Blake Alderman has hit up quite a few sources and attended several Florida camp sessions over the last week to compile the latest scoop for Inside the Gators' Insider Recruiting Report 7/27.
COMMITMENTS COMING
Each year there are normally a handful of prospects who look to bring their recruiting process to an end before heading into their final fall football season. This year the rush of commitments over the next couple of weeks could favor the Orange and Blue.
The Gators landed two commitments in James Houston and Adarius Lemons coming off their successful Friday Night Lights camp and would love to keep the momentum going.
* So far the only prospect to set an actual commitment date is four-star safety Brad Stewart, who is slated to announce his choice on August 17th, which is his birthday. Stewart was in Gainesville this past weekend on Friday and Saturday and enjoyed his time down a lot. The staff felt extremely confident in their chances to land him coming off the visit. LSU jumped into the mix with an offer right before the trip to UF after he camped in Baton Rouge. Normally, that would be a death knoll for any other contenders, however it seems the offer came to late, which has hurt the Tigers. If Stewart does pick the Gators then his main recruiter Tim Skipper will have pulled four pledges this cycle from four different states.
* Another prospect looking to commit sometime in early August is three-star cornerback Shawn Davis. The Miami native has visited Gainesville multiple times in the past and has had the Gators on top for months. I am very confident that Florida will land Davis when he does decide to make an announcement.
* Rivals250 cornerback Marco Wilson was in Gainesville this past Saturday and was able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with multiple staff members, and it really seemed like the Gators rolled out the red carpet. Wilson is looking to announce a commitment “soon”, but hasn’t set a solid date just yet. Wilson named a top five of Florida, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, and Southern Cal recently, but coming off his time at UF the Gators seem to be in the driver's seat.
THURSDAY AM EDIT: Wilson will announce his decision on August 1st at 8 pm on his fathers Gridiron studs radio show
* Another Rivals250 player looking to announce “soon” is four-star defensive tackle Fred Hansard. This past weekend the Gators hosted Hansard and his family on campus and he left saying the Gators were in a great spot to land his commitment. Florida has been recruiting Hansard hard dating back into the spring and would love to add him as their cherry on top for the defensive tackle haul. The visit to Gainesville seems to have pushed the Gators in-front with Rutgers likely the Gators biggest competition.
TOP 2018 QUARTERBACK TARGET IDENTIFIED
Rivals100 2018 quarterback Artur Sitkowski stole the show in Gainesville this past weekend during the Gators' first ever quarterback camp. The four-star made big league throw after big league throw and showed both zip and accuracy on his passes. The Gators extended an offer to Sitkowski, who is very aware of the Gators program history with his aunt being a big Florida fan and residing in Tampa.
Sitkowski named programs such as Ohio State, North Carolina, and South Carolina as those recruiting him hardest. Sitkowski noted playing in a pro-style offense as what he is looking for in a college, which is something the Gators offer that the three others recruiting him hard do not.
The Gators also offered 2018 quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but it seems Sitkowski is a better fit to what Florida wants to do offensively, though both are talented.
THOSE WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT IN
The three big names that did not make it to Friday Night Lights as expected were Alabama commit Alex Leatherwood, five-star defensive end Jarez Parks, and Rivals100 safety Devon Hunter.
* Florida expected Leatherwood in, but he was not able to make it, telling the staff he had transportation issues. The staff is starting to wonder how seriously Leatherwood really is looking at the Gators, with him able to make trips to Alabama, Auburn, and even Miami, but can’t find a way to Gainesville. Just last month in Baltimore, where he was recruiting fellow attendees for the Crimson Tide, he told several outlets Florida was firmly in second place for his services. However, actions speak louder than words.
* Five-star Parks was another name expected but he wasn’t able to make it due to his decision to stay in Alabama for the Tide's recruiting cookout weekend. Parks has taken his recruiting process slowly, but it seems Alabama, Florida, and Florida State are the main players here. The Gators haven’t hosted him on campus since the spring.
* Four-star safety Hunter’s parents weren’t able to make it down last weekend. However, the family rescheduled their trip and arrived on Florida’s campus on Tuesday and plan to spend a few days in Gainesville. This battle is shaping up to be a Florida/Virginia Tech showdown with the Gators looking to pull Hunter away from the home state team. The combination of defensive backs coach Torrian Gray and quality control coach Mark DeBastiani, who both have a long withstanding relationship with Hunter, is what has Florida very much in the running.
