Florida Gators set to host On300 offensive tackle Marques Easley
Although the Gators recently fell short of making his top 10, four-star offensive tackle Marques Easley will be spending his Saturday with Billy Napier’s staff.
Easley, a 2024 prospect from Kankakee, Illinois, was offered by Florida in February after speaking with offensive coordinator Rob Sale. There are times a program will take a step back after not landing on a prospect’s top list of schools, but that was not the case with the Gators. They continued to battle through the adversity and are now getting rewarded with a spring visit.
In addition to the Gators, Easley possesses offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, USC, Oregon, Tennessee, Florida State, Texas A&M and Auburn among others.
“He said it was going on his second year and that he’s looking for dogs to play in the trenches. He said he likes what I can do and that I can be special,” Easley previously said of Sale when speaking with Gators Online.
“Growing up, I didn’t watch much college ball but loved playing the game. Florida, I know they breed dogs, make dogs and send dogs to where they want to go.”
Several official visits are locked into the calendar
Right now, the 6-foot-7, 300-pound junior has official visits scheduled with four schools: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Prospects are only permitted to officially visit five schools, but starting on July 1, they will have an unlimited amount of official visits to help guide them through the finish line.
As for the Gators, that obviously gives them a better chance at landing additional highly-regarded prospects. As it pertains solely to Easley, however, they will have to earn an official visit either way. It’s still very early in the recruiting cycle, but it starts during today’s visit in Gainesville.
According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Easley is the No. 18 offensive tackle and No. 237 prospect regardless of position. He is a top-five junior in the state of Illinois as well.
The Volunteers, according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine, are trending with odds of 20.6 percent; however, it’s extremely close at the top right now, as Alabama and Georgia check in with percentages of 18 and 15.4, respectively.
Additional prospects are meeting with the Gators on Saturday
Four-star quarterback Austin Simmons is committed to the Gators for the class of 2025, but Billy Napier’s staff is still evaluating other signal callers. There is always the chance of Simmons reclassifying as well, so the Gators are still courting other quarterbacks.
One of them is Akili Smith Jr. of San Diego (Cali.) Lincoln. The four-star prospect checks in as the No. 5-ranked quarterback and No. 39-ranked prospect overall in his class, possessing scholarship offers from roughly a half-dozen programs.
Among those in pursuit early on are Oregon, Arizona, Michigan, Miami and Boston College. The Gators are monitoring Smith’s success and recently offered another quarterback as well; will the West Coast native be next?
Another offer candidate for the Gators on Saturday is 2026 athlete Amari Sabb.
A product of Glassboro (N.J.) High, Sabb has racked up offers from Georgia, Oregon, Michigan, Ole Miss, Penn State, Rutgers and Maryland among others. Today will mark the freshman’s first-ever trip to UF.
Although it’s very early, the Nittany Lions are trending in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.
Then you have fellow 2026 prospect and Pennsylvania-based wide receiver, Elias Coke. And like Sabb, he does not own a scholarship offer from the Gators but is making his mark early on.
Coke, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, possesses offers from over a dozen programs, including Michigan State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Purdue. We will see if UF takes that step next.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
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