Miami WR Commit Considering 'Something Special' at Florida
It wasn't long after Florida's wide receiver coaching position underwent a change that one of the Gators' top pass-catching targets, Chance Robinson, committed to Miami.
Yet, despite the April 14 pledge to his hometown Hurricanes, Robinson has continued to hear out what Florida has to offer.
Recently-hired assistant Billy Gonzales has seemingly picked Robinson's recruitment up where Keary Colbert, UF's former receivers coach, left it when he made a February jump to the NFL. One of Gonzales' first objectives on the trail was to prioritize Robinson, and the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas prospect quickly took notice of the effort.
"It’s hard not to love coach G," Robinson told All Gators following his June 9-11 official visit to Florida. "He came to see me twice during the spring and I wasn't even playing, I was out [with an injury], and that means a lot to me.
"He's just checking in with me, I mean every week. making sure I'm good. Just staying on top of me, making sure my hamstring is good, making sure I'm good. Calling my family, telling me how I could be a difference-maker here and that he sees the work I put in and the determination I have."
Gonzales, and Gators head coach Billy Napier, have re-established Florida's presence as a contender in Robinson's recruitment, namely alongside Penn State in vying to flip the consensus four-star receiver's commitment from Miami.
Napier's four years of experience as the wide receivers coach at Alabama increases Robinson's comfort in the Gators' proposed development plan for his talent. The recruiting class Napier is putting together in the class of 2024 — headlined by quarterback DJ Lagway — only supports the program's cause.
"Those two, the development of receivers that they have under their name. You know, it's just a lot," Robinson said of Gonzales and Napier. "This class is special as you see right now. I mean, they have a quarterback commit as well. We can come in and work hard together and we can make something special happen."
Robinson's ties to the roster, too, make Florida a program worth considering before he shuts his recruitment down for good.
Freshman wide receiver Andy Jean, a product of Miami (Fla.) Northwestern and a friend of Robinson's, acted as player-host for the weekend and offered the recruit insight into the program without a sales pitch. Robinson also reconnected with former St. Thomas Aquinas teammates-turned-Gators such as linebacker Derek Wingo during his stay.
"It was nice to reconnect with some of those dudes," Robinson said. "I asked [Jean] some real questions because, you know, he'll tell me the truth. He's a guy from my way."
Having now officially visited Penn State and Florida this summer, Robinson admits — like many other recruits, he suggested — that he has a lot to consider moving forward despite his commitment to another program.
Miami will receive his final planned official visit of the summer, from June 23-25, before Robinson plans to weigh the pros and cons of the new information he has gleaned about the Hurricanes, Gators and Nittany Lions.
"It's definitely fulfilling to understand these new things," said Robinson. "I mean, it's definitely opened my mind up to a lot of new things and to seeing new things.
"I just really have to sit down and make a decision of where I truly want to play. I gotta go home and talk to my parents and understand where I really, really, really want to be. As far as my situation, as far as the quarterback situation, as far as school, everything."
None of this is to suggest Miami won't have a fair chance at keeping Robinson in South Florida, he added.
"Great. I have my OV with them soon," Robinson asserted about his Miami commitment. "It's still home."
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Robinson is considered the No. 22 wide receiver and No. 151 overall prospect in the class of 2024 according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He caught 29 passes for 540 yards and 13 touchdowns during his junior season of high school.
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