CAMP IMPRESSIONS
Over the last few years Friday Night Lights was starting to lose a lot of its luster. The big trend lately has been for top prospects coming to hang out and watch the event, but not actually take the field to compete, leaving a lot to be desired talent wise.
However, this past weekend the buzz seemed to be back in Gainesville, with a weekend full of top targets, and different events going on. The quarterback camp run by the Gators coaches, but also including many top quarterback coaches from around the country, was just awesome. It brought in a lot of talented 2018 arms for the staff to evaluate and by the end of the camp Florida had two new quarterback targets on the board when previously they were boom or bust on five-star Trevor Lawrence, who recently named a top two of Clemson and Georgia.
Thursday also saw the Sensational Sophomore night kick off where the Gators sent out a flurry of offers at the camps end. A few names that landed offers were 2018 tight end George Takacs, 2018 defensive end Jarrett Jackson, 2019 defensive end Derrick McLendon, and 2018 offensive lineman Trey Hill.
Friday was the big day for visitors and of course participants in the Friday Night Lights Camp. The Gators hosted many targets during the day and made a lot of headway with a multitude of targets and even came away with a couple of commitments from the big weekend. The staff has really instituted a family feel that a lot of recruits notice and speak of in interviews. One of the biggest unsung hero’s of the weekend that really is director of player personnel Drew Hughes. He and the guys in the recruiting official made it a point to bring in top targets, and while some weren’t able to show up, a large portion made it in and enjoyed themselves.
All of these pieces that made up the weekend seemed to bring much-needed 'juice' back into this event.
Saturday was a bit of a lighter day with not a ton of recruiting talent on campus. However the Gators had many high school teams up competing for 7-on-7. Getting high school teams up and around your coaching staff is a good tool because it gives the staff a chance to build a relationship with high school coaches. This staff has made it a point to build bridges with as many high schools as they can, which is why the staff travels to so many different schools during the spring evaluation period, even if the school doesn’t have elite talent there.
COMMITMENTS COMING
Each year there are normally a handful of prospects who look to bring their recruiting process to an end before heading into their final fall football season. This year the rush of commitments over the next couple of weeks could favor the Orange and Blue.
The Gators landed two commitments in James Houston and Adarius Lemons coming off their successful Friday Night Lights camp and would love to keep the momentum going.
* So far the only prospect to set an actual commitment date is four-star safety Brad Stewart, who is slated to announce his choice on August 17th, which is his birthday. Stewart was in Gainesville this past weekend on Friday and Saturday and enjoyed his time down a lot. The staff felt extremely confident in their chances to land him coming off the visit. LSU jumped into the mix with an offer right before the trip to UF after he camped in Baton Rouge. Normally, that would be a death knoll for any other contenders, however it seems the offer came to late, which has hurt the Tigers. If Stewart does pick the Gators then his main recruiter Tim Skipper will have pulled four pledges this cycle from four different states.
* Another prospect looking to commit sometime in early August is three-star cornerback Shawn Davis. The Miami native has visited Gainesville multiple times in the past and has had the Gators on top for months. I am very confident that Florida will land Davis when he does decide to make an announcement.
* Rivals250 cornerback Marco Wilson was in Gainesville this past Saturday and was able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with multiple staff members, and it really seemed like the Gators rolled out the red carpet. Wilson is looking to announce a commitment “soon”, but hasn’t set a solid date just yet. Wilson named a top five of Florida, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, and Southern Cal recently, but coming off his time at UF the Gators seem to be in the driver's seat.
THURSDAY AM EDIT: Wilson will announce his decision on August 1st at 8 pm on his fathers Gridiron studs radio show
* Another Rivals250 player looking to announce “soon” is four-star defensive tackle Fred Hansard. This past weekend the Gators hosted Hansard and his family on campus and he left saying the Gators were in a great spot to land his commitment. Florida has been recruiting Hansard hard dating back into the spring and would love to add him as their cherry on top for the defensive tackle haul. The visit to Gainesville seems to have pushed the Gators in-front with Rutgers likely the Gators biggest competition.
