National Signing Day is two weeks away and Florida’s coaches are on the road recruiting relentlessly.
They’ve had in-home visits with several prospects in January and hosted many of them on officials, with more scheduled to file in this weekend and next.
Things are beginning to take shape with the remaining targets at positions of need.
Fullback Kennard Swanson (Lakeland, Fla./Lake Gibson) visited UF this past weekend and is already in Florida’s egg basket, but he may not hatch this month or even this year. Swanson doesn’t have a committable-offer because of his academics, but the coaches are going to save a scholarship for him according to his coach.
Although his grades from last semester were good enough for him to qualify, he still has to retake his SAT this Saturday and his ACT on Feb. 9. The Gators will likely allow Swanson to sign on Feb. 6 and then wait on his test scores and final semester grades in June. If they’re suffice, Swanson will report this summer with the incoming freshmen. If he doesn’t qualify, he’ll have to attend either a prep school or junior college before coming to UF.
The Gators are still in contention for South Plantation running back Alex Collins, who was leaning toward Florida immediately following his official visit on Dec. 14. However, he visited Miami last weekend and heads to Arkansas this Friday for an official. Those two schools have been gaining steam this month and are now the favorites for Collins. UF will be in the picture until the end, but he appears to be an unlikely addition for the Gators.
Florida is looking to land a sixth receiver and the three targets are James Clark (New Smyrna Beach), Ryan Timmons (Frankfort, Ky./Franklin) and FSU commit Levonte Whitfield (Orlando, Fla./Jones). Clark unofficially visited UF on Jan. 6 and will return on his dime again on Feb. 2. He has also visited Clemson, Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue and will take his final official to Ohio State this weekend. Timmons was offered by the Gators on Sunday and is expected to officially visit UF on Feb. 1. Kentucky currently has the edge for the in-state prospect. Whitfield will visit Florida this weekend after his indoor track meet in Gainesville, but the speedy wideout seems solid with the Seminoles.
Montravius Adams (Vienna, Ga./Dooly County), Jaynard Bostwick (Port Saint Lucie, Fla./West Centennial) and JUCO Ole Miss commit Jarran Reed (Scooba East Mississippi C.C.) are the defensive tackles left on Florida’s board. Adams visited UF on Jan. 5, but he’s still considered a long shot for Florida. After officials this month to Alabama and Miami, the Gators get the final visit for Bostwick on Feb. 1. They have a great chance to land him as well as Reed, who took his first official to Florida on Jan. 11 and is not solid with the Rebels contrary to his comments in the media. Reed just visited North Carolina and will see Kentucky this weekend followed by Ole Miss on Feb. 1.
Elijah Daniel (Avon, Ind.) is no longer in play for UF because of his grades and recent commitment to Ole Miss, while Robert Nkdemiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) remains a heavy lean to Ole Miss despite his official visit to Florida. That leaves the Gators with Auburn commit Tashawn Bower (Somerville, N.J./Immaculata), who officially visited UF last weekend, as the only viable option at defensive end. Unfortunately for the Gators, he still has trips to LSU and Auburn. If the coaches can’t bring Bower on board, look for them to go after an under-the-radar or JUCO recruit.
With James Hearns out of Florida’s class, the Gators have room to take back former commit Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach Mainland). On Tuesday, Powell announced he was done with visits and will decide between Southern Cal and Florida on National Signing Day. Powell told The Sun he’s “50-50” between the two schools, but UF hasn’t put the full-court press on him just yet.
Finally, the Gators are hoping to take another cornerback and USC commit Jalen Ramsey (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) could fulfill their wishes. He officially visited Southern Cal this past weekend, but the firing of defensive backs coach Marvin Sanders on Tuesday is a big blow for the Trojans. Ramsey’s father, Lamont, has said his son wanted to play for Sanders, so Florida’s chances at flipping the five-star prospect are now better than ever. Ramsey will host coaches from USC, UF and FSU on in-home visits over the next two weeks and then make a final decision. Immokalee cornerback Mackensie Alexendar is still considering a possible unofficial visit to Florida this month, but the Gators don’t have much of a shot because they can’t offer him immediate playing time or a scholarship for his brother, Mackenro.
Florida currently has 27 commits in its 2013 class and room for six more members. For the commitment list, click HERE.
Zach, any chance that Coach Lawing can bring in any of these D-Line recruits? Do you know if he has any relationships? Now that Daniels is pretty much out of the picture, DE is a little worrisome.
