Just wanted to share a few notes behind the scenes for our Friday Free-for-All. *Staff is out of the office until Wednesday. I am always watching and will be around but will try and take it easy for a few days - especially this weekend. I want to give a HUGE thanks to all the members for being part of the best online UF community you can find!!! We will continue to grow one member at a time with valuable posters & insiders.

Friday Free-for-All: Post Inside Access:

Raw & unedited



May 10, 2020

Kamari Wilson tried to commit



January 31, 2021

Rashod Dubinion

Yeah he tried to commit to us but we didn’t accept it. So I don’t know who it will be.

Sophomore video was better than his Junior Video. We still like him but not enough to accept his commitment.



February 2, 2021

First day they told me about Nick Evers and Sam Horn at QB with Jacurri Brown slipping down the QB board.



February 3, 2021

Was told WR Isaiah Horton wants to commit right now. 6-3, 190-Pounds from Murfreesboro TN Oakland HS. UF wanted to wait for some others ahead.



Was also told that UF will land Francois Nolton at DE and Daniel Lyons at DT



February 15, 2021 Virtual Tours.

Did Jamarion Miller and Omarion Hampton yesterday. Have Qae’Shon Sapp this evening. Jamari Lyons on Tuesday.



February 16, 2021 got a call saying the Jamari Lyons VT went great they think they can lock him up. Also Cade K.



February 17, 2021 Virtual Tour with Addison Nichols.



We are doing a virtual with multiple members of IMG’s team in a group session tonight after practice.



Guys who we would take right now = *

22’s

Kaytron Allen *

Alou Bah

Tyler Booker *

Malik Bryant *

Kamari Wilson *

Jihaad Campbell *

Daylen Everette

Dominick James

Drew Shelton *

Keon Sabb

23’s

Francis Mauigoa DT

Jordan Hall ILB

Knijeah Harris OL *

Malik Bryant OLB *



February 19, 2021 Devin Moore VIrtual Tour



February 22nd spoke to Cooper to wish him well at Louisville. Told me Christen Miller would end up at UF in his opinion. Based on the Dawgs not going to have room in their class.



February 23, 2021

VT with WR Isaiah Horton

And McGee speaking with Nick Evers again



February 24, Wednesday they will have a BIG zoom VT with Cade



March 1st, day after McCall announces for FSU and Horn to Missouri.



the guys who I have shared with Mullen that are must gets if we are going to get this recruiting dominance thing going in state are:



Julian Armella

Tyler Booker

Terrance Gibbs or Kaytron Allen

Shemar Stewart

Devin Moore

Kamari Wilson

Kenyatta Jackson

Tony Livingston

Jamari Lyons

Nyjalik Kelly



Throw in some out of state guys we lead for like Jaleel Skinner, Christen Miller and Shemar James and all of a sudden you have a pretty good class.



March 1, 2021

Nick Evers two days before his UF VT and after his Texas Tech and TCU offers told me this.



yes sir it’s been a little bit. they said i’m at the top of their board but i don’t see it. it’s all good...if they don’t want to have me i have been blessed with many more opportunities!!



March 2, 2021

Was told former Clemson CB wanted to come to UF badly, it was done, our communication with him indicated we wanted him badly but coaches wanted him to wait until the summer so then when we had to go back and communicate that message to him the decision for him to pass on UF was easy. Dan did not feel he was better than Jaydon Hill. Forgot the kids name!!



March 3, 2021

Have someone working on Horton edit leading up to his announcement date of March 15th.



March 10, 2021

Was told tonight that TE CJ Hawkins told Dan on the 9th he committed to UF, supposed to go public very soon, as in next few days or so.



March 30, 2021

ILB Board



Omar Graham Behind all these:



Jihaad Campbell

Harold Perkins

Shemar James

Shawn Murphy

Jaron Willis

Jeremiah Alexander

Malaki Starks

EJ Lightsey



Horton may have missed his chance at announcing for UF. Staff wants to slow him down tremendously



April 5th VV

Terrance Brooks 6-0, 185 John Paul HS in Plano Texas



April 6th VV

Shemar James ILB 6-3/210 Mobile AL Faith Academy



Nick Cull CB 6-1/180 Donalsonville GA Seminole County



April 8th-Board already set for 2023



Shawn Russ

Cedrick Hawkins

Sharif Denson

Antonio Robinson

Cormani McClain

Joenel Aguero

Tony Mitchell

Malik Mhuammad

AJ Harris



April 11th, 2021

Jules Montinar



Devin

Azareyeh

Earl

Terrance



I’m looking into Julian Humphrey from clear lake Texas fast kid. I can get him now if I want it.



April 29th, 2021

Jules Monitar



Devin Moore

Azarayeh Thomas

Julian Humphrey

Earl little JR

Terrance Brooks



May 27th, 2021



DL board



Walter Nolen

Jamari Lyons

Chris McClellan

Daniel Lyons

Shemar Stewart

Francois Nolton

Quency Wiggins

Nyjalik Kelly



June 4th, 2021 OV Weekend Chatter

Walter Nolen told everyone he was coming to UF done deal he said to recruits coaches and players.



Evan Stewart, Gentry Williams, Chris McClellan kept saying we are going to turn this into Alabama.



Tyler Booker said yes but all these kids want to take their OV’s



June 7th

Jaheim Singletary makes surprising visit to UF spends the day with Ratliff, will be either UF or Miami in the end.



