Newly-Offered OT Monroe Freeling: Gators 'Going To Turn the Culture Around'
Photo: Monroe Freeling; Credit: Zach Goodall
Championships are won in the trenches.
When Billy Napier started to map out his plan for restructuring the roster at the University of Florida, a focal point of his was manning the lines with talent and depth in the upcoming recruiting cycles.
Choosing to be picky with the offers he hands out thus far, the areas the Gators have targeted the most are the offensive and defensive lines, aligning with the philosophy of starting up front to build a championship-caliber squad.
On Tuesday, the Gators coaching staff took another step in beginning the process of talent acquisition on the offensive line by offering Oceanside Collegiate Academy offensive tackle prospect Monroe Freeling.
Freeling, who attended the UA Next camp in Atlanta on Sunday, shared some insight into his exposure to the University of Florida prior to his offer.
"I'm just kind of interested in there," he said. "It's in Florida and they had a really good reputation [with] offensive lineman. I think with the new coach, they're going to turn the culture around."
Despite limited, if any, communication with the staff when AllGators spoke to Freeling on Sunday, the perception of Florida's impending turnaround from both a recruiting and on-the-field standpoint is a promising sign going forward.
A large part of that, at least where the offensive line is concerned, is the manpower that has been dedicated to ensuring the maximization of talent up front. Not only did Napier bring in a coach from the NFL to instruct the offensive line, but he created two spots on the staff, filled by Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton, focused on splitting up interior and exterior offensive linemen for more one-on-one training.
That operates even smoother when working with talented big men like Freeling.
Standing at 6'7", 285 pounds, Freeling showcases high-level athleticism and footwork as a dual-sport athlete also playing basketball that will translate to the next level. He couples that with strong hands and polished technique that suggested early usage at the next level.
The highly regarded tackle prospect in the 2023 class discussed a variety of schools that have displayed interest to this point in his recruitment. Namely, the Oregon-born prospect playing out of Mount Pleasant (S.C.) hinted at potential official visits to Notre Dame — also scheduled to attend the Fighting Irish spring game — and Clemson.
As of now, the other three destinations for his OVs are undecided.
Unofficially, Freeling has his eyes set on making the rounds across the country throughout the spring and summer. He looks to travel back to the west coast to make stops at Oregon, Stanford and USC. On top of that, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan and Miami have all caught his eye to potentially stop by at some point if his schedule permits.
As he begins to feel the pressure of an impending commitment on his shoulders as a busy spring schedule of visits has arrived, Freeling looks to "take everything in instead of taking it one thing at a time" when making trips to schools.
Before the Gators offered the promising offensive tackle prospect, he said he had intentions to visit UF anyways. Now, with a tangible offer showing mutual interest, it's likely that Freeling will make it a priority to travel to Gainesville in the near future.
Luckily for Florida, the program's late arrival for one of the best tackle prospects the class has to offer comes while his recruitment is still opening for the taking.
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