Good Luck to all the Student athletes and coaches on the upcoming NSD and Football season.
Mus’Champions’ Dynasty days ahead.
Go Gators!!
hoping for Ramsey, 2 or 3 DL (Adams, Bostwick, Reed, Nkemdiche, Bower) Heard there may be another in the picture (silent). Collins, Clark, and Swanson. Seems like Urban Meyer is watching the Gators board and following it. Clark and Timmons.
thanks Zach. Champ seems ready to close strong this year.
With Tommy Jordan gone, is there a chance (i hope) of adding another OL to this class?
Just get the playmakers. Why is Alabama so good its because they get the guys who makes a difference on the field. They were stacked at every position last year. We need to get better in a hurry or we will be right behind Alabama and Georgia for years to come!
Why would the Gators go after an under-the-radar prospect or JUCO guy instead of saving the scholarship for next year? If we sign 33 does that mean we cannot count any recruits back to this year?
I doubt we’ll be behind Georgia at all next year even with our current class…however if we get RN or PR we’ll be the powerhouse of the SEC East for years to come
I hope we get all 6 recievers. We definitely need them.
FlaboyDg – what the hell are you talking about!! You may have forgotten that we beat the two teams that beat Bama and Georgia so sufice it to say we will be on equal grounding this year.
Hope your right Zach, and we get at least another D-lineman, and CB/DB. As previously stated, CB to me, is our area of greatest need, followed closely by solid OL and DL prospects… It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out in the next 2 weeks… Go Gators!
Folks- What we did last year won’t matter if we don’t followup with a SECCG appearance in 2013.
Developing the recruits is as important as signing them.
Does not matter what star they carry in HS, show up on the filed in college and you will have great sucess every season.
We will be fine at de for next year of we get at least one of the DTs… Easley can play both- fowler, Bullard and I’m willing to bet 2 of Ivie, Mcallister, cox and q Williams step up
Cornerback is a bigger need imo
This is a great class, and next year is already shaping up nicely.
.
Don’t worry so much about stars and headlines, people. If the coaches have big “Cat just ate the canary” grins on their faces after signing day, I’m happy, whether we are ranked #1 or #20. The final poll in January means everything, the final poll in February means nothing.
I agree with the recent posts about the starts and stripes of recruits… It is more baout addressing needs, and that is what should be our main concern going forward…
I love this class, and the character of the players Muschamp chooses to pursue. It’s wishful thinking, but I’d like to see us add Collins at RB, Ramsey at CB, Reed at DT, and Clark at WR. If they can pull in another DE, great. If not, that’s fine too.
Gators. Win or lose.
sorry for the spelling, the font is like a 2 before you post, was trying to say, stars… and about…
I heard that Hatcher backed off from his commitment to USC.Will the Gators be interested in him?
T.J.,
Hatcher doesn’t have interest in the Gators anymore and cancelled his Jan. 25 visit to UF last week.
Love your picks Doug. If we could somehow add Nkemdiche (sp?) to your class it would feel like christmas all over again!
Zach,
Rivals is reporting that Q.Powell is down to UF and USC. I’m not sure what is going on but it does look like UF is trying to sign Powell. And I don’t see any mention of him here. I hope we sign Powell.
Go Gators!
Gators79, press Ctrl+F and type “Quinton”.
Powell is that good…we need to get him. After he adds weight he will be fantastic.
UFL1138 Type in “GFY”
Carry On
Loving the way this class has shaped up. I firmly believe we end up with at least 30 in this group and probably the nation’s 31 class. Really want Clark and another DT and DE though.
Heard that CM’s visit with 2014 OL recruit K.C. McDermott went ok today; he was disappointed with the amount of time spent on football versus academics. Meaning too much time spent on football and not enough on academics.
It is too early to tell but I sure hope we are not selling the NFL instead of UF. Zook did that and we had some amazing classes with some suspect results and more than our share of problem players.
The Sugar Bowl reminded me of a Zook coached team to be honest. Players thinking of the next level and not ready to play. Time will tell.
Plantation, most Gator recruits say the opposite, how the UF coaches stress other areas of life more than most coaches from other schools. I would not form my opinion on the UF recruiting strategy on one recruit’s comments, or on one game, but on the entire body of Muschamp’s work.
As long as they never, ever, ever wear those orange pants again I think everything will be fine.