June 10th

Walter Nolen secret trip UF asked me to keep it quiet and not to write about it.



June 30th

I was told by Dan that Jaheim Singletary will ink with UF on NSD. Also, Dan mentioned again they will land Devin Moore and Ryan Turner



July 4th prior to Devin Moore announcing.



Told me this prior to publicly announcing.



Yeah I felt that the coaching staff at notre dame had more family vibes and there able to connect a lot with recruits and also my whole family lives a hour to 3 away from notre dame. i’ve also wanted to venture out of florida to expiernce different climate.



Florida still says he inks with the Gators though



Also, Walter Nolen mom arrived at UF Tuesday prior to today (July 4) had two interviews and checked out a local HS for her other kid or kids not sure if they have more than one in addition to Walter.



July 13 RB situation



We’re working;

Gibbs

Glover

Etienne

Allen

Alston

Pettaway

And still working Miller and don’t worry about Alston he told me we are not in his top three



July 27th, 2021



Jamarion Miller - been told he is not going to Texas. Either A&M or us. Mom liked us



Julian Armella - Don’t feel good but got to try.



Evan Stewart - Coming to FNL



Jayden Gibson - Coming to Saturday cookout. All Gator



Gentry Williams - Don’t know what he is waiting for. Been told by reliable source, us or USC.



Chris McClellan - Us or Ohio State. Loved OSU visit but family likes UF



Jamari Lyons - What’s he waiting on?



Quincy Wiggins - Could be a beast.



Marvin Jones - Going to the wire but I like us in this one



Shemar Stewart - Don’t feel good about it.



EJ Lightsey - Under rated and way better than people think. Remember I told you that in 3 years.



Kamari Wilson - kid is going to Jack around and then want to come to UF in the end and may get the Terrion Arnold treatment, may be full



Devin Moore - kid wants to be a Gator, Dad wants ND



Azareyeh Thomas - People are struggling to handicap this one. A lot of folks think Ga. Tech. A lot LSU. Some UF. Watch what I am saying all UF here.



Jaheim Singletary - I think he is a Gator when it’s all said and done. We just need to keep on him



July 28

The first day I was told about running back Leviton Moss Not ending up at Alabama and Florida having a real chance they reached out to Florida on their own



August 8th, 2021

regarding TJ Shanahan



He wasn’t at FNL, he didn’t come because an internet guy posted a list of top prospects coming to FNL 3 days before it and his feelings got hurt and said to me “I guess I’m not a top priority for you at Florida”





September 2nd, 2021



I think so, want to see Lewis play this year 1st, he’s wanted to commit for a month. Feel good with farmer, Falentha feel good with. Trying to get him down this weekend to get eyes on.

Agbo and Neto are 2 I have to keep working hard, feel we have a legit shot at both



September 8th, 2021 - Wednesday

Jordan Phillips will end up a Gator and DeCarlo Donaldson and Jaylon Glover/Jayden Gibson..first one of Glover/Etienne by the way.



September 20, 2021

Got the call saying Jaleel Skinner would silent to UF soon and go public in a few weeks possibly. Strange deal for sure bc I keep being told how his date hates the TE Coach and will not come to UF in a million years



October 15th, 2021



I just got my 4 2022s right now:

Shemar

EJ

Wesley

Jaron



2023s wide open but I love

Jaiden Ausberry

Grayson Howard



October 30th.

Great shape with McCoy

Devon, Jaheim, and Azareyeh and Devon is Dan top guy.



1pm zoom call for commitments yesterday. Gibbs/Lyons we’re working couldn’t attend.



November 8th, 2021

Jaheim Singletary visited Florida for practice and spent time with coaches after..no one has a clue he visited but I decided to report it to the Board the following night



November 9th, 2021

They continue to tell me things are perfectly fine with Chris McClellan even though he continues to push back his announcement date. I had a great guy with the kids last night and seems he’s good to go with Florida but something doesn’t quite feel 100% right.





November 17, 2021

Troy Bowles

Grayson Howard

Jaiden Ausberry

Malik Bryant



Are the best response kids so far and consistent.



December 1st 2021



New staff did not want Terrance Gibbs as we saw. They also aren’t pushing for and haven’t talked with LB Wesley Bissainthe and he’s announcing this upcoming Saturday if Napier calls he’s a Gator if not he won’t. New coaching staff thinks he’s stiff.



I was told about the Napier Plan to surpass Bama and Georgia with the largest staff in the Nation



Azareyeh Thomas - staff wanted him to workout. He decided to visit FSU on the 10th instead.



December 8th, 2021

Crazy to think what our class would have been



Nick Evers

Terrance Gibbs

Trevor Eitienne

Tony Livingston

Mason Taylor

Jalen Farmer

Julian Armella

David Conner

Matt McCoy

Isaiah Bond

CJ Smith

Jayden Gibson

Evan StewrT - possibly

Chris McClellan

Jamari Lyons

Nyjalik Kelly

EJ Lightsey

Wesley Bissainthe

Shemar James

Austin Ausberry

Devin Moore

Jamarrien Burt



Just to name a few



Also, first day I heard about Jack Miller. Family being tight with Urban/Tebow. Jack grew up a Gator. Multiple zoom calls….locked up for UF

This, That, & More:

No. 4 Florida Gymnastics at No. 11 Missouri Friday
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - There are two top-12 gymnastics duals across the nation this weekend and both are within the Southeastern Conference.

