Happy preseason, fellow Gator fans! Here's the latest edition of my ever-modifying mock class. Like the previous versions, it will be incorrect. But, I hope it proves to be a fun read either way. Let me know what you think:
7/2/21 Version
7/15/21 Version
1) QB Nick Evers Committed
2) RB Terrance Gibbs Committed
3) RB Jaylon Glover
4) TE CJ Hawkins Committed
5) WR Evan Stewart
6) WR Isaiah Bond - Committed
7) WR Chandler Smith - Committed
8) WR Quan Lee
9) OL Tony Livingston Committed
10) OL Eston Harris
11) OL David Conner - Committed
12) OL Ja'Kavion Nonar
13) DT Chris McLellan
14) DT Jamari Lyons
15) DE Francois Nolton Committed
16) LB Shemar James Committed
17) LB EJ Lightsey Committed
18) DB Julian Humphrey Committed
19) DB Azareyeh Thomas
20) DB Jamarrien Burt Committed
21) P Trey Smack Committed+
Class score: 263.59
Where that would rank over the past-5 years:
2017 9
2018 13
2019 14
2020 10
2021 12
Top-50 prospects 1
Top-100 prospects 4
Top-150 prospects 5
Players removed from the previous version:
OL Jacob Hood Georgia seems like the likely destination
WR Jayden Gibson The UF legacy has commented extensively on his difficulty getting to know Dan Mullen. Miami & Georgia are the teams to watch unless things change.
OL Leyton Nelson Chose UCF over UF.
DT Walter Nolen See below for more info.
DT Jordan Phillips Still think the good guys could circle back here, depending on what happens with McLellan.
S Tre Donaldson Appears to be Auburn bound and it doesn't seem like UF is willing to press right now.
Players added since the previous version:
WR Quan Lee This one is an admitted reach. On the plus side, he's local & he camped well at FNL. It makes sense for UF to consider him the next guy up if Gibson is gone. But then again, he doesn't scream "Billy Gonzales WR" to me, unless he's a better blocker than has been reported. The staff may settle on an excellent 3 WR group worry about adding the 4th later.
OL Eston Harris This one is a bit of a reach too (as is any OL with decent offers right now). But Harris has a top-3 of Auburn, FSU, and UF. With FSU's class already packed with quality OL prospects, this may be a winnable recruitment.
OL Ja'Kavion Nonar The Muck OT prospect should be in the class soon.
DL Chris McLellan Love this guy. While he wouldn't bring the same hype of landing the nation's top player (Nolen), he'd be a great consolation prize. Should be a quality SEC DL for UF who could move around a bit on Grantham's front (or whoever becomes the new DC). UF is reportedly in the thick of it, but they have to close.
5 prospects who could further propel the class score:
**Note** - With August rapidly passing us by, this and future editions of the mock will approach this section with more consideration to class score impact on remaining spots. After all, we have a pretty good feel for which slots are still open in the class and what the board looks like. So, I'll emphasize UF's best shot to add the most-likely, most-impactful prospects at those positions.
DT Walter Nolen I still give UF about a 30-40% shot to land Nolen and I think he really likes the Gator program. But the people I've talked to are far less confident these days and it just feels like this one may be slipping. The emergence of Texas A&M and Tennessee shouldn't be overlooked, especially with Nolen's relocation to Knoxville. Moves of that sort aren't usually coincidental. Class score-wise, the addition of Nolen could add 4-6 points if he replaces Mclellan, or 10-12 as a 3rd DT (along with Mclellan and Lyons).
DE/Buck Marvin Jones Jr. The positive narrative on this guy states that mom likes UF and there are some factors in play that may not favor FSU. When you also consider Grantham's history of producing pass rushers and Mullen's pretty good success at recruiting defense, you could suggest some Khris Bogle vibes. But Miami and Alabama could also be big factors, even if he opts out of following dad's footsteps to FSU. He has one official left to schedule and I'd watch for him to show up in Gainesville for the 9/18 Alabama game. Points wise, the near-5-star is worth about 8-9 points as the last best chance for a buck.
