A week from Wednesday is Early Signing Day for the 2021 class and the Florida Gators will busy, as 23 of their 26 commits will sign early.
While having 23 prospects sign early is impressive, the Gators will have 15 of those 23 guys early enroll in Gainesville in January.
Those 15 guys will have the opportunity to go through spring practice with the Gators as well as get ahead start with strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage.
So far this year 8 freshmen have played extended time and three of those guys early enrolled last January.
GatorCountry has put together this list of 15 commits that say they will enroll early at Florida.
Linebacker/safety Diwun Black- Black is a junior college prospect who had a good freshman year but hasn’t played this year due to the cancellation of JUCO ball. Black should be in line to see playing time next year.
Defensive end Justus Boone- The Gators have talent at the defensive end position but a team can never have enough pass rushers. Boone probably doesn’t see a lot of time next year but could get some pass-rushing downs.
Linebacker Chief Borders-Borders is a guy that the Gators haven’t decided on a true position for him so this spring will be big for him to find out whether he plays inside backer or outside. Borders had an impressive 148 tackles this year.
Receiver Marcus Burke- Injuries slowed Burke down this season but he been healthy as of late and has caught touchdowns in his last three games. The Gators will most likely lose Trevon Grimes, Kadarius Toney, and Kyle Pitts to the NFL so there will be some snaps available at the position.
Safety Corey Collier-One weak spot for the Gators this year has been at the safety position and Collier is a guy who has a ton of potential. It would not surprise me to see Collier play a lot next year alongside Trey Dean and Rashad Torrence.
Quarterback Carlos Del Rio- Del Rio was ineligible to start the year but recently became eligible and has put up big numbers for Cartersville. While the Gators are set at quarterback going forward, the future is bright for Del Rio.
Tight end Nick Elksnis- Elksnis had a solid senior year and he continues the mold of tight end’s Dan Mullen wants to have in his offense. Elksnis is a guy that can run after the catch and can block inline if needed.
Quarterback Jalen Kitna- Kitna much like Del Rio has the game to fit into Florida’s offense and while Kitna wants to tighten up his mechanics some, he has already shown he can make the plays. Kitna will have time to learn under Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson.
Cornerback Jason Marshall- You never want to say a true freshman will start without seeing a college practice yet but Marshall has as good of a chance to start than anyone in Florida’s class. The Gators are looking for a cornerback to start opposite Kaiir Elam and Marshall could be that guy.
Safety Donovan McMillon- McMillon had one of the most impressive senior year’s of all of the Gators commits, the safety made plays on both sides of the ball as he led his team to a state championship game appearance. McMillon needs to put on some weight but he should contribute on special teams next year.
Athlete Charles Montgomery- The staff has told Montgomery he could play slot receiver and some running back next year so the athlete will have his work cut out for him this spring. Mullen has been on record talking about how long it took Kadarius Toney to fully understand what a slot receiver can do so how quickly Montgomery picks up on it will determine how quickly he plays.
Receiver Daejon Reynolds- Reynolds is recovering from a torn ACL so getting him back on the field will be approached slowly which could result in Reynolds taking a redshirt year next year.
Defensive tackle Chris Thomas- Thomas will look to jump into the weight room and cut some bad weight and put on good weight and likely redshirts next year.
Defensive tackle Desmond Watson- There’s zero question about Watson’s game but the question has been about the tackle keeping off bad weight so that will be the focus this offseason with Nick Savage. If Watson is in game shape then he could contribute some next year.
Cornerback Jordan Young- Young is overlooked a lot because of the talent the Gators have in the secondary class but Young is a guy that Torrian Gray is very high on before he arrives on campus.
The following guys will sign early next week but will not early enroll.
Safety Dakota Mitchell
Offensive lineman Yousef Mugharbil
Offensive lineman Jake Slaughter
Offensive lineman Adrein Strickland
Tight end Gage Wilcox
Defensive end Jeremiah Williams
Tight end/long snapper Rocco Underwood