No. 4 Florida at No. 11 Missouri is the first and kicks off SEC Network's Friday Night Heights coverage from the Hearnes Center at 7 p.m. ET. The second top dual of the weekend is Saturday's No. 6 Auburn at No. 8 LSU meet.

How to Follow the Gators:
Florida at Missouri is the first of a SEC Network Friday Night Heights double-header. Olympians John Roethlisberger and Alicia Sacramone Quinn call the action.

On the go Friday? Follow the action on SEC Network

In the Gators' Last Meet:
Team high totals on the first three events along with a pair of 10.0s by Trinity Thomas and Leanne Wong boosted Florida to the nation's leading total (198.25) for 2022 in its win Friday over No. 13 Arkansas. Arkansas, coming off a week off due to COVID protocol, posted a 196.475. Friday's Gators Link to Pink meet sponsored by UF Health was held in front of a sellout Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center crowd of 9,173. It was Florida's second consecutive sellout.

Florida opened the evening with season-high totals for both vault (49.55) and uneven bars (49.725). The bars total equals the program's record set in 2019. It was a Gator vault and uneven bars sweep. Trinity Thomas won vault with her near perfect 9.975. She was followed by fellow seniors Savannah Schoenherr (9.95) and Nya Reed (9.90). Leanne Wong anchored the uneven bars lineup with the nation's first and only 10.0 on the event this season. Schoenherr equaled her collegiate best to take second at 9.975. Freshman Riley McCusker and Thomas shared third at 9.925.

The nation's first balance beam 10.0 of 2022 was posted by Thomas. It was her third on the event and first since 2020. Fellow senior Leah Clapper was runner-up with her near-perfect 9.975 and the beam total of 49.70 equaled UF's record. Reed used a 9.95 to earn her second floor exercise win of 2022. Wong won her first all-around with a team season best 39.625. Arkansas' Kennedy Hambrick was runner-up (39.475) and UF senior Megan Skaggs took third at 39.40.

SEC Award for Trinity Thomas:
Her beam 10.0 along with win on vault (9.975) earned Thomas her third consecutive SEC Specialist of the Week honor. Thomas is the nation's only gymnast with 10.0s in multiple events this season (vault, beam, floor).

About the Missouri Tigers:
Missouri dropped its first meet of 2022 Saturday at then No 12 Kentucky, 197.45 - 196.875. The Tigers turned in their season high in the 197.45 - 196.875 loss in Lexington. Junior Sienna Schreiber set MU's season all-around high of 39.50 to win the quad meet at North Carolina.

Series History:
Florida leads 28-1. .
Last meeting: UF was third(196.975) at 2021 SEC Championships and Missouri was sixth (196.125).

Rankings:
Florida: No. 4 on the Week 4 Road to Nationals site
Missouri: No. 11



Gainesville, Fla. - The Florida Gators men's and women's Swim and Dive team send 36 to the Auburn Last Chance Invitational.

Last Time Out

The Florida Gators Men's and Women's Swim and Dive team swept the Auburn Tigers with scores 201-99 of and 184-116 respectively.

Florida won 23 out of the 32 events and had a total of 13 athletes hit B-cuts.

Senior Bobby Finke took home first place in the men's 200 Back with a time of 1:46.25. Mason Laur was right behind Finke with a time of 1:49.04, finishing in fourth. Joaquin Gonzalez Pinero finished in fifth and Miguel Cancel placed in sixth.

Kieran Smith a Ridgefield, Conn. native, swam a 4:18.16 clinching himself first place in the Men's 500 free.

A pair of Gators took home first in both the men's 3-meter and women's 1-meter. Leonardo Garcia finished with a score of 413.03 and Maha Amer finished with a score of 284.55. This marks Garcia's fifth win on the 3-meter springboard and is his season's best score.

The Gators swept the men's 100 fly, as Eric Friese came in first for the men with a time of 47.56. Isaac Davis came in second by less than half a second clocking a time of 47.99, Jace Crawford placed third with a 48.01 and Will Davis< came in fourth with a 48.61.

Amanda Ray notched a time of 54.86 logging her a first-place finish for the women's 100 fly.

Talia Bates came away with two wins, one in the 100 free and the other in the 100 fly. Bates also notch two second place finished in the 400 free relay and the 200 medley relay.

New comer, Alberto Mestre notched his first win as a Gator in the 100 free with a time of 44.38. Mestre also finished third in the 50 free.
Following their meet at Auburn, the Gators will begin final preparations for the Southeastern Conference Championships on Feb. 15-19 in Knoxville, Tenn.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - For just the fifth time in program history, Florida women's basketball knocked-off Tennessee, downing the No. 7 ranked Lady Volunteers, 84-59, inside of Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Thursday night.

Handing the Lady Vols (19-3, 8-2 SEC) their largest loss to an unranked opponent since the debut of the AP Poll in 1976, Florida (16-6, 6-3 SEC) put the clamps down defensively, forcing Tennessee into 18 total turnovers while holding the opposition to 24-of-64 shooting (37.5%) from the floor. The opposition was also held scoreless over the last 5:10 of the game.

