a list of all the prospects and their official visit dates that AllGators has been able to confirm. 

Note: * indicates current UF commit 

June 3-5:

DB Jordan Castell, West Orange (Fla.) 

DL Kelby Collins, Gardendale (Ala.) 

LB Jordan Hall, IMG Academy (Fla.) 

LB Grayson Howard, Andrew Jackson (Fla.) 

*OL Bryce Lovett, Rockledge (Fla.)

WR Aidan Mizell, Boone (Fla.) 

RB Treyaun Webb, Trinity Christian (Fla.)

June 9-11:

DL Peter Woods, Thompson (Ala.)

June 10-12:

EDGE Malik Bryant, Jones (Fla.)

OL Payton Kirkland, Dr. Phillips (Fla.)

DL Will Norman, IMG Academy (Fla.) 

June 17-19:

OL Tommy Kinsler, Trinity Catholic (Fla.)

TE Reid Mikeska, Bridgeland (Tx.)

DB Bryce Thornton, Milton (Ga.)

*WR Creed Whittemore, Buchholz (Fla.)

June 20-22:

OL Lucas Simmons, Clearwater Academy (Fla.) 

After a busy month of May for prospects around the country, expect to see a number of Gators' recruits pull themselves off the market in the month of June or early July after taking their official visits. One to keep an eye on for UF in particular is running back target Treyaun Webb, who is set to announce on June 30.

Another prospect to keep an eye on is QB Jaden Rashada. While he hasn't scheduled an OV with UF yet, he just finished up a multi-day unofficial visit from May 26-27 and has his commitment date set for June 18. The Gators are making a late push for the talented signal-caller from Pittsburg (Cali.) and things are going well thus far. 

June provides the chance to be a big month in Gainesville if Billy Napier and his staff can close on several of these high-level prospects. 

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.