Florida Gators Top Targets, Positions of Need for National Signing Day
After what was an impressive early signing period for Billy Napier and the Florida Gators, where they were able to secure the signatures of blue-chip prospects Kamari Wilson, Shemar James, and Devin Moore along with six of their seven commits, recruiting efforts are trending upwards for UF.
However, there remains work to be done, with National Signing Day approaching in February and needs still apparent across UF's roster.
AllGators takes a look at what other positions still need to be addressed heading into National Signing Day and what prospects could fill those spots.
Running Back
With Florida set to lose seniors Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis to graduation and likely the NFL as well, the Gators have to address the running back position in the coming months.
When Napier got to Florida, he had one running back committed in Terrance Gibbs from Winter Park HS in Orlando (Fla.). However, shortly after an in-home visit, Gibbs back off that pledge which left the Gators with no running back commits in the class.
Since taking on the role of running backs coach, Jabbar Juluke has visited two uncommitted prospects in Tre’Vonte Citizen and Trevor Etienne. Both backs are from the state of Louisiana and have an established relationship with both Juluke and Napier. All signs point to Citizen taking an official visit to Gainesville when things open back up in the month of January, while Etienne has already visited Gainesville under the previous staff and looks to be making a decision at the All-American Bowl on Jan. 8.
The Gators will need to land at least one of these prospects to help build depth at the position and could likely look to the transfer portal for running back talent as well.
Wide Receiver
When Dan Mullen was fired, the Gators had three wide receiver prospects committed, and now they have none. Isaiah Bond left the class and signed with Alabama, Jayden Gibson flipped to Oklahoma, and CJ Smith went to Georgia, leaving Florida with some ground to make up at the position.
Also, Florida’s leading receiver from last season Jacob Copeland has entered his name into the transfer portal, leaving the Gators with just seven scholarship receivers on the roster and the room, in general, is one that lacks the ability to create separation.
Now that Florida has announced the addition of new receivers coach Keary Colbert, I would expect the Gators to kick it into overdrive on the trail. One prospect to keep an eye on is Caleb Douglas. Douglas was the first prospect to receive an offer from Napier’s staff once they got to Florida and is a former USC commit, which is the school that Colbert previously coached at. Douglas has an official visit set with the Gators for Jan. 14 right after the dead period ends.
Some other notable prospects to keep an eye on that didn’t sign during the early signing period are Kevin Coleman and CJ Williams. Coleman is a slot receiver from St. Louis (Mo.) that had been linked to Florida State for a long time, but the buzz that the Seminoles had seems to have faded. Williams is a prospect from Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana (Ca.) that was trending toward USC once he decommitted from Notre Dame. Now that Florida has taken USC’s WR coach, maybe UF can get into that recruitment.
No matter what happens on the recruiting front at the WR position, I would expect Florida to hit the portal hard there as well.
Defensive Line
The Gators were able to sign two players along the defensive line on Dec. 15 in Chris McClellan and Jamari Lyons, which were huge signings. Especially McClellan, as Oklahoma tried to come in late and make a flip.
Florida is losing some serious depth next year with Antonio Shelton, Daquan Newkirk, and Zachary Carter all graduating. The Gators also lost Lloyd Summerall, Dante Zanders and Khris Bogle to the transfer portal, so they will need to add more depth along the defensive front.
A couple of names that stand out that are still on the market heading into February are Ahmad Moten and Christian Miller.
Moten was offered by the previous staff late in the cycle and has been garnering interest from some other top programs across the country like LSU, Oklahoma, UNC and Tennessee, all of whom offered after the Gators. Napier did make his way down to Cardinal Gibbons HS in Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) a few days before the early signing period to see Moten among other South Florida prospects. Moten is someone that I think could officially visit in January and could be part of the class if Napier and whoever is hired as defensive line coach wants him.
Miller's recruitment has been interesting to follow. Miller was considered a Gator lean early in the process until support staffer David Cooper left for another job. Then, Miller was rumored to be going to Georgia or USC and now Ohio State’s name is being thrown in there, but he still has yet to sign. I think if the Gators made a push before National Signing Day, they could get right back in the thick of Miller's recruitment.
And as I have said previously, I expect the transfer portal to be utilized for this position as well. In fact, the Gators have already offered Jared Verse, a defensive lineman from the University of Albany that has been offered by a number of top programs since entering his name into the portal.
Quarterback
With Emory Jones set to enter the transfer portal in the coming days according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, and former commit Nick Evers deciding to flip his commitment to Oklahoma, the Gators will need to add a couple of players to the quarterback room.
Napier said in his introductory press conference that he will be coaching the quarterbacks with the help of an analyst, that being Ryan O’Hara. In the few days before the dead period, O’Hara visited two high school QB’s that still have not signed, those prospects being former Oregon commit Tanner Bailey from Gordo (Ala.) and Robbie Roper from Roswell (Ga.). Neither prospect currently holds an offer from the Gators but that could change over the course of the next month and a half.
Another name to watch is Jack Miller, a former four-star prospect that signed with Ohio State but put his name into the transfer portal about three weeks ago. It is being reported that Miller has received an offer from Florida, and considering UF's need at the position, his transfer would certainly be welcomed.
Blue-Chip Prospects
There are a number of other positions and prospects that should also be recruited by the Gators going into National Signing Day, but there are three that really stand out that haven’t been covered in the previous sections. Those prospects are Jacoby Mathews, Gentry Williams and TJ Dudley.
Mathews is one of the top safety prospects in the country and is someone that Florida cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond has an established relationship with. The Ponchatoula (La.) product likely would have been a Tiger on early signing day if Raymond had not left for Florida. Though Florida was able to get Kamari Wilson to ink with the program, you can never have enough talent on the back end of the defense. Look for Florida to try and secure an official visit with Mathews in January.
Williams is a prospect that was recruited by the last staff as a receiver even though Williams wanted to play cornerback. Williams did not sign with home-state school Oklahoma, the program he’s been committed to for the last two months, which leaves the door open for Florida to try and get him back on campus for another visit, perhaps this time recruiting him at cornerback.
Finally, there is Dudley. Dudley is a former Oregon commit from Montgomery (Ala.) that backed off that pledge when Mario Cristobal left for Miami. During the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game Dudley was asked about his recruitment and said that Florida is heavily involved now and there is a chance that the Gators could receive an official visit in January. In addition to that, current Florida linebacker and former Alabama area prospect Jeremiah Williams is recruiting Dudley to join him and signee Shemar James, a Mobile (Ala.) native, at UF.
When going through and preparing this article, I really wanted to include the offensive line because that is definitely a position that Florida needs to address heavily. However, due to the lack of options at the high school level, I expect that position to be addressed almost exclusively through the transfer portal.
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