Final NSD predictions

With just a day to go before National Signing Day is upon us, the Gator Country staff sat down to give everyone our final predictions on where prospects will sign and why we think they will sign at that particular school. Years of recruiting have led to this day and there are several prospects that are either undecided or wavering in their commitment who can make or break the recruiting cycle for the teams that are recruiting them.

Targets:

QB Treon Harris

Info on Harris: Harris is a long time Florida State commit who visited Florida on January 17th after receiving an offer from Kurt Roper once he arrived at Florida. Harris’ brother told GC he thinks the Gators offense is a better fit for Harris.

Andrew Spivey’s Prediction: Florida– Florida’s offense fits Harris more and the Gators win out on national signing day. Florida’s new offense and the lack of playmakers is something that will help lure Harris to Gainsville

Nick de la Torre’s Prediction: Florida – I think Harris flips on NSD and lands with the Gators. He’s currently a Florida State commit but new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper put on the full court press as soon as he stepped foot in Gainesville. Harris spent last weekend in Miami but I believe this is a two-team race between the Gators and the Seminoles.

 

WR Isaiah McKenzie

Info on McKenzie: Florida offered McKenzie late and secured an official visit, but late pushes from Ole Miss and Virginia Tech pushed the Gators further down the board for the instate prospect.

AS Prediction: Virginia Tech– unless McKenzie is pulling the ultimate troll job than he isn’t heading to Florida but more likely heading to Virginia Tech.

ND Prediction: Virginia Tech- The 5’8” receiver impressed all week during the Under Armour All-America game and earned a Florida offer that week. However, I don’t think McKenzie winds up in the class, rather winding up at Virginia Tech, where he took an official visit last weekend.

 

WR C.J. Worton

Info on Worton: Kurt Roper offered Worton once he took the Gators’ OC job and secured an official visit. Ultimately,Worton chose to decommit from Florida State, a team he had been committed to for months. Worton is a playmaker the Gators need in their offense.

AS Prediction: Florida- Several people close to Worton tell GC that he’s heading to Florida to play for the instate Gators — a team his older brother played for. West Virginia did a great job staying in the mix but the distance and conference helped Florida.

ND Prediction: Florida- Worton is all Gator. I believe he’s been a Gator since they offered late in the process and his decommitment from Florida State sealed that for me.

 

OL Derrick Kelly

Info on Kelly: LSU has been the leader for Kelly for months now but the Gators have gotten back into the mix of late due to the distance from home and their relationship with Kelly’s mother. Florida State could offer late to make things real crazy.

AS Prediction: Florida- Kelly’s mother told GC that she thought Florida had a slight lead in Kelly’s recruitment due to the distance from home and the ability for her to be able to see him play more. If Florida State offers before signing day than the percentage of Kelly landing in Gainesville would go down a bit in my mind.

ND Prediction: Florida- The Gators have decided to take two offensive linemen this recruiting cycle and I believe that Kelly is one of those two. Kelly visited Gainesville in December and has since been to USF and LSU but I think the Gators and Mike Summers will land this tackle who will bolster the depth on the offensive line.

 

OL Damian Prince

Info on Prince: Maryland and Florida are the leaders for Prince heading into Wednesday’s decision with the Gators getting the last visit for him this past weekend. Mike Summers being hired as the offensive line coach plus Jalen Tabor help Florida out a lot.

AS Prediction: Florida- While Prince told a few people in Gainesville that he was going to sign with Florida, the confidence level is still shaky due to Prince being from Maryland. Prince wants opportunity to play early and both schools give him that so it will be where Prince feels the most comfortable at.

ND Prediction: Florida- Prince had a great official visit to Florida last week and having his childhood friend Jalen Tabor on campus doesn’t hurt either. Prince is a talented player and could push Trenton Brown at right tackle this season. However, both schools can offer early playing time so this may not help Florida that much. Ultimately, I think the opportunity to play with a close friend and to be able to play in the SEC help the Gators land Prince.

