Observations and Notes From Under Armour Miami for the Florida Gators
Recruiting camps are back.
Although some smaller events have crept up over the past year throughout the coronavirus pandemic, in order to provide high school football prospects with college potential the exposure that they need, Under Armour camps had been put on halt since last March. That changed on Sunday with the first All-American event of the year, popping up in Miami with a couple hundred or so prospects in attendance.
John Garcia Jr. of SI All-American, Brandon Carroll from right here at AllGators, and I attended Sunday's event and compiled a list of top performers at SIAA. Below, you can find the prospects that stood out who have obtained offers from the Florida Gators and observations of their performance, ranging from the 2022 to 2023 class.
Players with an offer from UF that have committed elsewhere are included in the list. We've also included a couple of prospects from each class who have not received an offer from Florida yet, but put on a performance that suggests they could earn one. At the conclusion, notes on other top Gators prospects who made their mark but weren't top performers are included as well.
John Garcia Jr. and Brandon Carroll contributed to this story.
Class of 2022
Nyjalik Kelly - Defensive End - Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard
Committed to Florida State
Length and bend aren’t just buzzwords when it comes to Kelly’s game and it showed up again on Sunday. He can win with speed and has strong enough hands to stave off a bigger blocker’s punch, but the oohs and ahhs came with his ability to bend and keep his feet without virtually any wasted movement. The Florida State commitment was recognized by the event staff after the standout performance, one that looks more impressive each time we rewind the reps.
Mario Eugenio - 2022 Defensive Lineman - Tampa (Fla.) Gaither
Has not been offered by Florida
The Tampa native puts so much pressure on blockers while working the edge, often resulting in his assignment retreating or playing on his heels. On Sunday, the true inside-out arsenal was on display, even against the premiere competition at the event. Eugenio makes his proverbial money with speed and bend, and he won at times with it on this day, but his most impressive rep was an inside move. The emerging recruit capped his head-turning performance, earning him Big Man Challenge honors from the staff, with an inside power move off of his outside foot that left the blocker punching air.
Gregory Gaines - 2022 Wide Receiver - Tampa (Fla.) Tech
Has not been offered by Florida
A lankier receiver out of the Tampa area, Gaines impressed with swiftness off of the line of scrimmage and through his release as a vertical threat. Not only was Gaines athletic enough for his size to breeze down the field at top gear, but his footwork and hip fluidity are surprisingly clean on the vertical stem, which allowed him to effortlessly turn around and catch quick passes. Gaines took a step back against press coverage when defensive backs could get their hands on him and throw him off the route, but those types of issues are what college strength and conditioning programs are for.
Trent Ramsey - 2022 Offensive Tackle - Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake
Has not been offered by Florida
Built like a modern tackle, tall and relatively lean, Ramsey still packs an old-school punch on first contact. It pairs quite well with his wide base and ability to mirror smaller assignments. Finishing power is prevalent on tape and you get the sense that later whistles on Sunday would have helped the Arizona transplant get a few defenders to the turf.
Class of 2023
Brandon Inniss - 2023 Wide Receiver - Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) TRU Prep
The most coveted wide receiver prospect in attendance showed onlookers why, as he often does during the football season or offseason circuit. Inniss is effortless off the line of scrimmage with a mature and calculated plan against the press while he can eliminate the cushion against off-man on routine. But where the sophomore really separates himself from the pack is in the intermediate route-running game, where he can win with leverage and power or simply run away from defenders. Each happened Sunday and Inniss is as reliable it gets at the catch point, reemphasizing why all of the Wide Receiver U contenders are heavy after him being a part of their respective next wave.
Deandre Duffus - 2023 Offensive Lineman - Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna
Coming into his own in the back half of the 2020 season, the momentum continued for Duffus on Sunday against interior defensive line competition. He was the aggressor against smaller defenders and utilized his great extension to neutralize the opponent soon after the ball was snapped. Duffus plays relatively wide, but displayed better change of direction athleticism than his frame suggests, too.
