Florida Gators 2022 National Signing Day Preview

Photo: Billy Napier; Credit: Alex Shepherd

National Signing Day for the class of 2022 is here, wrapping up what has been a chaotic recruiting cycle before moving onto the class of 2023.

The Florida Gators are one of several programs aiming to put a bow on their haul of recruits in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, with seven committed prospects expected to sign their national letters of intent with UF and a handful of others considering pairing up with the Gators for their college careers.

Below, you can find a preview of what's to come on Billy Napier's first National Signing Day as Florida's head coach.

Gators commits set to sign

Signing times have been gathered by AllGators' Conner Clarke and Sports Illustrated All-American.

DB Miguel Mitchell, 9:00 A.M. ET
OL Jalen Farmer, 9:00 A.M.
TE Hayden Hansen, 9:30 A.M. ET
RB Trevor Etienne, 10:00 A.M.
DE/TE Andrew Savaiinaea, 11:45 A.M.
QB Max Brown, 2:00 P.M.
DE Jack Pyburn (signed)

Gators targets making their college decision

LB Harold Perkins

School: Cy Park (Cypress, Texas)

SI All-American rankings: No. 2 LB, No. 16 overall

Finalists: Florida, LSU, Texas A&M

Signing time: 4:30 P.M. ET

The top remaining target on Florida's board is freshly removed from a visit to LSU and saw UF's campus two weeks prior, each school being in contention for his services alongside Texas A&M, the program Perkins was previously committed to for all of 22 days before opening things back up.

Perkins is considered by many to be an LSU lean at this point, but, neither Florida nor Texas A&M should be ruled out due to his connection with each school.

Hailing from Texas, the Aggies make sense from a geographical standpoint, much less he'd be a cherry on top for one of the greatest classes ever seen. Originally from Louisiana, family ties could also play a factor in Perkins choosing the Tigers. As for the Gators, Perkins is close with Kamari Wilson among other Florida recruits and was impressed by his "down to Earth" visit to the program earlier in January.

S Jacoby Mathews

School: Ponchatoula (Ponchatoula, La.)

SI All-American rankings: No. 7 safety, No. 79 overall

Finalists: Florida, LSU, Texas A&M

Signing time: 7 P.M. ET

If Perkins wasn't the top prospect on the board for Florida, Mathews would be. As the Gators aim to rebuild their safety room due to lackluster play and recruiting over the years, pairing Mathews with Wilson and Miguel Mitchell in the 2022 class would be a superb start.

Like Perkins, Mathews was pleased with his official visit to Florida in January, saying he'd be comfortable signing with the team if the Gators ended up being his choice. Texas A&M is also in the running here, but we believe this is closer to a two-team race between UF and LSU than a three-team battle.

Previously an LSU commit under the Tigers' last coaching staff, and considering his roots, we wouldn't be surprised to see Mathews opt for Baton Rouge over Gainesville at this point. But crazier things have happened.

RB TreVonte' Citizen

School: Lake Charles College Prep (Lake Charles, La.)

Finalists: Florida, LSU, Auburn, Miami

Signing time: 10:30 A.M. ET

Florida has a running back commit in the class of 2022 in Trevor Etienne, who will sign on Wednesday. In addition, the Gators welcomed a running back transfer in Montrell Johnson from Louisiana.

That being said, the Gators are pushing heavily for a third running back in the class of 2022 in Citizen, who unofficially visited the program last week before establishing a top four schools of Florida, LSU, Auburn and Miami.

Napier is expected to install an offense that is dependent upon its running game, which is likely the reason Florida wants to add Citizen to a large running back room in addition to numerous tight end commits to be used as blockers in 12-personnel schemes.

DL Caden Story

School: Lanett (Lanett, Ala.)

Finalists: Florida, Clemson, Auburn

Signing time: 10:30 A.M.

Story spent the final weekend of visits in the 2022 cycle at Florida and came away impressed, sharing with AllGators that the school's tradition and history will make a major impact on his college decision. The former Auburn commit included the Tigers in his new top three alongside the Gators and the Clemson Tigers.

WR/TE Arlis Boardingham

School: Birmingham (Van Nuys, Calif.)

Finalists: Florida, Oregon

Signing time: N/A

Boardingham named Florida and Oregon as his top two schools in January and has officially visited both programs in the last month. Boardingham appears to like both schools very much, as he reportedly told 247Sports on Tuesday that he needs more time to make his college decision and won't be signing on Wednesday.

WR Caleb Douglas

School: Hightower (Missouri City, Texas)

Finalists: Florida, LSU

Signing time: 2:20 P.M. ET

The Gators' No. 1 receiver target since Napier was hired, Douglas is set to choose between Florida and LSU on Wednesday, one way or another leaving his home state to join an SEC powerhouse. Both Florida and LSU have offered since December and prioritized the receiver, as each school has hosted Douglas in the last two-plus weeks as well as paid numerous him in-home visits. This recruitment could go down to the very last second.

WR KD Hutchinson

School: Harris County (Hamilton, Ga.)

Finalists: Florida, Vanderbilt

Signing time: 2:30 P.M. ET

Although he has yet to receive a scholarship offer from Florida, Hutchinson is a prospect we have our eyes on for National Signing Day, whether he was to join the Gators as a walk-on or earn an offer at the 11th hour. Hutchinson officially visited UF on the final weekend of visits in January and would be an intriguing, speedy fit within the Gators' offense. Wide receiver DJ Allen's Tuesday commitment to TCU, following an official visit to Florida alongside Hutchinson, leaves Florida with a remaining need at receiver, especially a need for speed.

TE Danny Lewis

School: Westgate (New Iberia, La.)

Finalists: Florida, LSU, Alabama

Signing time: 1:30 P.M. ET

As mentioned above, Florida has prioritized adding several tight ends in the class of 2022, seen by the signing of Tony Livingston, the commitment of Hayden Hansen, and the pursuit of Boardingham and Lewis. A former Cincinnati commit, Lewis has seen his recruitment explode with SEC interest since the end of his senior season, seen by offers from each of his finalists among other top programs.

Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.