Led by veteran guard Kiara Smith with four steals, the Gators tallied 11 total on the evening, helping them to a 26-5 advantage in points-off-turnovers and 24-1 advantage in fast break points. Both numbers were the largest margins of the season for the Gators.

Perhaps just as important, the No. 7 Lady Vols entered the contest out-rebounding their opponents by over 16 rebounds per game. Rising to the challenge, the Orange & Blue ended up outrebounding Tennessee, 40-38, led by Nina Rickards with a season-high eight. Zippy Broughton pulled-down six of her own while Emanuely de Oliveira and Smith each grabbed five.

Offensively, Smith was once again the leader with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Rickards also stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists while Merritt added 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Broughton also contributed to the strong offensive evening, ending with 10 points, six boards, six assists and two steals.

For the game, UF shot 33-of-62 (53.2%) from the floor, including three quarters where the team shot above 60%. In the second half alone, the Gators ended 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from deep.

Tennessee was led by Alexus Dye with 10 points and six rebounds.

Tennessee got the scoring started right away, knocking down a triple on their first possession. The Gators, however, would respond with a 9-0 run to claim a 9-3 lead at the 6:54 mark. The Orange & Blue extended their lead to 15-5 following another 6-0 run, capped off by a pair of free throws from Rickards, with 5:26 on the clock.

A 7-0 response from the Lady Vols closed the gap to three, but once again UF would respond, this time with an 8-2 flurry to push their advantage back to nine following a Broughton triple. The Gators went on to hold a 25-18 advantage at the end of one, forcing seven first quarter turnovers in the process.

Both squads exchanged buckets to start the second frame, but a Rickards and-one would serve as a spark to give the home team their largest lead of the night through the first two periods at 12. With the lead peaking at 34-22 after Smith managed to slice her way through the lane for an easy two, the Lady Vols would battle back to shrink the deficit to seven, 36-29, going into halftime.

Tenacious defense played a key role in the first half success for the Gators, as UF forced No. 7 Tennessee into 13 first half giveaways, translating into nine steals. A defensive team effort, a quartet of Gators recorded two steals each in the first half helping to a 15-0 advantage in fast break points and 19-3 edge in points off of turnovers.

Smith started the third period with four-consecutive points for the Gators, pushing the lead to 40-29 early before both squads would trade buckets through the 5:08 mark of the quarter. Florida would blow the game wide-open following an 8-0 run before using another 6-0 spurt, with a triple from Merritt, to extend the lead to 58-31 with 1:02 on the clock. The UF lead sat at 59-41 with one quarter to play.

Back-to-back buckets from long range by Smith and Merritt to start the final frame helped give Florida breathing room at 65-43 with 8:40 remaining. The Lady Volunteers, however, would not go down without a fight. Offensive flurries of five points, followed by another 5-2 stretch, helped Tennessee pull back within 15 at 73-58 with 5:32 remaining in the game.

That's as close the opposition would get however, as the Orange & Blue ended the game on an 11-1 run, with six points coming from Smith, while holding Tennessee scoreless for the last 5:10 of the game to win running away, 84-59.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Gators, as they hit the road for Athens, Ga., on Sunday for a matchup with No. 14/11 Georgia at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Quotables
Head Coach Kelly Rae Finley
On defensive strategy...
"I mean our advantage is our quickness and our speed. I also think our advantage is in our next-play mentality, both within the possession and from offense to defense, defense to offense. I think that we have grown a lot in that and it's something that we really focus on. But as far as defensive strategy, we knew that's where our advantage was. Their advantage was their size, like Kiki said. So, if we allowed them to play their offense at the three-point line and post up our guards, it was going to be a long night. So, we bought into that. We understood the assignment and I thought we executed pretty much to perfection."

On no longer being the underdog...
"Nah we like that, we'll keep it. We're good, but we don't need everybody else to tell us we're good. That's not arrogance either, it's not. It's a belief that you are enough and listen, everybody is beating everybody in our league, that's why you come to the SEC to play the best of the best and the way that we prepare any night, we don't look at the rank. What is that going to help us? If you can tell me how that's going to help us then we'll fixate on it, but it's not. I think that's made a huge difference for our team."

On their physical performance...
"I mean we believe that we're in really good shape. We have an excellent strength coach. She has us prepared. Our trainer is very, very good. They have us healthy and prepared to play at the pace we want to play at and that usually results in a pace that most teams don't play at, right. Not to be redundant, but we know that if we can speed the game up that can hopefully lead to our advantage down the stretch."

Graduate Guard Kiara Smith
On their confidence level...
"For me, it's another game. SEC, the conference is pretty much winnable. Every game is winnable for us, so we just go into each game with the same mindset. Like Coach Kelly said, our defense won this game for us tonight, we did a lot of focus on that, so I think that it definitely boosts our confidence but our confidence, we don't need wins to boost it."

On shots falling early...
"We knew. We talked a lot about it. We don't stop playing our game until the buzzer goes off. So, we knew being an SEC team, it's not just going to let down and give up. Like they said, we kept our same pace, we wanted a fast pace, and that's what we did. And like she said we knock down those shots every single day and it definitely helps when you get to see the ball go in and that but it's not a surprise when it does go in and that, we just get back and play defense."

Sophomore Forward Jordyn Merritt
On the team pulling together...
"I just think that we are really good at facing adversity and just overcoming it together. At the end of the day, we have each other and we know that we can rely on each other to uphold a commitment and just be dedicated and buy into the program. I just think that that is what has brought us this far for sure."