OL Neto Umeozulu This spot was a coin flip decision with Julian Armella. I'm not confident with either, but UF simply doesn't have many blue chip OLs left on the wish list, let alone the realistic board. I went with Umeozulu, because UF's best 2022 recruiting momentum emanates from Texas right now. With the Evers family working this situation and with Stewart likely to jump on board, it's plausible that they reel this guy in. I've heard a little cautious optimism going around, but not enough to put him in the mock. Points wise, he's worth about 4 points if he replaces Eston Harris, and 5 points as an extra OL take.
DB Kamari Wilson Wilson appears headed for UGA right now and for the purposes of this exercise, you can use him interchangeably with Sam McCall or Jaheim Singletary. While all appear to be long shots right now, any of them would add around 10 points to UF's final class score.
RB Trevor Etienne I know several people who point to this guy as a likely addition to the class. There's good reason too, as choosing UF would put Trevor only an hour drive away from big brother Travis (in Jax). The only problem I see is that Trevor has healthy knees and scholarship offers from major FBS programs. These have been deal-breakers for high school RB prospects since Mullen arrived in town (Pierce was already committed when this staff arrived). In all seriousness though, this one could very well happen, but I'll have to see it to believe it. If the improbable happens, he would provide about a 3-to-4-point boost over where the score would be with Glover.
and now 5 who could sink the class score.
WR Evan Stewart Look, everything still sounds great at this point. In fact, the comments, reports, and buzz couldn't be much better and yet, Stewart isn't committed, despite the Evers fam being in the hip pocket of the recruitment. Saban is lurking, so sooner is better than later, because it's unlikely the good guys will get more momentum with this kid than they have right now. Missing Stewart would cost UF about 13 points, unless they land Jayden Gibson, which would reduce the difference to about 7.
DB Julian Humphrey Despite post-FNL reports that Humphrey was about to decommit, he hasn't. Texas A&M is probably the school he had in mind, but they recently landed top-50 DB prospect Deyon Bouie (and they already had Top-200 CB Bobby Taylor in the class). While he may not have the green light there, Georgia is apparently shooting their shot as well. If the kid is already looking for a better spot, we'll have to keep a close eye on the situation until the ink is dry. Losing him would cost 9-10 points.
DB Azareyeh Thomas Mullen and co are fighting LSU for Thomas and it sounds like this one could go either way. Heck, maybe he even ends up at Georgia Tech. He's worth 7-8 points to the class score unless his value can be replaced. Which I doubt. They need to close on this one.
OL/TE Tony Livingston - Livingston received an official offer from the staff, but there isn't much positive buzz on this situation. Between grade rumors and uncertainty about his eventual position, many feel like he won't be in the class which makes him a perfect candidate to be in the class. While his ranking continues to fall, as of today he would still be the third-highest ranked OL Mullen has signed at UF. If you omit Gouraige (who was already committed to UF when Mullen arrived) and Walker (who's gone), Livingston would be #1 on that list (yes, those are shaky parameters, just sayin'). His departure today would cost about 3-4 points from the class score.
WR Isaiah Bond UF is probably in good shape here, but we're talking about a Georgia prospect whose teammate just committed to Alabama. If Saban presses for Bond this fall, it could at least generate some flip anxiety on the board. As a mid-level 4-star, the loss of Bond wouldn't have a crushing point-loss impact on the class. But as the 2nd WR on this list and with Gibson already out of the mock, it'll be important to protect the positional group. There's no way the UF staff replaces Stewart's value, let alone the loss of an additional blue-chip WR.
My take:
As busy as summer has been, there are still a lot of moving parts that will impact UF's finish. Right now, I'm starting to buy the talk that the class could be a little smaller than expected, which will of course impact the point total and ranking. It also puts an even heavier pressure on the portal to provide replacement value at the empty slots and continues to crunch the annual initial counter supply.
