2022 Five-Star Linebacker Lists Gators in Top 8
While the Florida Gators are no longer making plays on the gridiron with the 2020 collegiate season officially in the books, Florida continues to make the rounds as competitors in the recruiting ranks for the 2022 recruiting class. While 2021 is not officially wrapped up, the team added a number of recruits during the early signing period.
The latest potential future Gator is five-star linebacker Shawn Murphy out of Unity Reed (Manassas, Va.), Reed is one of the top recruits in the country, and is a noted consensus five-star player, the No. 1 inside linebacker in the nation.
Yesterday, Murphy included the Gators in his top-8 teams list. Among the others listed include, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Georgia. Essentially, all of the top schools from a variety of conferences are listed in Murphy's list, and he will likely be able to choose from any of them due to his skill set and ability.
The Gators have often recruited lanky, athletic linebackers, particularly to play inside. Murphy, 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, fits that bill to a T. He has an excellent knack for the football, and is a very explosive athlete, able to hit the hole shortly after the running back makes his cut. He has plenty of room to add more size to his frame, too, a project player for Florida strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage.
In November of last year, Murphy posted a vertical leap of 37.4 inches. That number would be among the very best even the NFL has to offer at the linebacker position. A new age linebacker, Muprhy would make an excellent addition to Gators linebacker Christian Robinson's group of young athletes.