Florida Gators 2014 recruiting class

[Escambia94]

Here is the 2014 Gator recruiting class, ranked #9 in the country:
NOTE 1: Gators picked up 3 on Junior Day 2/16/13
NOTE 2: Gators picked up 2 at Orange & Blue Debut 4/6/2013
NOTE 3: Football camp 6/9 & 6/12
NOTE 4: The Opening at Beaverton, OR 6/30
NOTE 5: FNL 7/27
NOTE 6: Under Armour Game 1/2/14
NOTE 7: US Army All American Game 1/4/14
NOTE 8: Official Visit Weekend 1/18/14

This class had 1 five-star, 12 four-star, and 11 three-star athletes. 7 athletes (3 four-star, 4 three-star) transferred out, 3 medically retired (2 four-star, 1 three-star), and 3 were dismissed (2 four-star, 1 three-star).

QB: 2
WR: 2
RB: 1
TE: 3
OL: 6
DB: 3
DL: 4
LB: 0
K/P: 2
ATH: 1

First	Last	Pos	Ht	Wt	High School	Rating	Notes
Teez​	Tabor​	CB​	6-1​	182​	Washington, D.C./ Friendship Academy​	0.9831​	2017 (2nd, Detroit Lions)​
Gerald​	Willis​	DL​	6-3​	275​	New Orleans, La. / Edna Karr​	0.9831​	Transferred to Miami 2015; 2019 (UFA)​
Will​	Grier​	QB​	6-2​	190​	Davidson, NC/ Davidson Day​	0.9765​	Suspended 2015; Transferred to WVU; 2019 (3rd, Carolina Panthers)​
Thomas​	Holley​	DL​	6-4​	285​	Brooklyn, NY/ Abraham Lincoln​	0.9636​	Medical retirement 2016​
Treon​	Harris​	QB​	5-11​	180​	Miami, Fla. / Booker T. Washington​	0.9444​	Transferred 2016​
David​	Sharpe​	OL​	6-6​	318​	Neptune, Fla. / Duncan Fletcher​	0.9437​	2017 (4th, Oakland Raiders)​
JC​	Jackson​	WR​	5-10​	180​	Immokalee, Fla./ Immokalee​	0.9395​	Suspended 2015; transferred to Maryland 2016; 2018 (UFA)​
Khairi​	Clark​	DL​	6-2​	325​	Hollywood, Fla./ Chaminade-Madonna​	0.9261​	n/a​
Duke​	Dawson​	CB​	5-11​	197​	Cross City, Fla./ Dixie County​	0.9225​	2018 (2nd, New England Patriots)​
Nolan​	Kelleher​	OL​	6-6​	305​	Mount Pleasant, SC/ Wando​	0.8843​	Medical retirement 2014​
Quincy​	Wilson​	S​	6-1​	196​	Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / University School​	0.8843​	2017 (2nd, Indianapolis Colts)​
Brandon​	Powell​	WR​	5-8​	167​	Deerfield Beach, Fla. / Deerfield Beach​	0.8811​	2018 (UFA)​
Moral​	Stephens​	TE​	6-4​	200​	Perry, Fla/ Taylor County​	0.8791​	n/a​
Ryan​	Sousa​	WR​	6-0​	177​	Orlando, Fla./ Lake Nona​	0.8787​	Transferred 2016​
CJ​	Worton​	WR​	6-1​	175​	Homestead, Fla./ South Dade​	0.8756​	Transferred 2017 (FIU)​
Taven​	Bryan​	OL​	6-5​	250​	Casper, WY/ Natrona County​	0.8656​	2018 (1st, Jacksonville Jaguars)​
DeAndre​	Goolsby​	TE​	6-4​	230​	Derby, KS/ Derby​	0.8656​	2018 (UFA)​
Travaris​	Dorsey​	OL​	6-2​	315​	Jacksonville, Fla. / Raines​	0.8600​	Transferred 2016​
Andrew​	Mike​	OL​	6-7​	230​	Tucson, AZ/ Sabino​	0.8600​	Transferred 2017​
Justus​	Reed​	DL​	6-3​	216​	Clearwater, Fla./ Clearwater Central Catholic​	0.8503​	Transferred 2017​
Kavaris​	Harkless​	OL​	6-5​	273​	Jacksonville, Fla. / Trinity Christian Academy​	0.8490​	n/a​
C’yontai​	Lewis​	TE​	6-5​	215​	Alabaster, AL/ Kingwood Christian​	0.8458​	n/a​
Deiondre​	Porter​	Ath​	6-1​	166​	Tampa, Fla/ Jefferson​	0.8411​	Arrested 2017​
Drew​	Sarvary​	OL​	6-6​	310​	Tyler, TX/ Tyler JC​	0.8292​	Medical retirement 2014​

