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12/29 Insider Recruiting Report

Mark Wheeler

Inside the Gators Publisher
May 2, 2004
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Blake Alderman has hit the phone over the last couple of days gathering information for the Insider Report.

FLORIDA TRENDING FOR COMMITTED LINEMAN

Florida recently landed a commitment from Rivals250 offensive guard TJ Moore to go along with Rivals250 offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort. However, the Gators aren’t quite done yet with their offensive line class. Another name that has picked up a lot of buzz in regards to the Gators is Rivals250 offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert, who is committed to Michigan.

Herbert has already used his official visit to Michigan, and is planning to visit both Miami and Florida next month, with the Gators getting him on campus the final weekend before signing day. Over the last several weeks the momentum seems to be pointing towards Florida as the team with the best chance to flip Hebert, and the confidence is certainly growing from the Gators’ coaching staff.

He has also been pressed about the Gators by his two teammates - James Houston and Marco Wilson - who are also committed to UF as well. Quarterback commit Jake Allen has also been in Herbert’s ear for many months now.

Florida is only looking for one more offensive lineman in this class with Herbert, four-star Tony Gray, four-star Stephan Zabie, and three-star Caleb Chandler as very real options remaining on the board.

DEFENSIVE LINE TARGETS

Filling slots along the defensive line is a big priority for Florida, and the list of possible candidates is growing.

Earlier this week Florida offered Virginia defensive tackle Elijah Conliffe and is a school he could visit sometime after the dead period. Penn State seems to be Florida’s biggest competition there.

Florida will be getting the final official visit from Rivals100 defensive end LaBryan Ray. Alabama has gotten the most buzz in this recruitment, but the Gators’ staff has been pushing hard as they feel Ray has 'first round' type of talent, and have told him such. In fact the Gators feel they are a dark horse team worth watching here, with their need for early contributors along the defensive line. Things will still need to play out, but Florida should not be taken lightly here. This is a guy the staff wants badly.

Despite their commitment to Maryland the Florida Gators are still looking at the brother duo of Breyon and Brandon Gaddy. Before the duo committed to the Terps, they were committed to Tennessee, but due to academic issues they backed off that pledge. The Gators are very interested in both players, but are waiting to see if they would be able to get them into school. If everything checks out, the Gators will be going all in to land them, and will aim to get both on campus for an official visit.

THIS & THAT

The Gators are looking to make a major push for Rivals100 wide receiver James Robinson, and will make him a priority on this final stretch before signing day. Robinson recently locked in his visit to Florida for the weekend of January 13th and will also see Alabama and Ole Miss before signing day. When pressed this earlier in the week Robinson admitted Florida was the team standing out above the crowd.

Florida remains in good standing with four-star defensive backs C.J Henderson and Brad Stewart. Both have been seen as Florida leans for some time now, but with other visits planned to other schools, the Gators are far from out of the woods with either. The Gators will get the final visit for both prospects so for the time being all things seem positive for the Gators here.

Four-star linebacker Levi Jones surprised many naming Florida State his leader upon his arrival to Under Armour week. However it doesn’t seem like much should be put into those claims, at least not quite yet. Jones has yet to visit Tallahassee, and while their staff is looking to host him on January 20th, he hasn’t officially locked in that date just yet. For the time being the only visit that has been set in stone is a visit to Florida on January 13th. Jones’ father was coached by Florida interim defensive coordinator Randy Shannon in the NFL, so there is a family tie here dating back to when Levi was a small boy. USC is a wild card here, but for the time being this is looking like a Florida-Florida State battle with Jones saying he wants to leave the state of Texas for college. A good visit to Florida could absolutely swing some momentum to UF.

Florida commit Elijah Blades caused quite a stir on social media when he took 'Florida commit' off of his Twitter bio. It hasn’t helped ease the nerves with Blades looking to take an official to Nebraska the weekend following his official visit to Florida. Despite these things, the Gators staff has kept in contact with Blades every day, and while Nebraska has been looking to make a push, Blades relationship with California area recruiter Tim Skipper should not be discounted. For now the concern of him flipping doesn’t seem to be too strong from the Gators end, as they have continued to sell him on a chance to play as a true freshman in the SEC.
 
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