This class can still end up in the 7-8 range, or lower than I care to discuss. Right now though, it's looking very familiar. Hopefully we get some nice surprises soon that change the outlook.
7/2/21 Version
7/15/21 Version
1) QB Nick Evers Committed
2) RB Terrance Gibbs Committed
3) RB Jaylon Glover
4) TE CJ Hawkins Committed
5) WR Evan Stewart
6) WR Isaiah Bond - Committed
7) WR Chandler Smith - Committed
8) WR Quan Lee
9) OL Tony Livingston Committed
10) OL Eston Harris
11) OL David Conner - Committed
12) OL Ja'Kavion Nonar
13) DT Chris McLellan
14) DT Jamari Lyons
15) DE Francois Nolton Committed
16) LB Shemar James Committed
17) LB EJ Lightsey Committed
18) DB Julian Humphrey Committed
19) DB Azareyeh Thomas
20) DB Jamarrien Burt Committed
21) P Trey Smack Committed+
Class score: 263.59
Where that would rank over the past-5 years:
2017 9
2018 13
2019 14
2020 10
2021 12
Top-50 prospects 1
Top-100 prospects 4
Top-150 prospects 5
Players removed from the previous version:
OL Jacob Hood Georgia seems like the likely destination
WR Jayden Gibson The UF legacy has commented extensively on his difficulty getting to know Dan Mullen. Miami & Georgia are the teams to watch unless things change.
OL Leyton Nelson Chose UCF over UF.
DT Walter Nolen See below for more info.
DT Jordan Phillips Still think the good guys could circle back here, depending on what happens with McLellan.
S Tre Donaldson Appears to be Auburn bound and it doesn't seem like UF is willing to press right now.
Players added since the previous version:
WR Quan Lee This one is an admitted reach. On the plus side, he's local & he camped well at FNL. It makes sense for UF to consider him the next guy up if Gibson is gone. But then again, he doesn't scream "Billy Gonzales WR" to me, unless he's a better blocker than has been reported. The staff may settle on an excellent 3 WR group worry about adding the 4th later.
OL Eston Harris This one is a bit of a reach too (as is any OL with decent offers right now). But Harris has a top-3 of Auburn, FSU, and UF. With FSU's class already packed with quality OL prospects, this may be a winnable recruitment.
OL Ja'Kavion Nonar The Muck OT prospect should be in the class soon.
DL Chris McLellan Love this guy. While he wouldn't bring the same hype of landing the nation's top player (Nolen), he'd be a great consolation prize. Should be a quality SEC DL for UF who could move around a bit on Grantham's front (or whoever becomes the new DC). UF is reportedly in the thick of it, but they have to close.
5 prospects who could further propel the class score:
**Note** - With August rapidly passing us by, this and future editions of the mock will approach this section with more consideration to class score impact on remaining spots. After all, we have a pretty good feel for which slots are still open in the class and what the board looks like. So, I'll emphasize UF's best shot to add the most-likely, most-impactful prospects at those positions.
DT Walter Nolen I still give UF about a 30-40% shot to land Nolen and I think he really likes the Gator program. But the people I've talked to are far less confident these days and it just feels like this one may be slipping. The emergence of Texas A&M and Tennessee shouldn't be overlooked, especially with Nolen's relocation to Knoxville. Moves of that sort aren't usually coincidental. Class score-wise, the addition of Nolen could add 4-6 points if he replaces Mclellan, or 10-12 as a 3rd DT (along with Mclellan and Lyons).
DE/Buck Marvin Jones Jr. The positive narrative on this guy states that mom likes UF and there are some factors in play that may not favor FSU. When you also consider Grantham's history of producing pass rushers and Mullen's pretty good success at recruiting defense, you could suggest some Khris Bogle vibes. But Miami and Alabama could also be big factors, even if he opts out of following dad's footsteps to FSU. He has one official left to schedule and I'd watch for him to show up in Gainesville for the 9/18 Alabama game. Points wise, the near-5-star is worth about 8-9 points as the last best chance for a buck.