On what "we are enough" means to her...
"I think for me, not to sound really arrogant, but we don't really need validation from anybody. I think that we believe in ourselves, and we just go into every game knowing that you know we are enough, we can compete with anybody in the country."

Postgame Bites
- Florida's win over Tennessee was just their fifth in the series and third in Gainesville.
- Thursday was Florida's largest margin of victory over a top-10 team in program history.
- Not only was Thursday's win the largest margin of victory over Tennessee, it was the first time ever that the Gators have defeated UT by more than 10 points.
- It was also just the second time in the 59-meetings that Tennessee has scored under 60 points (57 on Feb. 8, 2009).
- Thursday marked the highest-rated SEC victory since Jan. 5, 2014 when Florida defeated No. 6 Kentucky, 83-73.
- It was the highest-rated victory over Tennessee since Feb. 26, 2006 when UF defeated No. 5 Tennessee, 95-93, in Knoxville.
- The 84 points scored by Florida were the most the Lady Vols have given up this season.
- Florida handed Tennessee their worst loss against an unranked opponent since the AP Poll debuted in 1976.

Billy Napier won't remind fans of past Florida Gators coaches, and that's a good thing

Offers from Maryland and Georgia Tech, 2025 Florida QB Tramell Jones Jr reports interest from the Gators.

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Hopefully UF hops on board.

And ran to the very medical industry he constantly criticizes to save his life? I do

L.A. Mayor Garcetti, when caught with not wearing a mask, said he actually held his breath for 2 seconds.

Can't these people just apologize and say they made a mistake instead of outlandish and stupid BS which makes them look twice as bad. Rules for thee, not for me is the Libs motto. At least Las Angelinos now have a ready made excuse.

this is against ugaly last Feb but as softball ramps up thought it was a nice tribute

Attrition Spring/Summer
As of now, there are 17 names to talk about. Technically 16 as Griffin McDowell was moved to DL last year but has ONLY played special teams the last 2 years. Being a previous OL I included him, but having zero OL reps in two years and being a Redshirt Senior may mean he wants to finish his career elsewhere for 1-2 years. I also think there may be a situation where Riley Simonds moves on as well. 2021 was his 3rd year at UF and he only played 10 games primarily in a special teams role. Griff was a transition class guy and Simonds was a Hevesy guy in the following class. Will Harrod, from what I can tell, only played in 5 games last year and 2022 would be his 4th year at UF and I'm sure he's not going to start and not sure that he is going to end up in that top 8ish guys that most coaches want and can rely on. Bringing in guys like Torrence and Waites wont get Griff, Simonds, and Harrod many more snaps that they already struggled to get, although you never know with a new staff.

Attrition Post 2022 season
In my opinion, we should lose (barring injury or Covid year elections) Gouraige and White who are both seniors and have shown enough to warrant NFL interest, and Torrence in my mind is coming to UF with the idea of being a 1-and-done to the NFL. There are two walk-ons, Kaleb Boateng and Mark Pitts, that they may decide to give scholarships to, but I think the earliest they can do that and avoid taking a hit on a counter would be August 1 2022 for Pitts and summer 2023 for Boateng.

Our plan moving forward?
That would leave us with 11 as the number to build on for 2023. As far as I can tell, Napier kept 20-22 OL on his Louisiana roster last season. Lets just assume that number at UF will likely be 18-ish as an average. That means a few things...hitting the portal for a multi year OL in the next 90 days to help this season and next, and/or hitting the portal again, taking a good number of OL (5-6?) in this next (2023) class.

Ideas?
There are less than 90 days for guys to formally hit the portal and play this season. Currently there are 5 uncommitted total in the portal. Quality is scarce, hopefully post spring camps get busy with OL hitting the portal. Three year SEC starter Tyler Steen (Link) is still in the portal and is the best quality guy, his younger brother Blake signed with UVA Wednesday, so no package deal there, that may actually work in our favor to save using a scholarship there. If Auburn fires Harsin, we were in Easton Harris' final 2 on ESD, but he'd have to hit the portal or we use back channels to encourage him to, before making a run at him. Garner Langlo could be tired of that hunting cabin he's got access to near Auburn, i dunno, lol.

These 17 we have to work with as of now, shown below averages 6-5 and 316lbs.


All that being said...the last 7 of these 2023 OL are in the state of Florida in some UF friendly areas, and technically Shanahan just moved to Texas from the Orlando area, so call it 8. 8 of the 9 are inside the top 550 composite, which is both a relief and kind of impressive since it is so early. Perfect storm for UF to get a kid from every corner of the state and all of them end up inside the top 500...a welcomed change from Hev's struggles.

1. TJ Shanahan (Austin, TX)
2. Miles McVay (St Louis, MO)
3. Peyton Kirkland - Orlando Dr. P
4. Clay Wedin - Tampa Carrolwood Day
5. Knijeah Harris - Port Saint Lucie (Cheney's school, Centennial), now at IMG (Kamari connection x2?).
6. Roderick Kearney - Jacksonville Orange Park
7. Tommy Kinsler - Ocala
8. Bryce Lovett - Rockledge/Cocoa
9. Gernorris Wilson - Lakeland

Aidan Mizell updates his overall recruiting process listing Florida as a potential upcoming stop.