 

DE Lorenzo Carter

Info on Carter: Carter visited Georgia this past weekend after seeing coaches from Florida, Florida State, LSU and Georgia. Carter is trending hard towards Georgia due to distance from home and being able to play for his home state

AS Prediction: Georgia- Carter visited Florida back in September and hasn’t been back to Gainesville since. That hurt Florida’s chances plus the 4-8 season didn’t help either. Will Muschamp went down swinging but it just wasn’t enough.

ND Prediction: Georgia- Carter’s mother loves Florida but this is Lorenzo’s decision to make and I think he stays in state with the Bulldogs. Florida really fell behind with Carter during — who named the Gators his leader this past summer — during the season and they were never able to catch back up.

 

DE Rocel McWilliams

Info on McWilliams: McWilliams has been committed to Missouri for over a month now but he did visit Gainesville in January and enjoyed the visit. The question for McWilliams is will the Gators have room for him and then does he want to still switch.

AS Prediction: Toss up- I think if Florida gives McWilliams the green light on signing day that he commits to the Gators due to distance and being able to play in front of his family. Again this comes down to does Florida take a defensive lineman after Carter or not.

ND Prediction: Missouri – I don’t think the Gators will reach here unless they don’t land both Kelly and Prince. Numbers are tight and the Gators need more bodies on the offensive line than the defensive line right now.

 

CB Adoree’ Jackson

Info on Jackson: Jackson is a superstar track athlete and is a heck of a football player that visited Florida for Friday Night Lights but never took an official to Florida. Jackson did visit USC and UCLA over the weekend with his mom but for only a short time.

AS Prediction: Florida- Track wins Jackson over for Florida, plus the ability to play in the SEC where Jackson has been rumored to have said he wants to play. Jackson is an athlete that the Gators need.

ND Prediction: Florida- There was a lot made out of Jackson’s visit to USC last weekend but if I know anything about Jackson it’s that he marches to the beat of his own drum. The conventional school of thought about what you think you know about recruiting can be thrown out of the window with him. Jackson said that he saw all he needed to see out of Florida when he visited over the summer and I think the Gators land their man on Wednesday.

 

Currently Committed:

CB J.C. Jackson

Info on Jackson: Jackson took a surprise unofficial visit to Florida last Saturday on the same day that he was supposed to have in-home visit with Al Golden of Miami. Jackson’s family likes Miami but they have told Jackson it’s his decision.

AS Prediction: Florida- Based on conversations with Jackson’s family, I believe he will stick with Florida. However, Jackson seems to enjoy playing the game, which makes me less than 100% confident that he will land in the class.

ND Prediction: Florida- It wouldn’t be an Immokalee recruitment without some drama. JC Jackson was spotted at a 7-v-7 tournament this summer wearing Gator shorts while still committed to Florida State. Jackson soon flipped to Florida but got caught up in the Dalvin Cook/Ermon Lane Under Armour All-America week hype and many believed he would follow suit and decommit from Florida. Jackson hasn’t flipped and even showed up unexpectedly to Florida last weekend decked out in Gator gear.

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.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t see Harris going to UF. If he wants to play quarterback and reach the next level, FSU is head and shoulders above UF. They run a pro-style offense and have a track record of quarterbacks in the NFL with Fisher. The spread does not prepare you for the next level and it’s only words from UF that the offense will be better, not anything that has been seen. We’ll see, but I would be surprised if Harris chose the lesser program if he wants to be a quarterback.

    • The trouble with the Snowprint post is that FSU is not head and shoulders above UF. One game in one season is not head and shoulder above. Do you remember the year before this past year? Also, as for pro style offense, what is that exactly? Seattle just put up over 40 points in the superbowl. Denver had the most prolific offense in NFL history. Neither run a traditional pro-style offense. As for developing quarterbacks, where is Ponder and Emmanuel now? They do not have staying power. The new Gator offense is exciting and mirrors Seattle. That is the future in the NFL.