Gators Early Signing Day Recap: 9 Locked In, Including 3 Major Additions
Billy Napier's first Early Signing Day as the Florida Gators head coach is officially in the books, landing top prospects from all over the country, including five from the state of Florida. The 2022 recruiting class for Florida is officially up to nine players.
"I think when you look at this list of players and you see height and length, you see verified speed, I think you see functional movement, character, high production, competitive spirit," Napier said on Wednesday.
"I think this is an intelligent group that comes from really good people, great communicators. I think they're wired right, if that makes sense, and they're team-first people."
The Gators entered Wednesday with just six expected signees, each being holdover commitments from the previous staff under Dan Mullen other than recently committed offensive tackle Christian Williams.
After plenty of decommitments came over the last couple of weeks since Napier was named the program's head coach, UF opted to keep several, while signing a few major players in their own right, flipping one from a previous near-five month pledge to Notre Dame.
The player that flipped from Notre Dame was, of course, safety Devin Moore. But, the biggest news of the day for Florida was the afternoon acquisition of the nation's No. 1 safety Kamari Wilson, long-considered a lean to the Georgia Bulldogs.
Having already committed once and decommitted another time, linebacker Shemar James was another player the Gators kept away from Georgia as well as his home-state school of Alabama, sticking with his original program of choice in UF. James, currently, is the highest-rated prospect in Florida's class, the country's No. 18 overall recruit, another major addition to the haul.
Signees (9)
Tony Livingston, TE, King (Tampa, Fla.), 6-5, 225 lbs
Livingston originally committed to Florida under the previous staff, likely to be used as an offensive lineman. Under Napier, Livingston will be able to use his abilities on the offensive side of the football instead as a pass-catcher, staying at his original position of tight end.
David Conner, OT, Deerfield Beach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 6-5, 295 lbs
Conner's original commitment to Florida came under the previous staff and particularly offensive line coach John Hevesy, committing in August. Recruited a bit late in his prep years, Conner is an under-the-radar signing that will become an intriguing player to watch in the future.
Jamari Lyons, DL, Viera (Melbourne, Fla.), 6-4, 298 lbs
The No. 11 DL prospect, according to SIAA, Lyons originally committed to Florida on Oct. 6, officially signing on Wednesday. He's one of five offensive or defensive line prospects that Napier will bring in during the early signing period. Lyons projects as an inside, outside defensive lineman with a knack for getting after the passer.
Devin Moore, S, Naples (Naples, Fla.), 6-3, 190 lbs
For over four months it was expected that Moore would commit to Notre Dame, but with Brian Kelly leaving the Fighting Irish a few weeks ago, Moore had an opportunity to rethink things. That led to the safety connecting with UF co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Patrick Toney in Naples (Fla.) and an in-person visit with the safety, ultimately leading to his commitment.
Trey Smack, PK, Severna Park (Severna Park, Md.), 6-1, 200 lbs
The only specialist currently committed and signed to Florida, Smack is the No. 3 ranked kicker in the nation according to Kohl’s Professional Camps. He will likely compete to play early as Florida is expected to lose one or both of its kickers after this year in Chris Howard and Jace Christmann as they approach the end of their college eligibility, barring a sixth-year waiver.
Chris McClellan, DL, Owasso (Owasso, Okla.), 6-3, 305 lbs
McClellan really counts as a program-wide commit, pledging to Florida on Nov. 23 despite the school not having yet acquired its next head coach. He would carry that commitment all the way through ESD, signing with Florida as the No. 7 interior defensive lineman in the country, according to SIAA.
Christian Williams, OL, Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas), 6-4, 319 lbs
The only commit coming into the early signing period that wasn't a part of the Mullen era, and Napier's first commit as the Gators' head coach, Williams was originally committed to Napier's previous destination in Louisiana. Now the big man out of Texas is headed to Gainesville, a key cog in building depth on the Florida offensive line.
Kamari Wilson, S, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 6-foot, 201 lbs
Wilson is absolutely the home-run signing of the short Napier era, a player from IMG Academy (Fla.), typically not a program that sends their football players up north to Gainesville for college. Now, Napier has done what Mullen wasn't able to, and that is to break the "IMG Academy curse," signing one of the top players in the nation at any position from the school.
Wilson is the No. 1-ranked safety in his class and the nation's No. 29 overall prospect according to Sports Illustrated All-American.
Shemar James, LB, Faith Academy, Mobile (Ala.), 6-foot-2, 212 lbs
James originally committed to Florida back in June before decommitting from the program in November. After Florida's new staff made its way to James, he was able to be swayed back in the Gators' direction, making good on his original program of choice. He committed to Florida over both Alabama and Georgia, and stands atop UF's class as the Gators' highest-rated signing, considered the No. 2 linebacker and No. 18 overall prospect.
Just Missed
The Gators came into Wednesday's early signing period with plenty of other top-tier talent targets, though it isn't clear exactly how many were major priorities. Ultimately, these are a few of the players Florida had their eyes on but just missed either before or during Napier's short tenure.
Shone Washington, DL, Warren Easton, New Orleans (La.), 6-foot-3, 297 lbs
Committed: Georgia
The Florida Gators just missed a potential Flip in Washington, having just met with the big man out of Louisianna recently on an official visit. The defensive tackle was down to Georgia and Florida, having had second thoughts at the last minute in choosing Georgia after meeting with Florida's staff.
Julian Humphrey, CB, Clear Lake, Houston (Texas), 6-foot-1, 185 lbs
Committed: Georgia
Humphrey was originally committed to Florida as a verbal commit before ultimately decommitting and re-opening his recruitment on Oct. 25 this year. While he was long expected to, and eventually would sign with Georgia, the Gators got back into the race just on Tuesday, perhaps a bit too late as Napier took the reigns.
Azareyeh Thomas, DB, Niceville (Fla.), 6-foot-1, 177 lbs
Committed: FSU
Thomas was one of the several defensive backs that the previous coaching staff at Florida had their eyes on. A lanky DB, Thomas is projected to play at either cornerback or safety at the next level. While Florida may not have been as heavily in his corner after Napier was hired, Thomas was one of the top prospects on the previous staff's board.
Quency Wiggins, DL, Madison Prep, Baton Rouge (La.), 6-foot-6, 247 lbs
Committed: LSU
Similarly to Thomas, Wiggins may not have been recruited as much by this staff as the previous, but he is worth mentioning. Coming out of Louisiana, Wiggins would have been a nice talent for Napier to bring in from the state he previously coached in to help shore up the defensive line further.
Jaheim Singletary, CB, Riverside, Jacksonville (Fla.), 6-foot-2, 170 lbs
Committed: Georgia
Singletary is a player that everyone in the college football world wanted to land, especially UF, located less than two hours away from where Singletary plays high school football. Not landing the No. 2-rated CB shouldn't come as a surprise, but the Gators continued to push for him at the final hour.
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