How long since we’ve had that many? I’d guess early Muschamp era? Obviously some haven’t lived up to rating and we’re certainly not at the desired talent level overall, but still interesting.
(Marshall would make 9 if we included 24/7 ratings)

As we know, Billy was not afforded the most time or the biggest pool of recruits to finish off the 2022 class. He had 59 days and even though we didn't land Perkins or Matthews, he had us firmly in contention. I don't think any of us can argue against the effort Billy and his staff are going to put in on recruits they have identified as takes. This period coming up in the recruiting calendar is probably my favorite time of year. Why? Well because it is the evaluation period.

Billy has assembled one of the most extensive staffs in all of college football. This is why I am interested to see what his evaluations look like. We can all click on the recruiting tab and look at the Rivals 250 and see the list of kids who are highly rated at this point. But as we all know, these rankings are going to constantly change for the next year. The best thing about having a larger recruiting staff, in my opinion, is the opportunity it affords you to evaluate a much larger pool of prospects. More staff means we can watch more prospects. More staff also means more evaluations on every recruit. The more staffers you can have grade a recruit, the more accurate the evaluation is going to be in the end. Billy made a comment about how he compares recruiting to hitting in baseball. We need to land 25 solid hits every recruiting class. The more we can evaluate and increase the accuracy of our evaluations, the better off we are gonna be. Yes, statistics show that 5 stars have the highest hit rate as NFL draft prospects, no disputing that. But I believe once you get passed the top 100 or 150 recruits in the rankings, it really comes down to your staff's evaluations because those 4 stars (ranked 150-400) have about the same success rates in the end.

Over the next month or two, we will see a lot of obvious offers go out to the kids that are already considered the cream of the crop by the industry. But we will also see offers go out to kids who might not even have complete recruiting profiles here on Rivals. My favorite example of this is Grant Delpit. During the 2017 class evaluation period, Grant Delpit started as a picture less Rivals profile and ended up being the highest graded prospect on Florida's board when it was all said and done.

Time to see what Billy Napier and his recruiting staff are made of.

Dogs ahead of Aurburn 66-64 with 3 minutes left. Could be the upset of the year..

Damn, I miss this kind of speed in our backfield and on our team overall! Demps was just world class speed! Hopefully BN will put a premium on speed at the skill positions!

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@apopkagator.. any news on who they will hire?

Non-COVID related illness. That is serious problem for tonight against Ole Miss and especially if he can't go Wednesday against Tennessee.

I think he seems like he will be a good coach in building a strong team, facilities, structure, relationships, vision, recruiting. He has impressed me so far.
But I admittedly don’t know anything about his offense and play calling. Yes he was let go as an OC at one point. But what are your impressions of his offense now and your confidence level?
When Mullen was hired I knew our offense was going to be really good but I’m lost with Napier.

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This guy is exciting to listen to and man does he know defense. If you have time to listen to it all do so, if not take a min or so and watch starting around the 1:45 min mark. He talks about a “hierarchy of needs” when teaching/coaching DB’s. I think you’ll find it impressive what he finds to be most important when teaching DB’s

I am not sure if I posted this one yet but if not it deserves a second look. IMO Moore will be on the field this year and I would not be surprised if he is starting by the 3rd game. He might end up being the best Corner on the roster. I know he can play safety but I think he should stick at the corner position. His cover skills are elite even Coach Hayes couldn't find any negatives.

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By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:
CLOSING IN ON THE SECOND PHASE OF RECRUITING
The first phase was the early signing day in December and the transfer portal that brought in five quality players between December 15 and the start of the spring semester in January. Now comes Phase II on Wednesday when Billy Napier brings in anywhere from six to ten new recruits. We’ll get the first hint of how successful Napier will be today when wide receiver DJ Allen and defensive lineman Jack Pyburn announce their intentions. If they both announce for Florida, it will be a good sign although nothing sure that Wednesday will have landslide results.

There are reasons to believe that Florida is going to close strong, however. That Napier has done as well as he has is rather incredible when measured by how already inconsistent recruiting went into the tank when Dan Mullen was fired.

Here are the 10 who have gotten the most mention as top Florida targets: LB Harold Perkins, S Jacoby Matthews, DL Caden Story, DL Jack Pyburn, WR DJ Allen, WR Caleb Douglas, TE Arlis Boardingham, RB Trevor Citizen, TE Danny Lewis and OL Jalen Farmer. Here is how I would rate the results:

Outstanding (5): Perkins, Pyburn and Story plus any two of the remaining seven.
Brilliant (6): Perkins, Pyburn, Story, Boardingham and any two of the remaining six.
Superb (7): Perkins, Pyburn, Story, Boardingham, Douglas, Lewis and any two of the remaining five.
Napier Walks on Water: Any final class that includes Perkins, Matthews, Pyburn, Story and any of the remaining six.

NFL DRAFT, MEASURABLES, ETC.
Pro Football Focus is projecting corner Kaiir Elam to go 25th in the first round of the NFL Draft …
Zach Carter measured 6-3-1/4 and weighed in at 287 pounds at the Senior Bowl in Mobile while running back Dameon Pierce was 5-9 and 220 pounds … At the East-West Shrine Bowl, former Gator right tackle Jean Delance measured 6-3-7/8 and weighed in at 296 pounds ... Offensive lineman Stewart Reese and defensive lineman Antonio Valentino are playing in the Hula Bowl, played in Orlando.

