Top 2022 Prospects Begin Locking In Offical Visits With Florida Gators
It looks as though the NCAA recruiting moratorium that was put in place just over a year ago, at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, will be coming to an end at the beginning of June.
Although the recommendation from the NCAA football oversight committee has not yet been finalized, schools are already beginning to prepare for what could be the most hectic summer of recruiting in recent memory, if not ever.
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The Florida Gators have already designated the first two weekends in the month of June - the 4th through the 6th and the 11th through the 13th - for official visits from prospects across the nation. Several notable prospects have already confirmed their visits, including a mix of 2022 commits and priority targets within the class.
Florida's quarterback pledge for the cycle, Nick Evers of Flower Mound (Texas), and his family have confirmed that they will travel to Gainesville for an in-depth tour during the first weekend. As the team's quarterback commit, Evers has naturally taken on a recruiting role and will be joined by fellow Texas-based prospect, Liberty wide receiver Evan Stewart. The two play 7-on-7 football together, and Stewart decommitted from the University of Texas within days after Evers committed to Florida.
Although he isn't from Texas, 2022 defensive tackle Chris McClellan (Owasso, Okla) will be traveling from the midwest to the southeast to join Evers, Stewart, and others that weekend. He's being recruited by defensive line coach David Turner and quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee, who has strong football and personal ties to the state of Oklahoma.
Another two priority out-of-state prospects set to tour UF from June 4-6 reportedly include Ponchatoula (La.) safety and consensus five-star Jacoby Mathews, and Cedar Grove (Ga.) defensive tackle Christen Miller.
Mathews was previously recruited to Auburn by now-Gators safeties coach Wesley McGriff, and that recruitment has carried over to Florida since McGriff earned his new position. UF now stands in Mathew's top six schools. Miller, meanwhile, included Florida in his top four schools in January with plans to commit to a school in early April, but those plans have since been postponed until further notice.
If you're looking for an in-state prospect on this list, one of the few lined up so far includes IMG Academy (Fla.) offensive tackle Tyler Booker (but he's actually from Connecticut and began his high school career in New Jersey, so does he really count as in-state?).
Booker has long been considered one of the best offensive tackles in his class and has visited Florida before - both in-person before the pandemic and virtually since. Considering the Gators' need at offensive tackle, to say he is a priority for Florida's coaching staff might be underselling it.
West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.) wide receiver Jayden Gibson and running back Terrance Gibbs of Winter Park (Fla.) will reportedly be among the group of visits on the first weekend as well. Gibson received an offer from Florida at the beginning of February after a nine-touchdown junior season, while Gibbs is one of the top running backs on Florida's board, despite a knee injury that derailed his junior season of high school. When he's healthy, Gibbs is an electric rusher.
Greater Atlanta Christian (Ga.) offensive tackle Addison Nichols is set to visit Florida during the second recruiting weekend in June, he shared with 247Sports. Nichols recently dished his thoughts on Florida and another four programs standing out in his recruitment in an interview with our sister site, Volunteer Country.
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