Florida Gators take next step with No. 1-ranked interior offensive lineman SJ Alofaituli
Over the past 24 hours, the Gators have expanded their big boards for multiple positional groups in the 2025 class, especially along the offensive line.
One of the recipients of a scholarship offer from Billy Napier’s staff was All-American SJ Alofaituli.
Representing powerhouse Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman, Alofaituli is the No. 1-ranked interior offensive lineman in his class. He is also the 82nd-ranked prospect overall. That is according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
“They won three national titles in the last 20 years,” Alofaituli said of Florida when speaking with Gators Online. “I love Emmitt Smith. And their worst lost against their rivals in 1994, those are the best games because they burn you to always be better.
“I personally experienced that during my first year at Bishop Gorman when we played Arizona. Personally, it was one of my best games, but the loss was painful.”
Like the additional offensive linemen who were offered this week, Alofaituli learned of his latest Power Five opportunity when speaking with Gators offensive coordinator and co-offensive line coach, Rob Sale.
“Coach Rob Sale was the one that called and offered me on behalf of the college,” said Alofaituli. “He was easy going to talk to. Overall, the vibe was great.”
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Visiting the Gators is high on the wish list for Alofaituli
While a date is not scheduled, the 6-foot-3, 270-pound Alofaituli says he would love to visit the Gators during the first half of 2024. Making that trip during the season is highly unlikely due to distance.
In addition to UF, Alofaituli possesses offers from Alabama, Georgia, USC, Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma, Michigan, Tennessee and Miami among others.
“Too soon to tell, but it’s up there,” Alofaituli replied when asked where Florida fits into his recruitment.
On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine
According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, hometown UNLV holds the early advantage, but those odds are just at 7.2 percent. USC comes in at No. 2 with a percentage of just 6.3.
RPM was released to the public in December 2021. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college.
It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
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