• Jorge Powell, K 5-10 160 of Belen Jesuit Prep, Miami, Fla. ** (preferred walk -on)
  • Graduated December 2018 (Construction Management)
• Brooks Abbott, K 6-0 180 of Bolles High School, Jacksonville, Fla. **(Transfer, preferred walk -on)

 

[DRU2012]

It is still early, but here is the current information on the 2014 Gator recruiting class:

1. Ryeshene Bronson, WR, 6'3" 182, 4*, 6/14/12
2. Travonte Valentine, DT, 6'3" 286, 4*, 7/29/12

This it? Am I mistaken--either "wrong year" or "not yet committed"--but isn't there at least a QB now as well...maybe even (again, unless he's about to enter NOW, in 2013) Grier???

 

[Escambia94]

Grier is a top target, but has not yet committed. He does show up on campus a lot, because his girlfriend seems to like Gainesville.

 

[DRU2012]

I Think Driskel is gonna be fine, and he'll get to really show what he can do as he gets to mature under Pease with some standout WRs and a more imaginative passing attack the next couple of seasons--BUT I have this feeling about Grier, a "feeling" based on what I've seen of footage from a couple of his performances already (with still a year left before moving on), AND what others have said about seeing him live, and the fact that his dad is a well-thought-of high school coach, put-it-all-together and well, it's WAY too early to have any "scientific" reason to forcast his success (ever hear of Todd Marinovich?), but even aside from his being this full-on "quarerback-prodigy", I just have had this "connect" that says "Next big over-the-top Gator game-changer", since the first time I saw that highlight-sequence from his 9-TD-pass-performance...All I can say is the LAST time I had that feeling was a similar "reel" of this big, fast and fiery 9th-grader who could do everything--a kid who turned out to be named "Tebow".
(Step 1, of course: Like that last time, let's first make sure to "close the deal" when the time comes...).
Kelvin Taylor will be a big part of our success the next few years; along with Jones and Lane he'll make our downhill running game the trademark of a balanced-but-still-run-oriented offense that JD will masterly manage--but that may well swing to a pass-run rather than run-pass balance with the ascension of Grier in a few years. Look, I know I'm getting just WAY ahead of myself here, but I am that sure of my "prognosticating visions" when they (so infrequently) occur: We will get him, redshirt him OR have him back-up Driskel HIS senior year (depending on what our QB set-up is by then--in TURN depending on whether Brisset bails this spring, and so on), then begin again with a new stress on offense in say, 2016?

 

[Escambia94]

Driskel will be fine, but the Gators have stated that the plan is to recruit at least one QB, a couple RBs, and boat loads of linemen on both sides--in each class. I think the concern is that in years past they scared off quality QBs when a QB like Tebow was the incumbent. Now they have shown that two 4* or 5* players can co-exist with constant competition.

 

[DRU2012]

I think you are exactly right...It is more a shift-in-outlook on OUR part that is changing the potential future make-up of our team: It has perhaps been another regime's fears that ruled (and therefore limited) their choices, rather than the ACTUAL fears of players facing competition. THIS Coach and staff look for the best, and the fearless desire to be, and be a PART of, "the BEST" is among the ways they define it, part of "The Florida Way"--and that "risk" IS exactly the way they have gotten, and will continue to get, those several highly-rated players whose skills and even high school positions overlap--or at least did when they got here. That "constant competition", at the same time supporting each other and working together MAKES us all the more a "team", and of course a stronger one by far in having all of them here.

