Florida Gators 2015 Recruiting Class

[DRU2012]

@DRU2012 Pat Dooley has a nice article on why we should forgive Urban Meyer and move on. Mike Bianchi has a nice article that says "thank you Urban and Shelley Meyer, you are welcome to visit when we put Meyer in the Ring of Honor, but Urban is still a douche".

@miltongator I see conflicting reports. If it turns out to be true, then I will be happy.

Back on topic: I only predict 12-15 in this class, but some recruiting services predict about 20. Hopefully they know something I do not.

Re the first part, I don't care what Bianchi or anyone else has to say about it, from where I'm standing the most The Liar gets is a cumulative "wash"--for all he gave us in terms of success (and that first crop of coaches he brought in, Chris Leak and above all TT get at least as much of a share on THAT side of the equation), the whole '09 Championship come-up-short by his prima donnas, his own drama-queen performance, then the sequence of lies and sleazy maneuvers at the very end, complete with plunge-to mediocrity and leaving the cupboard bare on his way out the door (and please recall that feigning health and stress issues, from his continued presence in a choice Gator Athletic Dept. office he was awarded by Foley AFTER resigning, he meanwhile negotiated his move to and contract with OSU--and used his position, UF phones and recruiting lists to contact and woo as many of our top recruits he thought he had a shot at for his team-to-be), I feel I am being generous and MORE than fair calling it "even", after all.
With you on the second part, though.

 

[Escambia94]

Not that anyone is really watching, but I removed the decommitments. As of 1/11/2015 we have 7 hard commitments, 1 early enrollee. Coaches can talk to recruits again on 1/15. This would be the best time to make a play for the following targets:

• Cece Jefferson SDE Glen St Mary, FL Baker County 6'2" 275 5* (Auburn lean)
• Byron Cowart SDE Seffner, FL Armwood 6'4" 250 5* (Auburn lean)
• Martez Ivey OT Apopka, FL Apopka 6'5.5" 275 5* (Auburn or Florida)
• Jerome Baker RB/OLB Cleveland, OH Benedictine 6'2" 203 4* (Ohio St commit)
• Jeffery Holland OLB Jacksonville, FL Trinity 6'2" 230 4* (Auburn lean)
• Antonio Callaway WR Miami, FL Booker T Washington 5'11" 185 3* (Florida lean)
• Deondre Francois QB Orlando, FL IMG Academy 6'1" 195 4* (FSU lean)
• Ryan Davis WR St Petersburg, FL Lakewood 5'9.5" 167 4* (FSU or Florida)

After some official visits this weekend, it appears that some of the Big 3 that were leaning towards 51% towards Auburn may be leaning 99% to Auburn.

 

[Escambia94]

Official visits this weekend:

• Tyler Jordan, C, ****, Florida commit
• Mike Horton, OG, ****, Florida commit
• Brandon Sandifer, OG, ***, Florida commit
• Christian Pellage, OL, ****, South Carolina commit
• Jaason Lewis, RB, ****, Arizona State commit
• Jabari Zuniga, DE, North Carolina State commit
• Jeremiah Dinson, CB, ***, Kentucky commit
• Rashad Fenton, CB, ***, uncommitted

Official visits scheduled for the next two weekends:

• Rayshad Jackson, OLB, ***, Arkansas soft commitment
• Quandeski Whitlow, WDE, ***, South Carolina commit
• Byron Cowart, DE, *****, uncommitted
• Martez Ivey, OT, *****, uncommitted
• Jordan Scarlett, RB, ****, Miami commit
• Davante Davis, S, ****, Texas commit (note: same high school as Treon Harris)
• Van Jefferson, WR, ****, Georgia commit
• Richard McBryde, OLB, ****, Auburn commit
• Antonio Callaway, WR, ****, uncommitted (note: same high school as Treon Harris)
• Frederick Johnson, OT, ***, uncommitted
• Chris Williamson, ATH, ***, uncommitted
• D'Anfernee McGriff, ATH, ****, Auburn

I know that a lot of attention is being placed on the Big 3 of Cowart, Jefferson, and Ivey, but the Gators definitely have a chance to haul in a class of 22-25 three-star athletes. Cowart, Jefferson, and Ivey will likely go to Auburn as a package deal to follow Will Muschamp.

My prediction is that we grab most of the uncommitted athletes who are saving Florida for the last official visit before dead period, minus Cowart, Jefferson, and Ivey. The coaches can still flip a few of the commits, especially if Treon Harris can leverage his connections to former high school teammates.

