The Florida Gators ended their 2019 season on a high note in Dan Mullen’s second year as Florida’s head coach. Florida went 11-2 and defeated the Virginia Cavaliers in the Orange Bowl and finished with a top ten ranking. That helps this Florida Gators recruiting class.
Heading into spring camp, the Gators were the hottest team on the recruiting trail landing blue chip recruits and the #1 recruiting class in the country on Rivals. However, the COVID-19 outbreak, put everything to a halt.
With that, Florida started to struggle on the recruiting trail and lost all of its momentum. Florida still has one of the top ranked classes in the country and have many of their top targets still available. The Gators currently have 14 commits and could sign 22-25 recruits in this class. Here is the Florida Gators 2021 mock recruiting class 1.0.
Florida Gators 2021 Mock Recruiting Class 1.0
Quarterback: Carlos Del Rio
Dan Mullen and Brian Johnson were quick to get their quarterback for the 2021 recruiting class. Four-star quarterback Carlos Del Rio committed to Florida in July of 2019.
Since his commitment, Del Rio has solely focused on adding more talent to the Gators 2021 recruiting. He even brought in one of his high school teammates and both of them are very active on Twitter tweeting at other players to go to Florida.
Del Rio is the 169th ranked recruit and 11th ranked pro-style quarterback in the country. Del Rio’s biggest strengths are his mechanics, arm strength and size. His mobility is a bit underrated as he’s not a burner with his legs but he moves around well enough to keep plays alive and find an open receiver downfield.
Running Back: Trevion Cooley
Recruiting at the running back has been a rough as it can be for the Gators. Florida whiffed on many top ranked backs such as Zachary Evans, Demarkcus Bowman, Jahmyr Gibbs, and others.
Florida has continued to struggle as they currently do not have a running back committed in the class. IMG Academy running back Lovasea Carroll named Florida as his leader but would end up committing to the Georgia Bulldogs. The one running back has Florida seems to be leading for is three-star Trevion Cooley. Florida is currently battling with Duke for the North Carolina native
Cooley is 5’10” and weighs about 200 pounds. He’s a power back that does most of his work in between the tackles. In his junior season, Cooley rushed just short of 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Wide Receiver: Trevonte Rucker, Daejon Reynolds And Marcus Burke
The Gators have been doing a great job of recruiting the wide receiver position especially when three receivers get drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. Florida currently have two wide receivers committed in the class with Trevonte Rucker and Daejon Reynolds.
Rucker was already committed to Florida at one point but decided to back off his commitment. After a few months, he decided to rejoin the class and shut down his recruitment. Rucker is a Top 200 recruit and one of the top wide receivers in the country.
Reynolds made his commitment to the Gators just days before the 2020 National Signing Day. He is teammates with Gators quarterback commit Carlos Del Rio at Grayson High School in Georgia. Reynolds has been very solid to the Gators and has done a tremendous job recruiting for the Gators.
Marcus Burke is currently an uncommitted recruit but is considered to be a heavy Florida lean. In early March, Burke named the Gators his leader while he was on campus for a Junior Day. The 6’3” 180 pound wide receiver is high on the Gators recruiting board.
Tight End: Gage Wilcox And Nick Elksnis
Kyle Pitts is arguably the best tight end in the country and most likely will leave after the 2020 season for the NFL Draft. With that being said, Florida will need to have two tight ends in their class which is something Florida’s tight end coach, Tim Brewster, has already done.
Gage Wilcox was the first tight end to make his commitment to the Florida Gators. Wilcox is a four-star tight end out of Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida. Wilcox picked the Gators over schools like Alabama and Georgia. He has remained solid with the Gators since.
Nick Elksnis would also committed to the Gators in just two weeks after Wilcox committed. At that time, Elksnis was committed to Penn State but decided to back off his pledge to the Nittany Lions. A week after his decommitment, Elksnis was on Florida’s back and decided to make his commitment to the Gators. Elksnis is a three-star tight end out of Episcopal High School.
Offensive Line: George Jackson, Javonte Gardner, Adrien Strickland, Deyavie Hammond and Jake Slaughter
Florida’s offensive line was the biggest weakness on the Gators offense last season. Florida did make a big move as they picked one of the top offensive lineman in the Transfer Portal. Former Mississippi State offensive lineman, Stewart Reese, only lasted two days in the portal as he knew that he wanted to go to Florida.
Besides grabbing a graduate transfer in Reese, the Gators also have three offensive lineman committed in the class in Georgia Jackson, Javonte Gardner, and Adrien Strickland.
Jackson has been a long time Florida commit as he made his pledge to the Gators in 2018. Jackson has not wavered on his commitment to Florida as he holds offers from schools like Auburn and FSU.
Gardner is another recruit that committed to Florida and hasn’t taken visit to other programs. Gardner is a 6’5” 290 pound offensive tackle in Orlando, Florida with offers from schools like South Carolina and Tennessee.
Strickland is one of the two commits Florida has landed during the coronavirus outbreak. He made his commitment to the Gators on May 15th just a few days after receiving an offer from them.
Deyavie Hammond is one of the JUCO recruits in the 2021 recruiting class. On 247Sports, Hammond is the ninth ranked JUCO recruit and #1 JUCO offensive guard in the country. Hammond was originally in the Gators 2019 recruiting class but he qualify academically. If Hammond can qualify at Florida, he’ll be in the class.
