Reshaping the Florida Gators 2023 Offensive Line Target Board
The Florida Gators are entering a pivotal point with the 2023 recruiting class. Though players will not be signed until at least December, earning a commitment during the early-latter portions of the summer and heading into the fall have historically been proven to increase the program's odds of signing the player.
Due to the inherently volatile nature of recruiting, it is tough to get a firm grasp on a program's recruiting board, or if a player will ultimately decide to join that program. Oftentimes, it will lead to a player decommitting after a short time or re-considering options.
That, of course, happens at every program, but we at AllGators are focused squarely on Florida and head coach Billy Napier's efforts to reshape the team's roster.
As such, we have decided to update boards position-by-position whenever there are major changes, such as important players being added or subtracted over the course of the year and heading into signing day in December or February of the next year.
In this installment, we will be taking a look at the Gators' offensive line recruiting board for the 2023 class, including a list of the players already committed to the program, as well as re-shaping the board when it comes to what players the team is expected to be or should be after in the coming weeks and months.
For the OL, the Gators have already lost a previously-committed player in OT Tommy Kinsler, as well as missed on iOL Roderick Kearney and Lucas Simmons, who both committed to Florida State recently. Francis Mauigoa recently pledged to the Miami Hurricanes, as well.
As such, it is only fitting to follow our first update on quarterbacks with the OL as it has been the most volatile of the position groups thus far this year, especially given the Gators' massive need for talent up-front.
This story has and will continue to be updated as recruits make their college decisions. So far, Simmons has been removed following his commitment to FSU.
Committed players (2)
Below is a list of the Gators' current commitments within the recruiting class at the OL position.
The running list will include the player's name, position, measurables, school,current ranking, according to On3 Consensus, and a quote from the player on part of what led to their commitment to the program.
Knijeah Harris, IOL, IMG Academy (Fla.), 6-foot-3, 335 pounds
Ranking: Three-star, No. 413 (national), No. 29 IOL, No. 77 (Florida)
Quotable: "The new coaching staff came in and made a lot of changes and when I visited in March at the spring practice I fell in love with the coaches and the campus and everything."
Byrce Lovett, OT, Rockledge (Fla.), 6-foot-5, 330 pounds
Ranking: Three-star, No. 565 (national), No. 45 IOL, No. 98 (Florida)
Quotable: "Seeing practice, I got to see how they coach. I like how they practice. They learn something; they practice it, then they go teach it in live one-on-ones or team period right after. They get to use what they learned and go into what they're doing."
Offensive tackle targets
Below is a running list of potential offensive tackle targets for Florida, that are either considering committing to Florida given their visits or top-teams lists, or players the program should be in on moving forward a — likely group of players that fans and media should be on the lookout for.
You will find the names, measurables, ranking, school, the number of visits to UF since Jan. 2022, official visit date, top teams lists (if provided) and the player's commitment date, all if applicable.
This list was not made in any sort of order.
Payton Kirkland, Dr. Phillips (Fla.), 6-foot-5, 355 pounds
Ranking: Four-star, No. 295 (national), No. 24 OT, No. 57 (Florida)
Number of visits: 4
Official visit date: June 10
Top Teams: Florida, Alabama, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Miami
Commitment date: July 23
Brief summary:
Kirkland has steadily been one of Florida's primary targets on the offensive line for months now. He has taken multiple visits to the program and has gotten close with the coaching staff over the course of several months.
Though he's listed as a tackle, Florida sees Kirkland as a versatile piece that can be put in any of the five spots on the OL, increasing his value.
Still, the program intends to utilize Kirkland as a tackle when he first arrives on campus but will leave the door open for him to take on another position if need be.
"The message stays the same, the people stay the same, and the attitudes stay the same," Kirkland said in June. "The coaches, they're pretty open with the players, they're pretty open with the recruits as well, you know, nothing changes here."
Monroe Freeling, Oceanside Collegiate Academy (SC.), 6-foot-7, 285 pounds
Ranking: Four-star, No. 64 (national), No. 7 OT, No. 1 (South Carolina)
Number of visits: 2
Official visit date: June 17
Top Teams: Florida, Michigan, Miami, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Clemson
Commitment date: N/A
Brief summary:
Freeling is an out-of-state player that the Gators have done plenty of their homework on. Though he wasn't originally offered by the Gators until February, they've made sure to make him feel like a priority over the past few months, including during his official visit in June.
The culture change around Florida's campus and his relationship with the coaches on staff have led to Freeling placing the Gators in his top seven, and the program looks to continue to be among the finalists for his services up until his commitment.
"I can say that I think Florida will be up there, and [will] probably be in some of my final decisions to make," Freeling stated following his OV.
Tyree Adams, St. Augustine (La.), 6-foot-5, 283 pounds
Ranking: Four-star, No. 212 (national), No. 19 OT, No. 15 (Louisianna)
Number of visits: 2
Official visit date: N/A
Top Teams: Florida, Ole Miss, Georgia, LSU
Commitment date: N/A
Brief summary:
After missing out on a couple of other offensive tackle prospects, the Gators are broadening their views to other players that might pique their interests, including the Louisiana native.