BASKETBALL IN THE SEC
Alabama (14-7, 4-4 SEC): Alabama is No. 22 in the NCAA Net Rankings and a No. 5 seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology. Lunardi has the Crimson Tide opening the NCAA Tournament against the winner of North Carolina and Oregon in a 12-seed play-in game. Tuesday’s game: at No. 1 Auburn (20-1, 8-0 SEC)

Arkansas (16-5, 5-3 SEC): The Hogs are No. 46 in the NCAA Net Rankings. Joe Lunardi has Arkansas in the tournament as a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region facing No. 6 UConn in the first round. Wednesday’s game: at Georgia (6-15, 1-7 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (20-1, 8-0 SEC): The Tigers are No. 6 in the NCAA Net Rankings. Joe Lunardi has Auburn the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, opening its NCAA Tournament play with the winner of the qualifier game between Southern and New Orleans. Tuesday’s game: vs. Alabama (14-7, 4-4 SEC)

FLORIDA (13-8, 3-5 SEC): The Gators are currently 41st in the NCAA Net Rankings. Lunardi has the Gators among his first four teams out. Wednesday’s game: at Missouri (8-12, 2-5 SEC)

Georgia (6-15, 1-7 SEC): Georgia isn't going anywhere. Net Ranking is 213. Wednesday’s game: vs. Arkansas (16-5, 5-3 SEC)

No. 5 Kentucky (17-4, 6-2 SEC): Kentucky is No. 7 in the NCAA Net Ranking but only a 3rd seed in the South Region in Lunardi’s bracketology. Lunardi has the Wildcats opening the tournament with Princeton of the Ivy League. Wednesday’s game: vs. Vanderbilt (11-9, 3-5 SEC)

No. 25 LSU (16-5, 4-4 SEC): The Tigers are No. 14 in the latest NCAA Net Ranking. Lunardi projects LSU as a No. 5 seed playing the winner of West Virginia and San Diego State in a South Region first round game. Tuesday’s game: vs. Ole Miss (11-10, 2-6 SEC)

Mississippi State (13-7, 4-3 SEC): The Bulldogs are 50th in the current NCAA Net Rankings. Lundardi has MSU among his first four out. Tuesday’s game: vs. South Carolina (13-7, 4-4 SEC)

Missouri (8-12, 2-5 SEC): The Tigers are playing a lot of people tough but they’re losing. Their Net Ranking is 160 and they’re four games under .500. They need to go on some sort of monster winning streak to have a chance to even make the NIT. Wednesday’s game: vs. FLORIDA (13-7, 3-5 SEC)

Ole Miss (11-10, 2-6 SEC): Ole Miss is barely above .500 overall and four games under water in SEC play. Their Net Ranking is 116. An NIT bid would be an accomplishment. Tuesday’s game: at No. 25 LSU (16-5, 4-4 SEC)

South Carolina (13-7, 4-4 SEC): The Gamecocks need to go 6-4 at least in SEC play to have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. Their current NCAA Net Ranking is 97. Tuesday’s game: at Mississippi State (13-7, 4-3 SEC)

No. 22 Tennessee (14-6, 5-3 SEC): The Vols have a very strong NCAA Net Ranking (No. 12) and Lunardi has them a No. 4 seed in the East, which is higher than most would expect given their current record. Lunardi has Tennessee facing No. 13 Toledo in the first round. Tuesday’s game: vs. Texas A&M (15-6, 4-4 SEC)

Texas A&M (15-6, 4-4 SEC): The Aggies have a good record but they need to supplement it with some good Quad 1 wins. They are No. 65 in the NCAA Net Rankings. Lunardi has the Aggie sin the second four out. Tuesday’s game: at No. 22 Tennessee (14-6, 5-3 SEC)

Vanderbilt (11-9, 3-5 SEC): Most SEC coaches say Vandy is the most improved team in the league. The Commodores are No. 90 in the Net Rankings. Six wins in the regular season or the SEC Tournament should get the Commodores in the NIT which would be an accomplishment. Wednesday’s game: at No. 5 Kentucky (17-4, 6-2 SEC)

The Associated Press Top 25: 1. Auburn 20-1; 2. Gonzaga 17-2; 3. UCLA 16-2; 4. Purdue 18-3; 5. Kentucky 17-4; 6. Houston 18-2; 7. Arizona 17-2; 8. Baylor 18-3; 9. Duke 17-3; 10. Kansas 17-3; 11. Wisconsin 17-3; 12. Villanova 16-5; 13. Michigan State 16-4; 14. Texas Tech 16-5; 15. Providence 18-2; 16. Ohio State 13-5; 17. UConn 15-4; 18. Illinois 15-5; 19. Southern Cal 18-3; 20. Iowa State 16-5; 21. Xavier 15-5; 22. Tennessee 14-6; 23. Texas 16-5; 24. Marquette 15-7; 25. LSU 16-5

The Coaches Top 25: 1. (Tie) Gonzaga 17-2 and Auburn 20-1; 3. Purdue 18-3; 4. UCLA 16-2; 5. Arizona 17-2; 6. Duke 17-3; 7. Kentucky 17-4; 8. Baylor 18-3; 9. Houston 18-2; 10. Kansas 17-3; 11. Wisconsin 17-3; 12. Villanova 16-5; 13. Michigan State 16-4; 14. Texas Tech 16-5; 15. Providence 18-2; 16. Ohio State 13-5; 17. UConn 15-4; 18. Illinois 15-5; 19. Southern Cal 18-3; 20. Tennessee 14-6; 21. Texas 16-5; 22. Iowa State 16-5; 23. Xavier 15-5; 24. Marquette 15-7; 25. LSU 16-5

