Florida Gators Remain in 2022 DB Jacoby Mathews’ Updated Top 6
Photo: Wesley McGr; Credit: University of Florida athletic association
Less than two months ago, the Florida Gators landed in the top six for a priority defensive back target in the 2022 class.
Today, that defensive back has updated his top six teams in consideration, with Florida yet again finding themselves sitting in the mix.
Highly touted safety prospect Jacoby Mathews realigned his top teams on Tuesday, eliminating Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Alabama from contention and adding USC, Arizona State and Clemson after recent offers came in from the Trojans, Sun Devils and Tigers.
In the restructuring of his top schools, Mathews decides that the Gators, alongside Texas, USC, Clemson, Arizona State, and the home state team LSU, will be the ones competing for his services during the closing stretch of his recruitment.
Hailing from Ponchatoula (La.), Mathews has drawn significant interest as the second-ranked safety in the class of 2022 given his rare pairing of size, athleticism and sound technical skills in free-range coverage.
With the reload occurring in the Florida Gators secondary, Mathews sits as a talented addition to a unit that lost Shawn Davis, Donovan Stiner and Brad Stewart Jr. following the conclusion of the 2020 season. Adding Corey Collier Jr. and Donovan McMillion to the backend this past recruiting class, Wesley “Crime Dog” McGriff continues to look for game-changing talent to bolster an uncharacteristically thin Gators safety corps.
The news of Mathews including the Gators in his top six may not be new information, but with schools getting booted out in favor of new offers, it is a good sign for UF that they remain firm as a contender to land Matthews' services.