 

[Escambia94]

Will Grier had been visiting UF quite a few times the past few months. Today, he exclaimed on Twitter and Facebook that he has committed to Florida. He will be an early enrollee one year from now. Grier set state records by going 324/414 (78%) for 5,785 yards, 69 TDs, 6 INTs with 813 YDS rushing, 8 TDs, on 95 carries. He was the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. Only three other QBs threw for more yardage in a year. Grier owns one national record--837 friggin' yards in a game. His team narrowly won that one, 104-80. He threw for 10 TDs and ran for two more.

 

[DRU2012]

If you look back 6 mos. and more on these still-active threads concerned with recruiting, you will note Will Grier discussed as one of the "potential young future QB-stars" that we were already following, even pursuing then EARLY in their prep-careers--and Grier (along with Staver)was and continues to be one of those that we have continued to be interested in, along with other top programs...We were already really excited about this kid WELL before that amazing performance E- mentions that has put him into the NATIONAL spotlight. Now it looks we at least have the inside track going INTO his senior prep season; along with Mornigweg picked up and redshirted here in 2012, and Staver as I recall a still-likely addition to the 2013 class ( Escambia94, Am I right about that E-?), our Coaches' stated intention to at least AIM at bringing in on avg. "one highly-regarded quarterback with each class" is on target and well-underway.

 

[Escambia94]

Staver is still committed to the 2013 class. Grier committed to the 2014 class. Mornhinweg from the 2012 class was redshirted. Next year the Gators will start the season with at least five to seven QBs fighting for #1.

 

[Escambia94]

I went back to the 2013 recruiting thread and realized that we did discuss both Staver and Grier. What I did not realize then was that Grier was a 2014 candidate, not a 2013 candidate like Staver.

I also went through Twitter and discovered that some of these recruits will recruit each other a year or two out. It appears that WR Bronson and QB Grier have become Twitter/Facebook friends and one or the other recruited the other here. I like seeing that some of these kids are becoming friends before they even arrive on campus.

 

[DRU2012]

Staver is still committed to the 2013 class. Grier committed to the 2014 class. Mornhinweg from the 2012 class was redshirted. Next year the Gators will start the season with at least five to seven QBs fighting for #1.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I believe we can take our Head Coach at his word, and OC at HIS, and therefore alter the above to read, "...with at least five to seven QBs fighting for #2".
[I had a bunch of other (I thought somewhat) clever stuff written after this, but really, it was just that--"a bunch of stuff" (to put it nicely) that is completely beside the point: I'm not even going to ask if you DON'T believe them, and assume that this was just a catch-all way of describing ALL of their efforts...but the fact still remains: True "#2-and-one-hit-away" goes to Brisset automatically, everyone else going after #3 and/or some other job their athleticism and knowledge-of-the-game will in some cases offer them--opening up at BEST #2 IF-and-ONLY-if Jacoby elects to transfer, in which case SOME WILL be in a serious, interesting and IMPORTANT chase for the back-up role.]
...or am I totally missing something, somehow?

 

[Escambia94]

Nope. Every player needs to fight to be #1, but should be happy with what they have earned even if it falls short of #1.

 

[DRU2012]

Nope. Every player needs to fight to be #1, but should be happy with what they have earned even if it falls short of #1.