My prediction is that the class will look something like this (names in italics imply uncertainty):

1. OT Tyler Jordan 6-4 270 Bishop Kenny HS, Jacksonville, FL. 2/22/14 3*
2. TE/DE Camrin Knight 6-4 220 Lincoln HS, Tallahassee, FL. 2/26/14 3*
3. DE Andrew Ivie 6-3 260 Pasco HS, Dade City, FL. 6/29/14. 3*
4. WR Derrik Dillon 5-11 165 Pine HS, Franklinton, LA. 5/30/14. 4*
5. WR/TE Kalif Jackson 6-5 197 Duncan Fletcher HS, Neptune Beach, FL. 7/29/14. 3*
   • OG Mike Horton 6-4 304 Lakeside HS, Atlanta, GA. 7/31/14. 4*
6. OG Brandon Sandifer 6-4 329 Northside HS, Warner Robbins GA. 8/13/14. 4*
7. TE Daniel Imatorbehebe Suwanee, GA North Gwinett 6'4" 227 3* EE
8. Martez Ivey, OL, ****, uncommitted
9. Rashad Fenton, CB, ***, uncommitted
10. Christian Pellage, OL, ****, South Carolina commit
11. Jordan Scarlett, RB, ****, Miami commit or Jaason Lewis, RB, ****, Arizona State commit or Jordan Cronkite, ****, West Virginia commit
12. Rayshad Jackson, OLB, ***, Arkansas soft commit or Adonis Thomas, LB, ****, Alabama commit
13. Davante Davis, S, ****, Texas commit (note: same high school as Treon Harris)
    1. Ryan Davis, WR, ****, uncommitted
14. Van Jefferson, WR, ****, Georgia commit or Antonio Callaway, WR, ****, uncommitted (note: same high school as Treon Harris)
15. Richard McBryde, OLB, ****, Auburn commit
16. Frederick Johnson, OT, ***, uncommitted
17. Chris Williamson, ATH, ***, uncommitted or D'Anfernee McGriff, ATH, ****, Auburn
18. Deondre Francois, QB, ****, FSU (if Florida does not flip Deondre then there will be no QBs in this class)
    • Byron Cowart, DL, *****
19. Cece Jefferson, DL, *****
20. Jeffrey Holland, LB, *****
21. TBD, DE

 

[Escambia94]

Added the following commitments:

1. LB Rayshad Jackson 6-1 205 Norland HS, Miami, FL. 3*
2. DE Zabari Zuniga 6-3 255 Sprayberry HS, Marietta, GA. 4*

 

[Escambia94]

I updated my recruit predictions for the last time. I will now ignore recruiting until NSD. Florida has 27 scholarships to offer, and will fill 15 to 23 of them. This class cannot be ranked higher than 50 or so without flipping a lot of five stars. More then likely Florida will land about 18 recruits and get ranked around #60 in the nation.

 

[Escambia94]

Added:

1. OG Richard Desir Jones 6-3 292 St Thomas Aquinas HS, Ft Lauderdale, FL. 3*
2. OT Frederick Johnson 6-8 285 Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL. 4*

 

[awebbf5]

Mac putting in a lot of work in a short amount of time. Got a good feeling about coach.

 

[Escambia94]

Add a few more

• DE Luke Ancrum 6-5 230. Sebring High School. Sebring FL. 2*
• ATH Kylan Johnson 6-3 210. Skyline High School. Dallas Texas. 3*
• RB Jordan Scarlett 5-11 205. St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Fort Lauderdale FL. 4*
• LS/TE Jacob Tilghman 6-3 220. Mainland High School. Daytona Beach FL. 2.1.2015 Walk-on Commitment.

As of NSD-3, the Gators can sign 10 more. Still looking for offensive line, depth at QB, and some linebackers. Luke Ancrum, Kyland Johnson, Zabari Zuniga, and Richard Desir Jones have all been pleasant surprises that have not been tracked by the major recruiting services as Gator leans or silent commitments. This could be a good sign that the new coaching staff is going to try to build its recruiting class more quietly, or it could be that this is how they had to build the class due to the transition.

I highlighted in bold above the recruits that committed after late official visits.

 

[Escambia94]

Tyler Jordan and Andrew Ivie are the first two recruits to fax in their LOI. They join EEs Imatorbahe and Knight in the class of 2015, which is projected to rank at #42 under Coach Mac with another 12 verbal commitments to sign. That would be quite a jump from #100 under Muschamp, but still disappointing for the Gators who typically have a top ten class.

 

[Escambia94]

Jordan Scarlett is the next one! Welcome to the Gators!

