Gut Feelings: Post Orange & Blue Game thoughts on Gators recruiting
With Saturday’s Orange & Blue Game in the books, here are some thoughts on several recruits who visited the Florida Gators during spring practice — along with a couple who did not.
***
*We continue to hear Florida is in a strong spot with safety Kaylib Singleton of Fleming Island (Fla.) and his visit to Gainesville on Saturday only helped the Gators. Singleton might have a 3-star rating, but the Florida staff was on him early and has him higher on the board than many 4-stars. The Gators love his size (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) and great speed. He’s clocked a 10.54 in the 100 meters. First-year Florida secondary coach Will Harris spent lots of time with Singleton after the Orange & Blue Game and is really locked in on him. Trusted sources tell us the Gators love where they sit here — and we do, too. That said, LSU recently offered and perhaps that is something to track. Right now, though, we think Florida is the clear team to beat.
Can the Florida Gators flip a recruit from another SEC school?
*We’ve been pretty clear about this in our reporting for over a week — we don’t think Jeramiah McCloud, the 3-star Mississippi State pledge from Havana (Fla.) Gadsden County, will stick with his commitment to the Bulldogs. And for what it’s worth, it sounds like the Bulldogs don’t expect to keep him either. Honestly, it would be a surprise if he’s still on the Mississippi State commit list this time next week.
While McCloud continues to talk up Florida, Georgia and LSU, it’s our understanding the Gators and Tigers are recruiting him the hardest. We’re not quite sure where he sits on the Florida board, but the Gators do keep bringing him in for visits and an official is scheduled for June. If the Gators push, they’re going to have a real shot here.
*If one was to name the five prospects Florida made the biggest move with this spring, offensive tackle Ziyare Addison of Riverview (Fla.) Sumner probably would be on that list. Gators Online wasn’t getting much of a Gators vibe from Addison earlier this year, but then he visited Billy Napier’s program twice last week. On Thursday, Addison attended a Gators practice with his dad and it’s our understanding he got a ton of attention from the Florida staff.
Then, Addison returned with multiple people in his party Saturday and by all accounts the Gators further impressed him. FSU is the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine favorite, but Florida has put its foot on the gas and quickly become a factor. A strong official visit (May 31), could give the Gators another significant boost. Oregon is another program he seems to like a lot.
UF commit from Tampa appears to be locked in with Gators
*Yes, 4-star Gators running back commit Waltez Clark of Tampa (Fla.) Plant continues to hear from other schools, but right now it doesn’t seem as though Florida has much to worry about. Clark, who quietly visited the Gators a few weeks ago, doesn’t do many interviews (although Gators Online speaks to him regularly) so there’s a little bit of mystery with him.
But from speaking both with Clark and others in his orbit, we continue to hear his relationship with Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke is rock solid and that’s perhaps the biggest key to his recruitmen. By the way, we’re told the Gators staff was ecstatic about Clark posting a 100-meters time of 10.82 seconds last week.
*You have to give Florida credit for the early evaluation of 3-star offensive tackle Enoch Wangoy of Jacksonville (Fla.) Zarephath Academy. He was virtually unknown when the Gators took his commitment in early March. But the On3 rankings team is impressed by his combination of size and athleticism and there is some belief he has a chance to become a 4-star.
I saw Wangoy up close for the first time Saturday before the Orange & Blue Game and was impressed with his 6-foot-7, 314-pound body. He’s definitely got an NFL frame. And when talking to him, it’s clear he’s pretty smart. According to Wangoy, other programs (Tennessee being one) have reached out to him but right now he seems really happy with his commitment to Florida.
Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers both are optimistic about Malik Autry
*On April 10, we reported this about Auburn 4-star defensive line commit Malik Autry of Opelika (Ala.): “At Florida, the belief is it’s a Gators-Tigers battle and that if Autry doesn’t sign with Auburn, he’ll ink with Florida.” Since then, Autry has taken yet another multi-day visit to Gainesville and he will return to Gainesville on June 14 for an official.
By our count, Autry has visited the Gators six times. So, what does Auburn think about all this? We asked around it seems the Tigers don’t yet seem to be overly worried. So what we have right now is one of those situations where both programs seem to be getting good vibes. Autry said Saturday the schools were “neck and neck.” If all goes as planned, this recruitment will be over by August or September.
*It’s difficult to get a great read on Florida’s recruitment of FSU 3-star quarterback commit Tramell Jones of Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin. He visited Gainesville last week and we continue to hear it’s possible he could return in the near future. That said, he told Gators Online he really only communicates with Gators coach Billy Napier and hasn’t has many conversations with Ryan O’Hara, who coaches the Florida quarterbacks.