ESPN WOMEN’S HOOP BRACKETOLOGY: GATORS ARE IN THE TOURNAMENT
Kelly Rae Finley has already won more games (15) than the Gators won last year (12) under Cam Newbauer. With eight games to go in the regular season including a Thursday matchup with 7th-ranked Tennessee (18-2, 7-1 SEC) at the O-Dome, the Gators (15-6, 5-3 SEC) are shaping up as an NCAA Tournament team for the first time since 2016.

ESPN currently projects the Gators as a No. 11 seed in the Greensboro Region facing No. 6 North Carolina in a first round game in Ann Arbor.

SEC FOOTBALL STUFF
Alabama: Four-star defensive lineman Walter Bob will not sign with the Tide on Wednesday but instead will be heading to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas … Pro Football Focus projects LT Evan Neal (No.1) and WR Jameson Williams (No. 13) to go in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Arkansas: Deke Adams is the new D-line coach. He worked for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina in the past and was Jadaveon Clowney’s college position coach ... WR Treylon Burks is being projected as the No. 26 player taken in the NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.

Auburn: Just a month after he was hired away from the Seattle Seahawks, Austin Davis is stepping down as the offensive coordinator at Auburn with the intent on stepping away from coaching for awhile at least to focus on his family … CB Roger McCreary is projected as the 24th player to go in the NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.

Georgia: Pro Football Focus is projecting LB Nakobe Dean to go with the 12th pick in the NFL Draft.

LSU: Michigan man Tom Brady says former Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, who won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy at LSU, was smart to transfer to LSU from Ohio State. Brady said, “Joe’s obviously a great player. I think one of the [greatest] decisions he ever made was leaving Ohio State. You got out of that godforsaken place and [went to] LSU. As a Michigan man, I could tell how smart he was when he did that. One of the best you ever made Joe.” … Pro Football Focus projects CB Daryl Stingley Jr. to go with the fourth pick in the NFL Draft.

Missouri: Tight end Tyler Stephens is transferring from Buffalo to Mizzou. He had 15 catches for 157 yards and a TD in 2021.

Mississippi State: Mike Leach has made a number of changes to his coaching staff. Outside wide receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. will assume the passing game coordinator role while O-line coach Mason Miller will be the run game coordinator. Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett will coach safeties, Matt Brock will coach both outside and inside linebackers, Eric Mele will be special teams coordinator, Jason Washington will coach running backs and Drew Hollingshead will coach the inside wide receivers … OT Charles Cross is projected as the No. 6 player in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.

Ole Miss: The Rebels added their 10th player from the transfer portal when Georgia Tech edge rusher Jared Ivey committed Monday. As a freshman in 2021, Ivey (6-6, 275) had 32 tackles including six for loss and 1.5 sacks … QB Matt Corral is projected to go 20th in the NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.

South Carolina: Wide receiver OrTre Smith, who had 43 catches for 435 yards and four touchdowns in his Gamecock career, will be a grad transfer to North Carolina Central where he plans to get a master’s degree in kinesiology.

Texas A&M: O-lineman Kenyon Green projects as the No. 23 player taken in the NFL Draft by Pro Football Focus.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: “Division I is too large. There are more ways in which we are different than are ways that we are the same. There is an appetite [in the Power 5] for more control over our fate” – Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaking to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated.

I am not at all certain we need the 65 Power 5 schools to break away and form their own football league, but I do agree with Bowlsby that Division I is way too large. Back in the 1970s when Division I split to form Division I-AA, there were stadium and attendance requirements for Division I membership. In the years since then we’ve added to Division I far too many schools with smaller stadiums that are half-filled on Saturdays. I’m of the opinion that to be a member of Division I you should (a) have a stadium that seats at least 30,000 and (b) you should be able to average at least 20,000 in attendance. That’s reasonable, but this has become a pay for play era now that Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) has essentially tossed all the rules out the window. We’re heading for a time when membership in Division I will be based on which fat cat boosters and which corporate sponsors pony up the cash to back a particular school, attendance and stadium size be damned.

While it’s not a bad thing that players get paid since, after all, they play a brutal sport that has long range consequences on their health, there is a bridge too far if we wind up with something like four 16-team super conferences or membership determined by who has the most billionaires in their corners. If and when we get to that point, I’m afraid that we’ll see scholarships and opportunities for kids eliminated at the schools that make up the have nots. Somehow, we have to find a fair and equitable way to pare down Division I to reasonable levels without killing off football at the lower levels.

What troubles me in thinking about what’s next for college football is that we have too many idiot commissioners bickering over how to split up the billions without considering what is best for the sport and what will provide the most opportunities for kids. I keep hoping common sense will prevail, but it seems to be in short supply these days.

...per a thread I've seen on the UK board.

Wanted to get an idea of Napier's coaching style and found this clip. Though you might enjoy. Got me fired up. I enjoy seeing a coach in his natural environment with the players rather than at press conferences. Hope I inserted the video correctly. Login to view embedded media