Florida Gators QB Target Pushing Back Commitment
Florida Gators 2023 priority target and Pittsburg (Calif.) quarterback Jaden Rashada has pushed his college commitment back from June 18, AllGators has learned via John Garcia, Jr. of Sports Illustrated All-American.
Rashada went on to confirm the news on Tuesday evening, rescheduling his commitment for June 26 while trimming his list of finalists to five: Florida, Miami, Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss.
Rashada, one of the nation's premier passers in the class of 2023, took two visits to Florida between the end of May and the beginning of June, first unofficially and then officially. In between those trips, Rashada made his way to Texas A&M and LSU, both times officially.
He had previously officially visited Ole Miss in April and has one official visit remaining. Now, with an additional week to access his options, Rashada could try to squeeze in his final official to the other programs in his top seven: Miami, Oregon and California.
The Gators have been trending in his recruitment ever since his second stop in Gainesville, as that trip was expected to be his last before making his college commitment.
"They've got a great coaching staff up there [and a] great playing situation, so that's what attracted me there," Rashada told SI All-American about Florida after his second visit. "And then [head] coach [Billy] Napier, you know, he's a pretty good dude, great coach. Yeah, Florida, they've got something pretty good building up there."
At the time, Rashada admitted to SI All-American that it was unlikely he would utilize his final official visit before pledging to a school, but he wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of a last-second trip or pushing back his timeline.
One school that stood a chance to earn a visit under these circumstances was Miami, Rashada hinted.
“We’ll see," Rashada said about a potential Miami visit. "I’m working on that right now.”
SI All-American currently considers Rashada to be the No. 4 quarterback in the nation heading into the Elite 11 Finals later this month, among the group of five Tier 1 signal-callers in this class.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound gunslinger completed 57 percent of his 256 passes for 2,220 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions in his debut season as a starter in 2021, adding 25 rushing attempts for 193 yards and a score on the ground. He's put up numerous strong showings in camp and 7-on-7 tournaments throughout his high school career, to boot.
The Gators have pursued several of the cycle's top passers to headline Billy Napier's first full recruiting class as head coach, but the cupboard is nearly bare with most targets committed or looking elsewhere.
Rashada is seemingly Florida's best option remaining on the board if it wants to secure a quarterback of the future in 2023. Expect Napier and Co. to continue pushing for his services until the very end.
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