Cedric Hawkins - 2023 Wide Receiver - Cocoa (Fla.) High School
Silky smooth and sudden: Hawkins was one of the more electric receivers on the field on Sunday thanks to his quickness and ability to change direction effortlessly. Such skills allowed Hawkins to break outside, and up the field, on stutter-step releases and find himself wide open to haul in passes. Hawkins’ hands could use some polishing as seen by a drop and another two uncomfortable catches during the Gauntlet drills, but his fluidity will lead to numerous Power 5 suitors who will look to develop his talent.
Antonio Robinson - 2023 Defensive Back - Miami (Fla.) Florida Christian
Robinson had one of the better days among the 2023 defensive backs in attendance, especially with the football in the air, where he was hard to miss. Few closed better and played through the hands like he did, something Mississippi State must have seen online considering it offered later Sunday evening. South Carolina and UCF have offered thus far in March, too.
Derrick LeBlanc - 2023 Defensive End - Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola
Has not been offered by Florida
One of the most coveted rising-juniors nationally, LeBlanc reminded onlookers why with a great combination of snap quickness and hand fighting prowess while coming off the edge. Length, speed and bend are big strengths, and he showed some counter game and lower-body power with inside moves as well.
Santana Fleming - 2023 Wide Receiver - Opa Locka (Fla.) Carol City
Has not been offered by Florida
If there was a separation award amongst wide receivers Sunday, the Carol City star would have won it. Fleming specializes in the slot, like many of the day’s best, but his combination of speed and fluidity makes him compatible on the outside if need be. The entire skillset was on display during the rising junior's first 1-on-1 rep on the afternoon, when he burst off the line, pressed the defender’s hips to get them turned and then decelerating on what looked like an out-breaking route. Instead, Fleming shifted gears to the vertical and left his assignment on skates before pulling in the football on a diving over-the-shoulder catch.
Gemari Sands - 2023 Running Back - Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas
Has not been offered by Florida
One of the players floating under the radar prior to the camp, Sands provided what could have been one of the most electric plays of the day with a one-handed snag in the back of the end zone. Equipped with an impressive route running prowess and sure hands for a running back, Sands accomplished his goal of making his name more widely known. Overall, Sands elevated himself above the pack in one-on-one drills with linebackers, proving to be the most complete pass-catching back on the field Sunday.
Notes
Although there aren't as many 2022 prospects included above as there are 2023, there was plenty of talent in the former class on-site and participating in drills. It's been a year since these camps last took place, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and you could tell that some prospects had some rust to shake off.
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Monsignor Pace defensive end Shemart Stewart and Pompano Beach (Fla.) Coconut Creek cornerback Trevell Mullen, both 2022 prospects with offers from UF, spent the majority of the camp off to the side. Stewart acknowledged that he was dealing with shoulder and knee injuries before the camp which led him to primarily walkthrough pass-rushing moves in the endzone, although he did complete bag drills with his position group.
There were some other notable Gators prospects of interest who made some plays throughout the day as well.
- Miami (Fla.) Edison defensive end commit Francois Nolton Jr. deployed a strengthening and effective long-arm in one-on-ones, besting an opposing offensive tackle by getting his left hand into his chest and pushing him back into the pocket. It was clear that Nolton has added a good 20 or more pounds to his frame from a year ago. Nolton showed little wasted movement in bag drills as well, and his ankle flexion was intriguing turning the corner against pads.
- Homestead (Fla.) defensive tackle Daniel Lyons impressed in athletic drills with a 1.9-second 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash, a testament to the explosion that he shows off of the line of scrimmage on tape. Lyons was beaten by standout offensive lineman Deandre Duffus in one-on-ones in the only rep we saw, though.
- Lakeland (Fla.) defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, a nationally-coveted prospect, looked powerful as an interior rusher in one-on-ones. Brownlow-Dindy successfully utilizing a rip move to the outside shoulder of Trent Ramsey, a standout that we mentioned previously who was working at left guard instead of tackle on the rep.
- Miami (Fla.) Columbus offensive tackle Julian Armella impressed when he first got off the proverbial bus at camp, having slimmed down his impressive, lengthy 6-foot-6, 320-pound frame to around 290 pounds. Although he wasn't at his best at left tackle on Sunday, Armella seamlessly moved inside to both guard and center and won reps against strong competition.