Florida Gators offensive line recruiting board

Between spring practice and junior days, the Florida Gators hosted well over 100 prospects and those efforts have a lot of recruits thinking about the Orange and Blue.

Over the next week Gator Country is going to break down each position and take a look at who the Gators have the best chance of landing at each position.

To start off the series we are going to look at the offensive side of the ball and focus on the most important position of need, which is the offensive line.

The Gators are looking to sign anywhere from 5-7 offensive linemen in this class but have yet to receive a commitment from one yet.

 

Offensive line targets with offers

Branton Autry (6-4, 320, Coffeyville, KS Coffeyville JUCO)

Teams in contention: No standouts at this time because he has yet to take visits.

What are Florida’s chances:  Autry has gotten to talk to offensive line coach Mike Summers a good bit, says he plans to visit Florida this summer and he admits that he likes that he can play right away at Florida. Autry is a native of Mobile, Alabama, so it will be interesting to see if Alabama or Auburn offers him. Autry is the only JUCO lineman with an offer at this time.

 

Parker Bourdreaux (6-5, 291, Orlando, FL Bishop Moore) 

Teams in contention: Florida and Clemson are considered to be the top two teams in his recruitment at this time.

What are Florida’s chances: Bourdreaux visited Florida twice this spring and admits that he has gotten very close to head coach Jim McElwain and to offensive line coach Mike Summers, plus, he sees an immediate need for linemen at Florida. Clemson had the early lead but the Gators have pulled back to even with them. Boudreaux plans to take his recruitment into January so there is still a long time to go.

 

Parker Braun (6-3, 272, Kissimmee, FL Osceola)

Teams in contention: Florida, Miami, Georgia Tech, Auburn and Stanford are schools that Braun has mentioned as having high interest in but he has yet to narrow down his list yet.

What are Florida’s chances: Florida had a good visit with Braun when he and his father visited the Gators this spring. Braun has an older brother that plays at Georgia Tech and that could play into his decision. Miami also had a great visit with Braun. The Gators need to get another visit from Braun if they expect to have a great shot at landing him

 

Christion Gainer (6-6, 254, Panama City, FL Bay)

Teams in contention: Florida, Alabama and Miami are schools that Gainer says he talks to a lot but he has yet to narrow down his list.

What are Florida’s chances: Gainer talked about visiting Florida several times this spring but has yet to visit the Gators. The offensive lineman does talk to offensive line coach Mike Summers a lot and the Gators are recruiting him hard but need to get him in town for a visit.

 

John Simpson (6-4, 288, North Charleston, SC Fort Dorchester)

Teams in contention: Florida, Clemson and South Carolina are the three schools that Simpson visited this spring and are schools that Simpson says he plans to visit again. LSU and Tennessee are also schools he plans to visit.

What are Florida’s chances: South Carolina and Clemson are the leaders for Simpson right now but he admitted that the Gators spring game blew him away but the Gators must get a return visit if they expect to have a legit shot.

  

Marcus Tatum (6-6, 254, Daytona Beach, FL Mainland)

Teams in contention: Florida, Miami and Auburn are considered Tatum’s top three schools.

What Florida’s chances: Tatum visited Florida three times this spring and if the Gators can get through Tatum’s visit to Auburn this weekend then they have a great shot at landing him. Tatum plans to return to Florida this summer for a camp with his team.

 

Clark Yarbrough (6-6, 268, Woodberry Forest, VA High)

Teams in contention: Florida, Stanford, Virginia, Duke and Clemson are the five teams that Yarbrough says stands out to him right now.

What Florida’s chances: Yarbrough’s grandfather played at Florida but Virginia is considered to be the leader for Yarbrough at this time. Yarbrough has said he would like to visit Florida this spring or summer before he makes a final decision. If Yarbrough visits Florida again then I expect the Gators to be a factor.

 

Lineman who could earn an offer

Luke Elder (6-3, 285, LaGrange, GA High)

Teams in contention: Clemson, Ole Miss and Tennessee are all schools that offered him but Florida is a school he likes a lot despite no offer yet.

What Florida’s chances: If Florida was to offer him then I would expect them to be one of his top schools because Elder has said he loves the academics at Florida and that Florida is a school he likes despite not having the offer. Summers plans to evaluate him this spring and an offer could come after that.

 

Stone Forsythe (6-7, 331, Winter Garden, FL West Orange)

Teams in contention: Kentucky is the team to beat early on for Forsythe.

What Florida’s chances: Forsythe has admitted that if Florida offers him then the Gators would be the team to beat and offensive line coach Mike Summers plans to evaluate him this spring and he also plans to camp at Florida this summer.

 

With the spring evaluation starting on Wednesday the Gators will be evaluating a lot of prospects on the offensive line this spring and several more offers are likely to be given out this spring.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Man if I was an O Lineman and had the opportunity to play for a college with great academics and if I work I could have immediate playing time with a Florida Offer I’d commit in a heartbeat. That being said this is a big decision for most of these young men, some will just enjoy the recruiting process.

    • ‘Immediate playing time’ is perhaps an important factor with some kids. These are usually the guys with 3-Star talent. Or, to put it another way, there is always ‘immediate playing time’ at Kansas. The very best among the 5-Stars hardly mention it as a factor. These kids are certain they can play anywhere and soon. At present, Alabama has four 5-Stars competing for the QB position. Last year their 3-deep at RB were all high school five-Stars. For the very best, those to seriously think about playing in the NFL, they want to win, practice against the best and compete against the very best from other SEC programs.

    • That is especially true at the OL position as most of these guys would rather take a redshirt year before competing in the SEC but Florida will get some guys that can play early in this class IMO.

    • Most will enjoy the process but most linemen decide during the summer months so that’s when Florida should pick up some commitments at the position.