Adams has seen his recruitment grow over the past few months, rated as the No. 476 player in some recruiting rankings to now as high as No. 118 nationally on others.
The fit makes sense as Napier and his staff haven't been shy about recruiting their old stomping grounds in Bayou State, and Adams has become the next man up in that regard, so to speak. In fact, Napier and Co. offered the young offensive lineman during their tenure with UL in 2021.
Though he doesn't have an official visit scheduled with Florida, he did say recently that he plans to do so at some point prior to his commitment. Adams is expected to commit sometime before Early Signing Day.
Caden Jones, De La Salle (La.), 6-foot-7, 300 pounds
Ranking: Four-star, No. 390 (national), No. 29 OT, No. 20 (Louisianna)
Number of visits: 1
Official visit date: N/A
Top Teams: Florida, Houston, Florida State, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado
Commitment date: N/A
Brief summary:
The Louisiana march didn't stop with Adams, as Florida also set their sights on another native to the Bayou State in Jones, who was reportedly visited by Sale a couple of months ago. Though he's only visited Florida once, he does have plans to visit the team for an unofficial on July 27-28, according to 247Sports.
Though not officially planned as of today, Jones is expected to officially visit UF later this year.
Miles McVay, East St. Louis (Ill.), 6-foot-6, 373 pounds
Ranking: Four-star, No. 179 (national), No. 14 OT, No. 2 (Illinois)
Number of visits: 0
Official visit date: Oct. 15
Top Teams: Florida, Auburn, Alabama, USC, Illinois, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Arkansas
Commitment date: Aug. 11
Brief summary:
Though his top teams list didn't include Texas A&M, McVay recently took an OV to College Station to get a better look at the Aggies. That has led many to believe the program is in contention for his services and might be able to sneak in at the last minute to land him.
Meanwhile, for Florida, McVay doesn't have any visits to the university on record but is still set to officially visit the team in October, unless that changes. McVay is a longshot, he has a commitment date set for Aug. 11 and has yet to visit UF. Though, if the OV holds true, he could commit somewhere and still change his mind before signing on the dotted line.
According to AggieScoop, McVay's list appears to be narrowed down to the Aggies, Alabama, Michigan State, Oregon and potentially Florida, who is still slated to receive that OV. Still, McVay hasn't sent out an updated "official" top teams list since his top 12 earlier this year.
Samson Okunlola, Thayer Academy (Mass.), 6-foot-5, 293 pounds
Ranking: Five-star, No. 16 (national), No. 3 OT, No. 1 (Massachusetts)
Number of visits: N/A
Official visit date: N/A
Top Teams: Florida, Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan State
Commitment date: N/A
Brief summary:
It appears silly, almost, to include Okunlola on the board as he is not likely to commit to Florida, having not visited the program, nor set an OV up with the team. However, as of June, earlier this year, the highly-rated OT included Florida in his top nine teams. That's significant even if he doesn't actually plan to attend.
Florida, thus far in the Napier era, hasn't been shy about quickly pivoting to top prospects later than expected and Okunlola would appear to be one of those players that could land in that pile. The program would have significant work to do to land his services, but if there's a player worth putting some feelers out there, it's him.
Interior OL targets
Below are the interior offensive line prospects that Florida could take a look at. The list is short, though, the Gators appear to be narrowed in on the tackle position as they've already secured a couple of commitments from players that have the ability to play inside in Harris and Lovett.
Don't expect Florida to lean too heavily within this group, and consider also that some players the team is looking at with the tackle position will have the versatility to move inside if need be. One player was already pointed out as having that ability in Kirkland.
Still, there are a couple of players that appear to be on the radar for Florida and are worth looking into.
Below, you will find the names, measurables, ranking, school, the number of visits to UF since Jan. 2022, official visit date, top teams lists (if provided) and the player's commitment date, all if applicable.
Vysen Lang, Pike Road (Ala.), 6-foot-5, 330 pounds
Ranking: Three-star, No. 563 (national), No. 44 IOL, No. 46 (Alabama)
Number of visits: 1
Official visit date: N/A
Top Teams: Florida, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Auburn, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Arkansas
Commitment date: N/A
Brief summary:
Lang was previously recruited by the Florida staff under Dan Mullen and at least has been lightly recruited by the latest staff and Sale. The team hasn't done too much work on him, and he doesn't appear to be high on their priority list, though that can change with the volatile nature of recruiting.
As of April, Florida remained on his top-teams list, and there hasn't been any indication they're not still on his mind, but he remains a longshot.
Really, Lang is the only prospect that appears to be even almost on the radar for Florida. As mentioned previously, the program appears to be looking more at the tackle position for this year's class, and it is uncertain whether or not they'll bring in many more outside of that.
Two other names, however, might be worth keeping an eye on. Both Johnathan Cline (Cartersville, Ga.) and Kelton Smith (Carver, Ga). Cline does not yet have an offer from Florida but has visited the university (April 2022). Smith appears to be a longshot as he has long expected to be committing to Georgia.
Both players would be interesting if Florida does ramp up their interest, however.
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