The Florida Gators are making a late push to solidify their 2015 recruiting class, the very first one constructed by new head coach Jim McElwain just one week before National Signing Day.
McElwain was hired less than two months ago and given the task of trying to build and improve upon a potentially disastrous incoming class he inherited from outgoing head coach Will Muschamp.
The Gators had only eight commitments and were ranked near the the very bottom of both the conference and country (often ranking between 88th and 100th) by nearly every well respected recruiting publication in the country. McElwain’s hire began showing dividends almost immediately with his first signing being three-star tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe in December just before the recruiting “cold/dead period.” McElwain followed that up by beginning the final two weeks before National Signing Day gaining even more momentum with his first four-star commitment, defensive end Jabari Zuniga. Zuniga could see early playing time on an already extremely talented defense and shows that not all defensive recruits were scared away by the Muschamp firing.
The versatile and well-rounded coaching staff that McElwain assembled has also begun to pay dividends. Defensive players are remaining interested because of the possibility of playing on the “Psycho Defense” led by defensive coordinator Geoff Collins. Linebacker coach and co-defensive coordinator Randy Shannon had his hands all over the Gators latest commitment, three-star south Florida native Rayshad Jackson. Jackson is a linebacker and will be coached directly by Shannon, something that very likely appealed to him greatly. The Gators have a very deep secondary so they need to remain focused on their front seven and Jackson helps address that need.
The Gators have begun to build momentum with these three new signings and it could pay off in a big way on National Signing Day as they find themselves still in the mix for three of the top five undecided recruits in the country. Two of them are very impressive looking defensive ends CeCe Jefferson and Bryan Cowart. Auburn and former head coach Will Muschamp are major competition for Cowart while Jefferson appeared to enjoy himself on his recent visit to Ole Miss tremendously. Both men could be game changers on the defensive line and would really help alleviate some of the burden left behind with the departure of Dante Fowler Jr. to the NFL.
The Gators are also salivating at the possibilities of landing the very best offensive tackle prospect in the country, Martez Ivey. Coach McElwain has stressed the importance of the offensive line and Florida has already assembled a core group of three-star offensive linemen in Tyler Jordan, Brandon Sandifer, and Mike Horton to try and re-build the protection from the ground up. Ivey would certainly be welcomed with open arms and become the center piece of the line. The blind side tackle position is crucial to protecting a young and inexperienced quarterback.
The Gators will be going into next season with two highly touted recruits from last year at quarterback in Will Grier and Treon Harris. Harris is only a sophomore and gained valuable experience late in the season which included leading the Gators to a bowl victory during a time of tremendous change in the program. Grier is coming off a redshirt season and will only be a freshman. However, having two young quarterbacks with lots of potential won’t stop McElwain from making a strong push for Louisville commit Lamar Jackson. The Gators want a strong backup just in case the eventual loser of the Grier/Harris quarterback competition decides to move on to another school. McElwain also wants to recruit his own guy to throw into the mix for spring practice and having depth at the quarterback position is never a negative. Just look back at the Gators 2013 season when they couldn’t keep anyone healthy at the position.
Florida is also hoping to sway the opinions of two other offensive playmakers, Jordan Scarlett and Chris Williamson. Scarlett is a University of Miami running back commit who took his official visit to Gainsville this past weekend. He has explosive speed and would be a nice compliment to the current stable of running backs. Randy Shannon is likely very involved with Scarlett’s recruiting despite coaching the other side of the ball.
Williamson has taken an official visit to UF, received in-home visits from the coaching staff, and tweeted recruiting pictures sent via the school. The wide receiver is currently undecided, but the Gators are in the mix along with Michigan, North Carolina, and California. Michigan has built a strong class in a short period of time under new head coach Jim Harbough and could be the toughest competition for the Gators.
It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish and the Gators are hoping to finish strong over this final week before National Signing Day. They have already improved their ranking in some publications, but with only ten commits and 16 scholarships still available, they will need to finish strong and are hopeful of signing some of those highly ranked recruits still on the fence in order to have a class that stacks up with their SEC foes.
Coach McElwain and his staff still have a lot of work to do, but they have done a very good job with the hand they have been dealt in a short amount of time thus far, we’ll see how they finish.
Here is a list of their current commits:
Jabari Zuniga (four-star defensive end, Marietta, GA)
Daniel Imatorbhebhe (three-star tight end, Suwanee, GA)
Kalif Jackson (three-star wide receiver, Neptune Beach, FL)
Derrick Dillon (four-star wide receiver, Franklinton, LA)
Tyler Jordan (three-star center/offensive lineman, Jacksonville, FL)
Brandon Sandifer (three-star guard/offensive lineman, Warner Robbins, GA)
Mike Horton (three-star tackle/offensive lineman, Atlanta, GA)
Camrin Knight (three-star tight end, Tallahassee, FL)
Andrew Ivie (three-star defensive tackle, Dade City, FL)
Rayshad Jackson (three-star linebacker; Randy Shannon special, Miami roots)
Names To Watch: CeCe Jefferson, Bryan Cowart, Martez Ivey, Jordan Scarlett, Lamar Jackson.
In the “it’s way to early to talk 2016 recruiting” department, the Gators landed 2016 WR recruit Rick Wells over the weekend.
We will have more updates on recruits as they come in over the next week, keep checking back to Last Word on Sports for the latest.
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