Breaking down the 2019 defensive targets: Florida Gators recruiting

The Florida Gators coaching staff has moved its attention to the 2019 class after closing out the 2018 class strong earlier this month.

Dan Mullen and the coaching staff have sent out a lot of offers already to the 2019 class and visited a lot of those during the recruiting period in January.

GatorCountry brings you a look at some of the targets on the board on the defensive side of the ball as we started with the offensive side of the ball on Monday.

 

Defensive ends

The coaching staff is likely to take three defensive ends in this class and they have several solid options in the 2019 class. Here are some top targets.

 

Khris Bogle (6-4, 207, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Cardinal Gibbons) has been a high priority for Florida since the previous staff. Bogle looks to be a battle between the three instate teams and Clemson who has been after him hard as of late.

 

Curtis Fann (6-3, 245, Twin City, GA. Emanuel County Institute) was offered by Florida in December. Georgia is trying to keep him instate and South Carolina is also heavily involved.

 

Lloyd Summerall (6-5, 218, Auberdale, FL. High) has picked up big offer after big offer this year so far and that includes one from Florida. Florida State is the team that has the momentum early on.

 

Nathan Pickering (6-5, 270, Seminary, MS. High) has a relationship with Dan Mullen dating back to his days at Mississippi State. Pickering likes Florida and Alabama a lot but LSU and the two instate teams are also heavily in the mix. Getting Pickering on campus this spring is a must.

 

Derick Hunter (6-4, 281, Fort Myers, FL. Dunbar) has a list of offers from just about everyone in the southeast and that includes the Gators. Florida is a team that Hunter admits to always liking but the local Miami Hurricanes are a team to watch as well. Hunter plans to visit Florida this spring.

 

Defensive tackle

Florida will likely look to take two-three defensive tackles in this class after not landing one in 2018.

 

Jaquaze Sorrells (6-3, 270, Largo, FL. High) was once committed to Florida but Sorrells is still very interested in the Gators. Clemson is a team to watch for him but look for him to visit Gainesville this spring.

 

Tyler Davis (6-2, 261, Apopka, FL. Wekiva) is one of the best players at his position and he visited Florida earlier this year. Miami and Florida are the teams to watch early on with Ohio State also in the picture.

 

Linebackers

Linebacker will once again be a top priority for the Gators this cycle as they look to add depth to the position.

 

Nakobe Dean (6-0, 215, Horn Lake, MS. High) was a top target for Mullen at Mississippi State and he has a good relationship with Todd Grantham. The instate teams will be tough to beat but the Gators are trying to get him on campus.

 

Jammal Abrams (6-3, 224, Birmingham, AL. Jackson-Olin) plans to visit Florida this weekend for junior day. Auburn signed his teammate Coynis Miller so they will be a team to watch but the early visit to Gainesville shows the interest is real from Abrams.

 

Jaleel McRae (6-1, 230, Bradenton, FL. IMG) can be put in the defensive back or linebacker category but I’m going to put him as a linebacker right now. McRae still has a lot of interest in the Gators and Florida is the team to beat early but McRae needs to recover from his knee injuries right now.

 

Ge’mon Eaford (6-1, 220, Deerfield Beach, FL. High) has been a priority for Dan Mullen since he arrived in Gainesville. Eaford also likes Auburn a lot but the distance from home is something the Gators are hoping wins out.

 

Marcus Tillman (6-2, 220, Orlando, FL. Jones) another former Florida commit who still has interest in the Gators. Tillman has been talking to the staff a lot and Florida is a team to watch as the linebacker wants to visit Gainesville this spring.

 

Defensive backs

The state of Florida is once again loaded at the position which should help the Gators as they would like to sign 3-4 in the 2019 class.

 

Akeem Dent (6-0, 170, West Palm Beach, FL. Palm Beach Central) is committed to Florida State after decommitting from Miami earlier in 2017. Dent is still talking to Florida and remains interested in visiting the Gators. His recruitment will be one to follow.

 

Kaiir Elam (6-0, 177, North Palm Beach, FL. The Benjamin School) is the nephew of former Gators safety Matt Elam and the younger Elam is very interested in the Gators. Elam has visited Florida several times in the past and the Gators are a school to watch for him.

 

Jaden Davis (5-10, 165, Fort Lauderdale, FL. St. Thomas Aquinas) has visited Florida a lot in the past and plans to be in Gainesville this weekend for junior day. Florida and Miami are two teams that Davis talks about a lot in his recruitment.

 

Renardo Green (6-0, 170, Apopka, FL. Wekiva) visited the Gators in January and liked the visit and likes area recruiter Ron English a lot. Watch for Green to visit Florida more this spring.

 

Brendan Gant (6-2, 185, Lakeland, FL. Kathleen) is committed to Alabama but is very good friends with current linebacker Ventrell Miller. Gant still plans to visit Florida and the Gators will be a school to watch for him in his recruitment.

 

Trent Whittemore (6-3, 190, Gainesville, FL. Buchholz) is a Gators commit and someone that will likely stick with Florida. Mullen visited his school during the recruiting period in January.

 

Tyrique Stevenson (6-2, 195, Homestead, FL. South Dade) is another once Gators commit who is still interested in Florida. Miami and Clemson are also hot on the pursuit of Stevenson .

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.