TOP 2018 QUARTERBACK TARGET IDENTIFIED
Rivals100 2018 quarterback Artur Sitkowski stole the show in Gainesville this past weekend during the Gators' first ever quarterback camp. The four-star made big league throw after big league throw and showed both zip and accuracy on his passes. The Gators extended an offer to Sitkowski, who is very aware of the Gators program history with his aunt being a big Florida fan and residing in Tampa.
Sitkowski named programs such as Ohio State, North Carolina, and South Carolina as those recruiting him hardest. Sitkowski noted playing in a pro-style offense as what he is looking for in a college, which is something the Gators offer that the three others recruiting him hard do not.
The Gators also offered 2018 quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but it seems Sitkowski is a better fit to what Florida wants to do offensively, though both are talented.
THOSE WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT IN
The three big names that did not make it to Friday Night Lights as expected were Alabama commit Alex Leatherwood, five-star defensive end Jarez Parks, and Rivals100 safety Devon Hunter.
* Florida expected Leatherwood in, but he was not able to make it, telling the staff he had transportation issues. The staff is starting to wonder how seriously Leatherwood really is looking at the Gators, with him able to make trips to Alabama, Auburn, and even Miami, but can’t find a way to Gainesville. Just last month in Baltimore, where he was recruiting fellow attendees for the Crimson Tide, he told several outlets Florida was firmly in second place for his services. However, actions speak louder than words.
* Five-star Parks was another name expected but he wasn’t able to make it due to his decision to stay in Alabama for the Tide's recruiting cookout weekend. Parks has taken his recruiting process slowly, but it seems Alabama, Florida, and Florida State are the main players here. The Gators haven’t hosted him on campus since the spring.
* Four-star safety Hunter’s parents weren’t able to make it down last weekend. However, the family rescheduled their trip and arrived on Florida’s campus on Tuesday and plan to spend a few days in Gainesville. This battle is shaping up to be a Florida/Virginia Tech showdown with the Gators looking to pull Hunter away from the home state team. The combination of defensive backs coach Torrian Gray and quality control coach Mark DeBastiani, who both have a long withstanding relationship with Hunter, is what has Florida very much in the running.
CAMP IMPRESSIONS
Over the last few years Friday Night Lights was starting to lose a lot of its luster. The big trend lately has been for top prospects coming to hang out and watch the event, but not actually take the field to compete, leaving a lot to be desired talent wise.
However, this past weekend the buzz seemed to be back in Gainesville, with a weekend full of top targets, and different events going on. The quarterback camp run by the Gators coaches, but also including many top quarterback coaches from around the country, was just awesome. It brought in a lot of talented 2018 arms for the staff to evaluate and by the end of the camp Florida had two new quarterback targets on the board when previously they were boom or bust on five-star Trevor Lawrence, who recently named a top two of Clemson and Georgia.
Thursday also saw the Sensational Sophomore night kick off where the Gators sent out a flurry of offers at the camps end. A few names that landed offers were 2018 tight end George Takacs, 2018 defensive end Jarrett Jackson, 2019 defensive end Derrick McLendon, and 2018 offensive lineman Trey Hill.
Friday was the big day for visitors and of course participants in the Friday Night Lights Camp. The Gators hosted many targets during the day and made a lot of headway with a multitude of targets and even came away with a couple of commitments from the big weekend. The staff has really instituted a family feel that a lot of recruits notice and speak of in interviews. One of the biggest unsung hero’s of the weekend that really is director of player personnel Drew Hughes. He and the guys in the recruiting official made it a point to bring in top targets, and while some weren’t able to show up, a large portion made it in and enjoyed themselves.
All of these pieces that made up the weekend seemed to bring much-needed 'juice' back into this event.
Saturday was a bit of a lighter day with not a ton of recruiting talent on campus. However the Gators had many high school teams up competing for 7-on-7. Getting high school teams up and around your coaching staff is a good tool because it gives the staff a chance to build a relationship with high school coaches. This staff has made it a point to build bridges with as many high schools as they can, which is why the staff travels to so many different schools during the spring evaluation period, even if the school doesn’t have elite talent there.
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