OK--I "get" what you're saying, and I don't mean to keep picking at this, but you are not being at ALL realistic--at either the true situation OR the other quarterbacks' grasp of it. That is NOT the situation, and at this point it must be clear to every one of these "prospective quarterbacks" that Jeff Driskell IS the starter. Even young Mr. Brisset can no longer be under any illusions: while highly regarded and (it-is-hoped) still willing to stay, he will, for the foreseeable future, now be the much-coveted "talented back-up", who is "one hit away" from stepping in once more--something far from impossible or even that unlikely--but he must still weigh that against taking his skills elsewhere and either sitting out for a year, or be content with the "big fish-in-small-pond" aspests of an FCS program. The Coaches, from Will Muschamp on down, have now been explicit on this matter (both he And Brent Pease have talked about how one reason for BEING so clear about it is to help ensure JD's concentration is squarely on leading HIS team and becoming a better QB, neither he nor the team around him questioning that any longer). As for the others, well, they come in KNOWING what the score is for at LEAST one more season, possibly (probably?) two--and again, two DEFINITELY if Jacoby stays. So the rest will be competing at BEST for "Back-up" (if Brisset were to transfer), otherwise for "eventual QB", and/or, at the very LEAST, at this point most still hoping to at least remain quarterbacks.
I DO I think understand your point, though--if it's that they must have coming-in the most confident, determined and no-quit attitude that they are "going all the way", that they are here for nothing less THAN to become the Gator starting-quarterback--but as the Coaches have made it clear in the most public of ways, they should be under no illusions concerning the 2013 season. If Brisset stays, they've little expectation of seeing the field NEXT season short of complete catastrophe. I understand that they will, must and SHOULD prepare as if that "catastrophe just might occur" (and of course the whole outlook changes when-and-if Jacoby leaves) but for now, the hardcore, no-exceptions position of "#1 or NOTHING" is neither practical nor healthy--short or long-term, for themselves or the team.
Perhaps the problem is simply the very real distinction between the quarterback and everyone else: his is NOT the same as any other "position". Your premise applies perfectly for every other "player", but we all KNOW that the starting quarterback, and naming him, has enormous significance and consequences for a team--practical and emotional. Maybe simply revise the 1st line, to "Every quarterback needs to fight to be his best, the eventual #1..." Does that distinction, and ONLY in the case of the QB, satisfy our differences here?

 

[Escambia94]

Keep in mind that Kerwin Bell and Shane Mathews both came from the bottom of the depth chart, from as far down as 7 of 7. Any quarterback needs to be ready when his time comes. That opportunity might come due to injury, suspension, or team punishment.

 

[DRU2012]

Escambia94,
OK OK ,"Uncle!"...I can't argue with "what I believe is" your point, so I'll cease and desist.

(However, not-connected directly, nor even necessarily part of the same discussion remains this thought:
Personally, I would just like to see us get some starting quarterbacks (alright, I'll settle for ONE, to begin with) to not only lead us to greatness, but actually go on to full-blown big-time success from our program to the NFL--and with a more-and-more "pro-style" offense, considering our access to talent you'd think SHOULD be the case, at least "from time-to-TIME" in the scheme of things.
On the other hand, of course, living here in Texas I am well-exposed to the annual display of EXACTLY those kinds of stories--but happening NOT to and for the recruits to the team with (like us) the PICK of their state's talent, but rather to "lesser programs" having gotten a less-heralded (sometimes MUCH less, even "UNheralded") player at QB, who goes on to such great pro-success, while the Longhorns' often 2 or more coveted-pick-ups from the same classes often turn out mediocre.)

 

[Escambia94]

Coach Travaris Robinson has been shopping for defensive talent out in Texas. Look for DB Jamal Adams to accept an offer or schedulevisits to campus soon.

 

[Escambia94]

Will Muschamp added CB Duke Dawson of Cross City, FL to the class of 2014. The 2013 and 2014 No Fly Zone is starting to take shape!

 

[Escambia94]

According to some sites, OG Garrett Brumfield has listed Florida amongst his top three along with FSU and aTm. LSU and Bama are also pursuing him hard.

 

[Escambia94]

The hard part about tracking 2014 recruits is that there is more information available than in years past. It is become increasingly difficult to gage recruits' actual interest, so it artificially looks like more kids are being scouted by the Gators when in reality the numbers are about the same as in years past and we just get to see more of the misses.

Either way, I tracked down the top targets as correlated amongst 247sports, Yahoo, ESPN, and Twitter. Look for the list to shuffle from "interested" to "offered" and "verbal commitment" on Junior Day and Senior Day sometime in the spring, and again after Friday Night Lights and open hunting season.

 

[Escambia94]

• Travonte Valentine, DT, 6'3" 286, 4*, who originally committed on 7/29/12, has decommitted as of 2/16/13
• Travaris Dorsey, OL, 6'3", 280, #26 OG committed on Junior Day, 2/16/13
• Benjamin Knox, OL, 6'5", 265 committed on Junior Day, 2/16/13
• Christian Miller, LB, 6'4", 200, 4* committed on Junior Day, 2/16/13, decommitted 5/20/13