Gators Officially a Finalist for OT Samson Okunlola, Committing Thursday
The Gators have quickly emerged as a team to watch in Samson Okunlola's recruitment, earning two visits including an official trip to Gainesville over the last month.
When Okunlola, the nation's No. 1 offensive tackle in the class of 2023 per Sports Illustrated, announces his commitment on Thursday, Florida is certain to have a hat at the table.
Okunlola announces his four finalists ahead of his college pledge — Florida, Miami, Alabama and Michigan State — on Wednesday.
Okunlola completed his official visit to Florida on Sunday, Dec. 11, which was expected to be his final trip before reaching a college decision. It marked his fourth known trip to Gainesville, having previously checked out UF unofficially from Nov. 11-13 of this year and twice during the 2021 season under the Gators' prior coaching staff.
The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Okunlola has long been considered one of the top offensive line recruits in his class, earning his first Power 5 offer from Tennessee at the beginning of his 2020 sophomore season. He possesses an 82-inch wingspan and impressive athleticism for a player of his size, pairing an ideal physical makeup with fairly polished technique for the position.
In addition to being the top tackle, Okunlola is considered the No. 5 overall prospect in the class of 2023 according to the SI99.
The Gators have addressed most of their positional needs this year, but offensive tackle remains a spot in need of reinforcements. Currently, UF possesses one 2023 offensive tackle commit in the form of Rockledge (Fla.) High's Bryce Lovett.
Okunlola is one of the limited uncommitted offensive tackle targets that Florida offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton remain in pursuit of. He's joined by New Orleans (La.) De La Salle's Caden Jones, who considers the Gators as the leading school in his recruitment and officially visited UF this past weekend as well.
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