Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of the 2013 Florida Gator recruiting class. Today is the day that the rest of the class that didn’t enroll in January, will arrive on campus and start preparing for life in college as a student-athlete.
Last year around this time, news broke that Jonathan Bullard and Dante Fowler Jr. might not be able to enroll at Florida with the rest of the 2012 class. Fowler was admitted late in the summer and Bullard was able to qualify and enroll in time for the fall.
This year, there is only one player that will not be able to enroll with the rest of his recruiting class.
That player is Roderick Johnson. Johnson is a 6’6”, 316-pound offensive lineman from American Heritage (Boca Raton, Fla.).
Johnson’s recruitment was a rollercoaster and this is just another twist in what has been an interesting recruiting cycle for him. Johnson committed to the Gators early on in the recruiting process but backed off that pledge after Aubrey Hill’s departure from the team prior to last season.
After opening his recruitment back up and taking a few official visits, Johnson decided that Gainesville was the best fit for him. He re-committed to Florida in December and said that it was time to focus on school.
Unfortunately, Johnson fell just a half credit shy of being able to enroll in class this week. He will enroll in one summer class that will take approximately two weeks for him to complete. He won’t be able to finish in time to enroll, but if he passes this class he will be able to enroll in the fall just like Bullard did a year ago.
Johnson isn’t as far behind as Bullard was a year ago either, so it is reasonable to think that he will be able to get the necessary work done and be able to put this situation behind him.
Johnson was a redshirt candidate even before this news broke, so arriving a couple of weeks after the rest of the class might solidify those plans.
INSIDERS TAKE (Andrew): While this isn’t the news Florida fans or Will Muschamp wanted to hear, this isn’t as bad as it may appear. Johnson was a guy who was a little behind but made up a ton of ground this year, so to just be a half credit shy is pretty good. He should be done way before fall camp.