Post summer defensive Florida Gators recruiting board

Football season has begun which means the recruiting camps are over for the Florida Gators recruiting and coaching staff for the summer.

The Gators had a lot of prospects come through campus for camps and unofficial visits this summer and that has helped them gain a lot of momentum on guys.

Florida’s coaching staff now has a pretty good idea on the guys that have legit interest in the Gators and which guys are simply just talking. The board has become somewhat clearer but remember guys are always added during the season when senior year film gets out.

Gator Country brought you the offensive side of the ball on Friday and now the defensive side of the ball is next.

Here’s the Florida Gators recruiting board on defense:

 

Defensive end

Florida landed its top target at defensive end when Zach Carter committed to the Gators this summer. The Gators are looking to add one to two more defensive ends to the class.

LaBryan Ray (6-4, 260, Madison, AL. James Clemens) visited the Gators for Friday Night Lights and called the visit a success. Ray says he will take an official visit to Florida this fall but right now the Gators are chasing Alabama.

Jarez Parks (6-5, 255, Sebastian, FL. River) is a three team race between Florida, Alabama and Florida State. The Gators had the momentum on Parks for a while but the defensive ends recruitment has heated up with all three teams now. Parks will likely make a decision closer to signing day so this one will go on for some time.

Markaviest Bryant (6-5, 228, Cordele, GA. Crisp County) is a prospect the Gators have been high on since last year and they’re fighting with Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Clemson here. The Gators are looking to get the defensive end back on campus this fall but Bryant is in no rush to make a decision.

 

Defensive tackle

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph has landed two big bodies at the defensive tackle position already for 2017. Both Jordon Scott and Javier Edwards are solid to the Gators and Florida looks to be looking for one more in the class. With Thomas Holley and Andrew Ivie both taking medical redshirts the Gators could potentially look for two more in the class.

Fred Hansard (6-3, 314, Princeton, N.J. Hun School) is down to Florida, Tennessee and Rutgers and plans to make a decision soon. The Gators look to be the team to beat after a very good trip to Gainesville for Friday Night Lights. The biggest question surrounding Hansard is highly quick he get into shape once he hits a college weight room.

Tyrone Truesdell (6-2, 299, Augusta, GA. Laney) has seen his recruitment sky rocket over the offseason and the Gators and Auburn are both hot after him. Truesdell says he will visit Gainesville this fall and that visit will be huge for the Gators chances. No matter what happens with Hansard, I expect Florida to still recruit Truesdell.

  

Linebacker

Florida is looking to sign three linebackers in the class of 2017 and the Gators have already landed two in the class. James Houston and Ventrell Miller both committed over the summer and seem to be solid with the Gators. Both players are solid prospects that can play in the SEC.

Levi Jones (6-2, 215, Austin, TX. Westlake) is the son of a former NFL player and you would think he’s a lock to Texas but it looks the opposite right now. Jones and his family want to leave the city of Austin and likely the state of Texas. LSU, Florida and a few west coast teams are sticking out for the Texas backer.

Rahyme Johnson (6-4, 205, Los Angeles, CA. Salesian) has Florida high a top his list and the Gators are the team to beat. Johnson plans to visit for the LSU game with his parents and that visit will be big deal for the Gators chances with his mom.

Chris Allen (6-4, 233, Baton Rouge, LA. Southern Lab) visited over the summer and picked up a Gators offer while on campus. Allen doesn’t have any leaders at the moment but continues to talk to Florida.

K.J. Britt (6-1, 223, Oxford, AL. High) has had Florida, Auburn and Georgia on top for a while now but it looks like Auburn or Georgia will land the Alabama star.

 

Defensive back

The Gators are trying to sign a big class at defensive back and they’ve already added two huge pieces to the class of 2017. Cornerbacks Elijah Blades and Marco Wilson have both committed to Florida and both are really good corners.

Blades recently picked up an offer from USC so he will be someone to follow this fall due to the fact that he’s from California. Blades is saying the right things in regards to his commitment to Florida.

Here are the targets at the position right now.

A.J. Terrell (6-2, 170, Atlanta, GA. Westlake) looked to be all Florida early on but now Clemson has the momentum for the Atlanta prospect. The Gators are still battling here but are waiting on Terrell to visit Gainesville again.

Ohio State commit Shaun Wade (6-2, 179, Jacksonville, FL. Trinity Christian) continues to look and talk to the Gators but Alabama and Ohio State are the two teams with the best chance at landing Wade right now. That could change if Wade and his parents visit Gainesville.

Ambry Thomas (5-11, 165, Detroit, MI. MLK) had a great trip to Gainesville last week and says the Gators, Michigan and Michigan State are all sitting high on his list right now. Thomas is someone the Gators will continue to work on as he continues to show interest towards Florida.

Miami commit C.J. Henderson (6-0, 175, Miami, FL. Columbus) has been flirting with the Gators for a while but has yet to pull the flip to Florida. The Gators will continue to work on Henderson this fall.

Shawn Davis (6-1, 195, Miami, FL. Southridge) announces his decision on August 26th and the Gators are battling Miami for his commitment. The Gators have been the team to beat for Davis for a long time and Florida should get good news on the 26th.

Brad Stewart (6-0, 194, New Orleans, LA. McDonough) announces his decision on August 17th and the Gators are in good shape for the defensive back. Alabama is also in the mix but the home state LSU Tigers are way behind for Stewart.

Devon Hunter (6-1, 204, Chesapeake, VA. Indian River) has been to Gainesville three times this offseason and that has given the Gators a legit shot to beat out Virginia Tech for the safety. The Gators will continue to work on Hunter and don’t expect a decision anytime soon for the talented Virginia prospect.

Hamsah Nasrildeen (6-5, 210, Concord, NC. High) visited Gainesville for two days last month and has Alabama and Florida high on his list. The talented safety wants to take official visits before making a decision but the Gators are in a good spot right now.

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.