 

[Escambia94]

Desir-Jones is #5!

 

[Escambia94]

Luke Ancrum is #6.

 

[Escambia94]

Horton flips from Florida to auburn.

 

[Escambia94]

Byron Cowart struggled with the decision, but stuck with his relationship with Muschamp. Good kid, but wrong shade of orange and blue.

 

[miltongator]

ESPN had us ranked # 12 in the SEC. Pretty disappointing. Had hoped we'd get into the middle of the pack. Still have some time to improve, but not looking promising at this point.

 

[Escambia94]

Florida is currently ranked #20 in the nation with 20 recruits, which is still #10 in the conference. This morning we were projected at #47 in NCAA and #13 or #14 in the conference.

 

[Leakfan12]

Byron Cowart struggled with the decision, but stuck with his relationship with Muschamp. Good kid, but wrong shade of orange and blue.

I heard he signed with both schools, anyway Florida can some get some lawyers involved and force him to play here? Also I know it's not high ranking but Coach Mac lead a Colorado State team to a 10-2 record last season so he has done much with some talent, nothing against CSU but they don't get blue chip recruits.

 

[Escambia94]

I heard he signed with both schools, anyway Florida can some get some lawyers involved and force him to play here? Also I know it's not high ranking but Coach Mac lead a Colorado State team to a 10-2 record last season so he has done much with some talent, nothing against CSU but they don't get blue chip recruits.

We only want players who want to be Gators. I keep saying he is a good kid, but if his heart is at Auburn and Will Muschamp, then more power to him. Many say that it is not a good idea to commit to a coach. There is lots of talk that Muschamp is looking for an NFL coordinator job or another college head coach job, so he may not be at Auburn for more than a few years.

Given the situation, I think Coach Mac pulled in a good class and I have no complaints.

 

[Escambia94]

Here is the class of 2015. Florida is just waiting on an LOI to be faxed in from CeCe Jefferson to make that last one official.

1. OT Tyler Jordan 6-4 270 Bishop Kenny HS, Jacksonville, FL. 2/22/14 3*
2. TE/DE Camrin Knight 6-4 220 Lincoln HS, Tallahassee, FL. 2/26/14 3*
3. DE Andrew Ivie 6-3 260 Pasco HS, Dade City, FL. 6/29/14. 3*
4. WR/TE Kalif Jackson 6-5 197 Duncan Fletcher HS, Neptune Beach, FL. 7/29/14. 3* EE
5. OG Brandon Sandifer 6-4 329 Northside HS, Warner Robbins GA. 8/13/14. 4*
6. TE Daniel Imatorbehebe 6-4 227 North Gwinett HS Suwanee, GA 3* EE
7. LB Rayshad Jackson 6-1 205 Norland HS, Miami, FL. 3*
8. DE Zabari Zuniga 6-3 255 Sprayberry HS, Marietta, GA. 4*
9. OG Richard Desir Jones 6-3 292 St Thomas Aquinas HS, Ft Lauderdale, FL. 3*
10. OT Frederick Johnson 6-8 285 Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL. 4*
11. DE Luke Ancrum 6-5 230. Sebring High School, Sebring FL. 2*
12. RB Jordan Scarlett 5-11 205. St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Fort Lauderdale FL. 4*
13. LS/TE Jacob Tilghman 6-3 220. Mainland High School. Daytona Beach FL. Walk-on Commitment (does not count against signing of 25 max on NSD or the 85 scholarship cap).
14. OT Martez Ivey 6-5 275 Apopka HS, Apopka, FL. 5*
15. ATH/RB Jordan Cronkite 5-11 198 Westminster Christian, Miami, FL 4*
16. RB D'Anfernee McGriff 6-1 230 Tallahassee Leon, Tallahassee, FL 4*
17. WR Antonio Callaway 5-11 185 Booker T Washington, Miami, FL 3*
18. CB Chris Williamson 6-1 190 Gainesville, Gainesville, GA 3*
19. SDE Kelvonnis Davis 6-4 227 Miami Central, Miami, FL 3*
20. S Kylan Johnson 6-3 202 Skyline, Dallas, TX 3*
21. OT Nick Buchanan 6-4 280 Dunwoody, Atlanta, GA 3*

• SDE CeCe Jefferson 6-2 275 Baker County, Glen Saint Mary, FL 5*

 

[Escambia94]

I added QB Anderson Proctor as a walk-on QB. He got some reps along with Grier and Harris today in practice. The roster quietly grew larger this spring with walk-ons. Even QB Jacob Guy and QB Skyler Mornhinweg got some work in this weekend.