OL Neto Umeozulu This spot was a coin flip decision with Julian Armella. I'm not confident with either, but UF simply doesn't have many blue chip OLs left on the wish list, let alone the realistic board. I went with Umeozulu, because UF's best 2022 recruiting momentum emanates from Texas right now. With the Evers family working this situation and with Stewart likely to jump on board, it's plausible that they reel this guy in. I've heard a little cautious optimism going around, but not enough to put him in the mock. Points wise, he's worth about 4 points if he replaces Eston Harris, and 5 points as an extra OL take.
DB Kamari Wilson Wilson appears headed for UGA right now and for the purposes of this exercise, you can use him interchangeably with Sam McCall or Jaheim Singletary. While all appear to be long shots right now, any of them would add around 10 points to UF's final class score.
RB Trevor Etienne I know several people who point to this guy as a likely addition to the class. There's good reason too, as choosing UF would put Trevor only an hour drive away from big brother Travis (in Jax). The only problem I see is that Trevor has healthy knees and scholarship offers from major FBS programs. These have been deal-breakers for high school RB prospects since Mullen arrived in town (Pierce was already committed when this staff arrived). In all seriousness though, this one could very well happen, but I'll have to see it to believe it. If the improbable happens, he would provide about a 3-to-4-point boost over where the score would be with Glover.
and now 5 who could sink the class score.
WR Evan Stewart Look, everything still sounds great at this point. In fact, the comments, reports, and buzz couldn't be much better and yet, Stewart isn't committed, despite the Evers fam being in the hip pocket of the recruitment. Saban is lurking, so sooner is better than later, because it's unlikely the good guys will get more momentum with this kid than they have right now. Missing Stewart would cost UF about 13 points, unless they land Jayden Gibson, which would reduce the difference to about 7.
DB Julian Humphrey Despite post-FNL reports that Humphrey was about to decommit, he hasn't. Texas A&M is probably the school he had in mind, but they recently landed top-50 DB prospect Deyon Bouie (and they already had Top-200 CB Bobby Taylor in the class). While he may not have the green light there, Georgia is apparently shooting their shot as well. If the kid is already looking for a better spot, we'll have to keep a close eye on the situation until the ink is dry. Losing him would cost 9-10 points.
DB Azareyeh Thomas Mullen and co are fighting LSU for Thomas and it sounds like this one could go either way. Heck, maybe he even ends up at Georgia Tech. He's worth 7-8 points to the class score unless his value can be replaced. Which I doubt. They need to close on this one.
OL/TE Tony Livingston - Livingston received an official offer from the staff, but there isn't much positive buzz on this situation. Between grade rumors and uncertainty about his eventual position, many feel like he won't be in the class which makes him a perfect candidate to be in the class. While his ranking continues to fall, as of today he would still be the third-highest ranked OL Mullen has signed at UF. If you omit Gouraige (who was already committed to UF when Mullen arrived) and Walker (who's gone), Livingston would be #1 on that list (yes, those are shaky parameters, just sayin'). His departure today would cost about 3-4 points from the class score.
WR Isaiah Bond UF is probably in good shape here, but we're talking about a Georgia prospect whose teammate just committed to Alabama. If Saban presses for Bond this fall, it could at least generate some flip anxiety on the board. As a mid-level 4-star, the loss of Bond wouldn't have a crushing point-loss impact on the class. But as the 2nd WR on this list and with Gibson already out of the mock, it'll be important to protect the positional group. There's no way the UF staff replaces Stewart's value, let alone the loss of an additional blue-chip WR.
My take:
As busy as summer has been, there are still a lot of moving parts that will impact UF's finish. Right now, I'm starting to buy the talk that the class could be a little smaller than expected, which will of course impact the point total and ranking. It also puts an even heavier pressure on the portal to provide replacement value at the empty slots and continues to crunch the annual initial counter supply.
This class can still end up in the 7-8 range, or lower than I care to discuss. Right now though, it's looking very familiar. Hopefully we get some nice surprises soon that change the outlook.
