Spivey Senses: Recruiting not as bad as some think

The past few weeks have been wild for Florida fans  with the hiring of Kurt Roper as offensive coordinator and then the Under Armour All-American game complete with the drama from Dalvin Cook and the commitment of Gerald Willis

Those two were not the only things going for Gator fans these past few weeks as the coaches have been offering new prospects while staying on some other guys.

In this edition of Spivey Senses I’m going to get everyone caught up on recruiting as well as release the first edition of Spivey’s mock class.

New players on the radar:

Friday was a big day for Athlete Isaiah McKenzie (5-8, 165, Plantation, FL American Heritage) who picked up a Florida offer as well as an Ole Miss offer. McKenzie was one of the best players at the Under Armour game this week playing both running back and splitting out as a receiver showing his good hands and incredible speed. McKenzie is a perfect fit in Roper’s offense.

When McKenzie was reached by GatorCountry on Friday he told GC that he will visit Florida on January 24th and that he needed to see a good time in order to pull him away from Notre Dame. Despite saying that, GC has learned that McKenzie doesn’t meet Notre Dame’s academic requirements at this time which could force him elsewhere. McKenzie is friends with Quincy Wilson, who will also be on campus together on the 24th.

Florida also recently offered Quarterback Marvin Zanders (6-1, 175, Jacksonville, FL Raines) who is committed to Missouri and plans to possibly enroll early. I’m told that there is a good chance that Zanders could visit Florida this week and  due to his relationship with Roper could pick the Gators. Zanders loves the possibility of staying close to home while also working with Roper and playing in the SEC in front of family.

With the loss of Dalvin Cook, Florida also offered running back Jeff Jones (6-0, 198, Minneapolis, MN Washburn) this past week. I’m told that Jones was privately raving about Florida and talking about how big the offer was. One All-American told me that Jones was saying how fun it would be to play in the SEC at Florida. Quincy Wilson also told GC that he thought Jones would be a Gator. Jones will visit Florida on January 24th.

Running back Myles Autry (5-10, 170, Norcross, GA High) made news on Friday by tweeting that Florida has moved to the top of his recruitment after working with quarterback Will Grier in San Antonio this past week. Autry is a big time playmaker who was slowed by a knee injury last year but has come on late. Autry is a nice spread type of player who has speed and athleticism to create plays. GC is working to find out when Autry will visit Florida but Autry does claim a Gators offer already.

Penn State commit receiver Chris Godwin (6-2, 202, Middletown, DE High) has also been contacted by Florida lately to see how interested he is in the Gators. Godwin said that if Florida offered he would think about visiting Gainesville but wasn’t sure at that time. Godwin had a nice week in Orlando and showed off good hands and route running.

On Thursday Florida offered running back Derrell Scott (5-10, 181, Havelock, NC High) who has a top two of Tennessee and South Carolina but has yet to make a decision. Scott and Brad Lawing have a great relationship and I’m told that Scott will visit Florida on January 17th. Duke Dawson is currently recruiting Scott to Florida at the Semper Fi All-American game. I had a South Carolina source tell me that while he has a top two he’s still looking for that big offer which could very well be the Gators a team he’s wanted an offer from for a long time.

Holding on to commits:

Receiver Ermon Lane (6-2, 172, Homestead, FL High) seems like a guy who wants to follow either Quincy Wilson or Dalvin Cook to college. Lane’s mother called him in Orlando and told him he better not flip and Wilson believes that’s true. However, I believe that Lane wants to follow Cook to FSU. Florida needs Lane to visit Florida again to have a good shot of keeping him. Another key is will FSU end up having room for Lane?

Cornerback J.C. Jackson (5-10, 175, Immokalee, FL High) was overheard saying he wished he would have never left Florida State but privately he’s telling family and friends that he’s solid to Florida. I’m of the belief that Jackson was saying FSU stuff because he was around those guys this week and when he gets back home in Immokalee, things will slow down for him and he will be back to solid Florida.

Cornerback Chris Lammons (5-9, 168, Plantation, FL High) is scheduled to visit South Carolina and Florida officially in January but I’m told that he’s solid to Florida but just wants a backup plan in case something happens. With Roberson leaving and the Gators not landing Jalen Tabor things are looking good for Lammons to see early playing time at Florida.

Targets still out there:

Defensive tackle Thomas Holley (6-4, 299, Brooklyn, NY Abraham Lincoln) is committed to Penn State for now but I believe he’s looking hard at Florida and could flip at any time. Holley wants to know his head coach and that isn’t possible at Penn State right now but he’s comfortable with Will Muschamp. If Larry Johnson stays at Penn State the Lions could hold on to Holley but they have work left to do.

Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson (5-10, 172, Gardena, CA Junipero Serra) hates talking about recruiting but the GC team was able to spend some down time in the players’ lounge shooting pool with Jackson and we walked away feeling like Florida had a great shot at Jackson due to track. After the game Jackson and 2015 linebacker Jeffrey Holland went out together and Holland made the comment about them playing together in college. Jackson wants to be in the Olympics and Florida helps him in that department.

Mock Class as of January 4th:

QB: Will Grier, Marvin Zanders

RB: Isaiah McKenzie (I think Jones, Scott or Autry could move into the class but I want to see how the visits go first.)

WR: Eric Lauderdale, Ryan Sousa, Ermon Lane (eventually sticks because he can play early)

TE: DeAndre Goolsby, C’yontai Lewis, Moral Stephens

OL: David Sharpe, Travaris Dorsey, Nolan Kelleher, Drew Sarvary (I don’t think Dontae August will qualify but if he does he sticks.  I also think another linemen gets in maybe Damian Prince or Jordan Sims.)

DL: Gerald Willis, Khairi Clark, Justus Reed, Taven Bryan and Lorenzo Carter

LB: None

DB: Chris Lammons, Adoree Jackson, Quincy Wilson, JC Jackson, Duke Dawson

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.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks AS….you seem to have a lot more optimism about Lane than others. Just about everyone else has him penciled in as a Nole. I never thought the wheels were coming off in recruiting like others did, glad to see someone else confirm it. I do want to ask what you see in Carter to feel he’ll pull the trigger for us in the end?….also I would think as tight as it was between us and PSU for Holley, the HC bolting for the NFL would have been all he needed to flip – what’s the hold up?

    • If Lane doesn’t visit Florida again than things will not go Florida’s way simply as that IMO. I think Holley depends on who is retained at PSU.