Our belief is Jones wouldn’t be easy to flip from the Seminoles, but it’s clear he likes the Gators a lot. Florida is really the only other program involved at this time. If Jones does in fact visit the Gators again than perhaps we’ll have to watch this one a little more closely.
UF seems to have made a strong move with a south Florida defender
*It really feels like the Gators have made a significant move this spring with Floyd Boucard, the emerging 3-star defensive lineman at Miami (Fla.) Central. Florida got him on campus twice in the past four weeks, he’s really bonding with the staff and seems to feel at home in Gainesville. People close to Boucard think Florida has a chance to be a real factor in this recruitment and probably sit in his top three or four right now. Miami and Penn State are two other programs of note here. Boucard, a native of Canada, plans to officially visit the Gators in June.
*With 5-star receiver Caleb Cunningham of Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County, who visited the Gators over the weekend, optimism seems to be fairly high in Starkville, Miss., right now and Mississippi State is the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine favorite. We’re told the Bulldogs primarily view Alabama, Ole Miss and Florida as the biggest threats. By the way, Cunningham had multiple family members with him in Gainesville and they all seemed to enjoy the visit.
Florida Gators legacy recruit being treated like a priority by UF
*I continue to like Florida in the recruitment of Gators legacy CJ Ingram, the 3-star athlete from Hawthorne (Fla.). Florida likes him at receiver but apparently will watch him throw this spring. Ingram plays quarterback at Hawthorne and has won back-to-back state titles. Thus far, the Gators probably have pursued Ingram the hardest, but Louisville is recruiting him at quarterback.
Another dynamic in play here is that Ingram wants to also give basketball a try in college. Ingram is optimistic more colleges will watch him practice this spring and offer. To be honest, it’s a little surprising his offer list isn’t stronger given his frame, athleticism and skillset. But what I can tell you is the Gators aren’t concerned about why Ingram doesn’t have more offers. They like him a lot — and want him in the class. And so far, they seem to be pushing all the right buttons. Look for Ingram to officially visit the Gators in late June.
*Last week, we reported Akylin Dear, the 4-star running back from Quitman (Miss.) who committed to Ole Miss on March 30, hasn’t shut things down with other schools and Florida still is heavily recruiting him. As we also noted, Dear has an official visit to Florida scheduled for June 5 and as of now we’re told that visit still is on. Some inside the Gators program don’t think that recruitment is over …. however, one person we spoke to from Mississippi on Sunday told us they’d be surprised if anyone can pull Dear away from the Rebels.
UF-Auburn battle for another Tigers commit
*As the Gators push hard to flip 4-star offensive tackle Tavaris Dice of Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes from Auburn, the Tigers aren’t going down without a fight. Flipping him was never going to be easy, but sources say Auburn views Dice as a high-value recruit and as such is working overtime to keep him on board. At last check, Dice planned to officially visit the Gators on June 14. This may sound like we’re stating the obvious but Auburn does not want him making that visit.
*According to sources, Ole Miss also might currently be the front-runner for 3-star Madison (Miss.) Central tight end Micah Jones, a player the Gators seem to like a good bit.. But Florida certainly looks like a strong contender. He visited the Gators in early March and plans to return for an official visit May 31. Ole Might and Florida could be the two to watch, but Alabama is another program to track. The Tide and LSU also probably will get officials.
*The Gators were late to the offer party with Newberry (Fla.) 3-star defensive lineman Jarquez Carter, but they’ve made significant strides in the past three months thanks to a variety of reasons. For starters, he’s developed a good relationship with first-year defensive line coach Gerald Chatman. But in this recruitment, Florida defensive line assistant Luis Mcleod also has a significant role. He’s a Gainesville native who has known Carter for quite awhile. Not only does Carter think highly of Mcleod, so does Carter’s mother.
The latest on 2 running backs with Florida Gators offers
*When 4-star Seffner (Fla.) Armwood running back Girard Pringle visited the Gators in early March, he said they’d get an official visit in June. But then Pringle committed to Miami two weeks later. At last check, we were told Pringle had shut things down and was solid to the ‘Canes for the time being. Pringle’s speed was one thing that got Florida’s attention. He came in just behind Clark, the Gators commit, with a 10.83 in the 100 meters, last week at the Hillsborough County Track and Field Championships.
*Even though 4-star running back Ousmane Kromah of Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County has a Gators official scheduled for June 14, I’m skeptical about Florida’s chances here. Not only has a source told us communication between the two sides hasn’t been that consistent of late, it’s sounds like FSU is the favorite and Georgia has started to ramp things up.
The post Gut Feelings: Post Orange & Blue Game thoughts on Gators recruiting appeared first on On3.