If we can’t get Adams and/or Nkemdiche I hope for Bostwick, Reed, Ramsey, Powell, Collins, Clark, and Swanson.
Zach,
Any info on if we have any interest in trying to to get Durham smythe? I know we still gave a little depth for TE but would be nice to pick up another one. Also just curious who the other recruits would be that were currently aiming for and have serious interest in being gators. Thanks man.
After seeing how Jones, Fowler, and Morrison played their first year, I can’t wait to see who is going to bring there A game from this years class.
IMO VHIII, A.Ful, D.Rob, and Alzone have the best chance to make a huge impact….CAN’T WAIT!!!
So hearing Ramsey decommitted from USC…any truth?
Ramsey would be a big momentum swing that would be clearly visible to other recruits. Clark, Bostwik, Reed, and Collins couldn’t ignore that type of impact. Any close this year would be stronger than what happened last year. Looking forward to watching the spring game.
@J Agreed. Last year’s whiff was a nightmare.
If we could get one more impact guy I’d be happy, just so that we don’t end on sour note. However, I’ve got to say, even without any additions, this is one of the best recruiting classes I can remember when you account for talent and need.
Great stuff, Zach…OK Doug-no orange pants-we got it (lol)…I’m concerned about Hearns…are his grades really that bad that he wouldn’t be able to comitt? I agree whole-heartedly w/ lizardgrad89…stars mean nothing-lets get & concentrate on the types of guys UF needs to make them better…rankings matter not in February but in January, after the season…Go Gators!!!!
I hear FSU may lose their OC to Miami, at least that’s the rumor going around right now. If so, Whitfield could be a serious possibility, but I’m not sure if he isn;t just at UF trying to recruit for the nolies.
Mailbag questions: Do we even want Powell? That’s alot of work to get 6 lbs to have 3 transfer in the next two years.
Can you give us a list of visitors this weekend? Just heard another Free Shoes commit is coming.
What’s your gut tell you on Ramsey and Reed and Clark? Those three are the big ones I want (that are realistic).
What do you know about the new DL coach? I’m assuming if nothing else he’s a stud recruiter?
Is there still an OL in the mix?
THANKS!
Bostwick is down to 3. Do we have a shot? Ramsey and/or Collins?
I have a real strong feeling we will have those last 3 added to our 27 and have a #1 final class….We will maybe add a couple more 4 and 5 stars to round out the lineup….Im excited about next season. Go Coach Boom!!!!!
Bob in Jupiter
Don’t be surprised if we pull a couple away from FSU at the last minute with their OC leaving for Miami. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit, because FSU has lost 6 assistants including both coordinators, and that’s like replacing almost an entire coaching staff. It WILL hurt them on NSD IMO.
BOB, I have a feeling we won’t have 27 much longer. Hearns’ grades are hurting him and I think he’s getting afraid of the depth chart with Anzalone’s arrival in Gainesville.
So we’ve parted with J. Hearns…we need MLBs (plural) bad! None of the current recuits look ready to play inside at this level. We’re replacing the entire middle of our defense…that worries me. I hope Ronald Powell can stand in there…
Dang, the next couple of weeks ought to be fun.
Gators. Win or lose.
Has anyone heard anything about LB Darren Hambrick Jr. and his recruitment? I saw him play his Soph season and was impressed. He’s very aggressive and comes from an NFL bloodline…and we need MLBs. Zach are we in-touch with K. Kelsey at all? I recall you saying he was looking at Louisville, Kentucky and others, Our OLB recruits better be ready for some cross-training and head banging on the INSIDE!
[…] I mentioned in my story Wednesday, Miami and Arkansas appear to have pulled ahead of Florida. The Gators had the advantage in […]
Oh, by the way Zach, GREAT JOB! Why pay Rivals, when we get better info from you and its FREE! Keep up the great work! THANKS
Among a number of strong comments here, I wanted to cite “Doug” in particular for “getting it right” on “BIG PICTURE” and “OVERVIEW” comments here: I, TOO, feel that it is the high QUALITY of the young men Muschamp & Co. are bringing in, thanks to a steadfast commitment to high standards of character, personality and intelligence, that is the “extra edge” that will make this and future classes “special”–and yield a dominant program that is about to embark on what will be for us an HISTORIC run of successful seasons.
That, and (as Doug also warns) staying away from those God-awful orange pants, that only appeared during the Pell reign–and THEN only to echo and underline his previous success at Clemson, a dumb idea AND reference that should never have been made in the FIRST place!