Lastly, Jake Slaughter is one of the top ranked centers in the country. He is currently committed to the Florida State Seminoles but that could change soon. Once Slaughter received his offer from Florida, he has taken virtual visits with the Gators and has been high on the Gators.
Defensive Tackle: Christopher Thomas, Leonard Taylor and Desmond Watson
The defensive tackle recruiting has been amazing for the Gators after they sign one five-star and three four-star defensive tackles in the 2020 recruiting class. Florida is expected to sign another big defensive tackle class with so many top defensive tackles in Florida.
Christopher Thomas is currently the only defensive tackle committed to the Gators 2021 recruiting class. Thomas made his commitment to Gators last September and hasn’t visited other schools. Thomas committed to Florida over programs like Georgia, LSU and Wisconsin.
Leonard Taylor is one of the most wanted recruits on Florida’s recruiting board. Taylor is a high four-star recruit out of Miami Palmetto High School. Taylor is considered to be a Florida lean and had them in his most recent top five list which also included Auburn, LSU, Miami and Tennessee.
Desmond Watson is another four-star defensive tackle that is high on Florida’s recruiting board. The Gators recently picked up one of his teammates at Armwood High School. Watson also released a top three list last week which included Florida, LSU and Texas A&M. Florida is considered to be the leader here.
Defensive Ends: Tyreak Sapp, Justus Boone And Bryce Langston
Florida signed two blue chip defensive ends in the 2020 recruiting class with Antwaun Powell and Princely Umanmielen. In the 2021 recruiting class, Florida already has two four-star defensive ends committed with Tyreak Sapp and Justus Boone.
Sapp has been committed to the Gators since Christmas Eve of 2018. Since then, he has risen through the recruiting rankings and grabbed attention of some of the top programs in the country. Sapp remains committed to Florida but they’ll need to a good job of keeping other programs such as Ohio State away.
Boone is the second ranked recruit in the state of South Carolina. Boone committed to the Gators last February as he picked Florida over schools like Georgia, Oklahoma, Penn State and South Carolina.
Langston was originally committed to the Gators but backed off last summer. Since then, he has been visit schools all around the country and is finally down to two schools. His final two schools are the Florida Gators and LSU Tigers. Florida is rumored to be in the lead for the Vanguard defensive end.
Linebackers: Chief Borders And Diwun Black
Linebacker coach Christian Robinson continues to do a great job recruiting elite talent. He signed four-star outside linebacker Derek Wingo last recruiting class and already has two four-stars committed in the 2021 class. Chief Borders and Diwun Black were both recruited to play outside linebacker at Florida.
Chief Borders is the 294th ranked recruit and the 20th ranked outside linebacker in the country. Borders has remained solid to Florida since his commitment and holds offers from FSU, Georgia, Oregon and Tennessee.
Diwun Black was originally part of the Gators 2019 recruiting class but didn’t qualify at Florida. Black went to Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. and won a National Championship there. He is also the top ranked JUCO recruit in the 2021 recruiting class. Black is extremely solid to Florida and will enroll at the University of Florida in December if he can qualify academically.
Cornerbacks: Clinton Burton Jr And Jason Marshall
The Gators have always done a good job of recruiting the best cornerbacks in the country. In the 2021 class, they already have a blue chip corner committed in Clinton Burton Jr. Florida is also in the mix with five-star Jason Marshall.
Burton Jr. is one of the top commits in the Florida Gators 2021 recruiting class. He is the 180th raked recruit and the 14th ranked cornerback in the country. Burton committed to Florida in early September over Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Penn State.
Jason Marshall is another Miami Palmetto recruit that is one of the most wanted recruits on Florida’s recruiting board. Marshall is a five-star recruit and the third ranked cornerback in the country. The Gators in good shape with him and if today was National Signing Day, Marshall would be a Gator.
Safety: Ahmari Harvey
Ahmari Harvey is one of the top ranked safeties in the 2021 recruiting class. Harvey was considered to be a Florida State lean and been leaning towards the Gators. Before the coronavirus, it looked like Harvey was ready to commit to Florida. That has since changed and the race for Harvey is getting tighter between Florida and FSU.
Florida might have the slight edge here over the hometown Seminoles. If Florida misses on Harvey, they’re still in the mix with two four-star safeties Terrion Arnold and Donovan McMillon.
Athlete: Charles Montgomery And Brashard Smith
The athlete position is one of the positions Florida didn’t sign a player. Florida currently has one committed and are trying to get back one of their former commits.
Four-star athlete Charles Montgomery is the latest to make his pledge to the Gators. Montgomery committed to Florida over Maryland last Sunday on an Instagram Live story. On Rivals, Montgomery is the 200th ranked recruit and the 13th ranked athlete in the country. Montgomery is open to play any position at Florida but his skillset best fits him to be an all-purpose back or slot receiver.
Brashard Smith is another Miami Palmetto recruit that Florida is pushing for. Smith recently decommitted from the Gators but mentioned that Florida still leads in his recruitment and he just wanted to take visits with his teammates. He’s an explosive athlete that can be an all-purpose back or slot receiver at the next level. Smith also released a top five last Thursday which included Auburn, Florida, Miami, Oregon and Tennessee.
