3 recruiting thoughts after the Florida Gators’ big weekend

This weekend’s major commitment haul by the Florida Gators propelled Billy Napier’s program back into the national spotlight. When Saturday began, Florida sat outside the top 10 of the On3 recruiting team rankings. By the time the day was over, four 4-star commitments had moved the Gators all the way up to No. 3.

Here are three Florida recruiting thoughts after an interesting weekend …

1: To turn this program around and make Florida a player again on the national scene, signing more elite talent is a must. This isn’t up for debate. It’s an indisputable fact. Everyone know it, from the staff to the fans. The Gators simply won’t return to the top if the roster isn’t upgraded.

But landing high-level players isn’t easy. You’re facing programs that, quite frankly, have had more success on the field of late than Florida.

So as the Gators get into more of these battles, one has to understand the simple fact that you won’t land all of the top targets. Or even half of them. In fact, one in three is a heck of a percentage. Napier knows this. So does his staff. For fans, it’s probably a harder reality to grasp, but it’s something with which they must come to terms.

Florida has climbed into this ring more this cycle than in recent memory. It’s going to take some body blows in the process. But it’s also going to land a few shots along the way. In these types of fights, things often go 15 rounds.

But the feeling at Florida HQ is, persistence here will pay dividends.

Saturday, you saw Florida score wins over Florida State, Miami and Penn State. And currently, they’re battling the likes Georgia, Alabama and LSU for other targets.

2. From talking with sources, there is a great emphasis in Gainesville right now on building this program up on both sides of the line with bigger bodies. The SEC has become a size league up front. And the Gators want to get bigger. The two recent additions to the offensive line — Noel Portnjagin and Mike Williams — both are north of 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds. Four-star defensive lineman Nasir Johnson, who committed Saturday, is 6-4 and over 300 pounds. Defensive line target Michai Boireau is 6-5 and AT LEAST 350.

3. Let’s take a look at Florida’s strategy of hosting lots of official visitors in June.

If my math is correct, the Gators have had 44 of them this month with double-digit totals each of the previous three weekends. Some programs went in the other direction and will host maybe one or two big weekends in June.

There’s no right way or wrong way to do this. Each staff has to do what it feels is best for the program at that given time.

Florida apparently thought it was imperative to lay the groundwork early in the official visit cycle — and thus far the Gators have six commitments in June. Five of those players officially visited this month. And, it seems very possible, even likely, more verbals could come in the near future from players who have officially visited the Gators in June.

Of Florida’s 44 June officials, 37 arrived in town not committed to the Gators. Florida now has five of those 37 players on board, for a 13.5% commitment rate.

Obviously, the complete picture will be a lot more clear down the road, but thus far the numbers seem to be fairly solid.

Here are the June commitment totals as of 9 a.m. Monday for the teams ranked 1-5 in the On3 recruiting team rankings …

1: Georgia: 3

2: Ohio State: 1

3: Florida: 6

4: Alabama: 1

5: Michigan: 4

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