Recruiting Grades

With the high school football season getting underway next Friday, that means the summer recruiting circuit is now over.

The Florida Gators had a lot of success this summer, gaining eight commitments and picking up a ton of ground on a lot of top prospects.

With all of that being said, Gator Country is going to take a look at each position and give out grades on how well the coaching staff has done at each position.

We will also talk about how the remaining targets are looking at each position. Next week, Gator Country will break down each of the remaining prospects on Florida’s recruiting board individually.

                                       Position                                                   Grade

QUARTERBACK

A+

Florida has Davidson Day quarterback Will Grier committed already and the staff is happy with him. Right now, the Gators aren’t recruiting anymore quarterbacks.

1 committed

1 needed

No targets currently

RUNNING BACK

A

The need for running backs isn’t a high need for Florida this year after signing two running backs in the Class of 2013. Florida did a great job getting Dalvin Cook to commit and the staff is happy with signing just one running back in 2014, unless a top running back wants in. Cook is a top 5 back in the country.

1 committed

1-2 needed

Targets:

Joe Mixon

Bo Scarbrough

Tony James

RECEIVERS

A-

Coming into this year’s recruiting cycle, the Gators coaching staff wanted to land a top notch receiver. Well so far the Gators have done that in adding Ermon Lane to the mix. Now the staff is focused on adding one more receiver and possibly two more receivers, but getting a top guy like Lane is a great start.

1 committed

2-3 needed

Targets:

KD Cannon

Johnnie Dixon

Josh Malone

Speedy Noil

Travis Rudolph

Artavis Scott

TIGHT END

C

If receiver isn’t the biggest position of concern for Florida than the tight end position has to be. Florida has four unproven tight ends on their roster and would like to add two more this year. The Gators have C’Yontai Lewis committed but he’s a guy that will need a redshirt year, so adding a tight end who can contribute early is a must in the Class of 2014.

1 committed

2 needed

Targets:

Bryce Dixon

Deandre Goolsby

Josh McNeil

OFFENSIVE LINE

C+

As of right now, the Gators have four offensive line commits. Nolan Kelleher is a tremendous pick up for Florida, as he can play all five positions along the line. Dontae Angus is also a great pick up for an offensive tackle. The Gators would like to add another tackle to go with Angus and another inside guy to go with Dorsey and Kelleher.

4 committed

5-6 needed

Targets:

Tyrell Crosby

Damian Mama

Damian Prince

Jordan Sims

David Sharpe

DEFENSIVE LINE

C

So far the Gators have three commits on the defensive line. Florida filled their need for a big tackle in Khairi Clark but still need another defensive tackle. The Gators have Taven Bryan at defensive end but would like one more guy there. The Gators have one BUCK but again, the Gators want another BUCK in this class.

3 committed

5-6 needed

Targets:

Lorenzo Carter

Dewayne Hendrix

Thomas Holley

Davonte Lambert

Cory Thomas

Gerald Willis

LINEBACKERS

N/A

Linebacker is a huge position of need as the Gators signed four top linebacker prospects last season. The Gators would like to sign one linebacker in the class but they won’t sign just any prospect, it will have to be a premier player.

0 committed

1 needed

Targets:

Clifton Garrett

Raekwon McMillan

Nyles Morgan

Dwight Williams

DEFENSIVE BACKS

B+

Four defensive backs are already committed to Florida but the Gators would still like to add another top cornerback prospect. Florida is also in the hunt for Jamal Adams, a top safety prospect. With safety being a position that is young, the Gators would like to add another body to the position for the future.

4 committed

6 needed

Targets:

Jamal Adams

Adoree Jackson

Jalen Tabor

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.