All of a sudden, the Gators are turning into a recruiting juggernaut when it comes to the wide receiver position.
They’ve secured commitments from two of the fastest receivers in the 2022 class in Isaiah Bond and C.J. Smith. They’re leading for several more highly ranked receivers.
And now they’re seemingly on the verge of landing Raymond Cottrell, a top-100 overall player in the 2023 class. UF offered the 6-foot-2, 203-pounder out of Milton High School in the Florida Panhandle in May. At the time, Cottrell referred to Florida as his “dream school” and “somewhere I’ve been wanting to go to for a long time.”
After he made those comments, UF became the runaway favorite to secure his commitment.
Cottrell unofficially visited Florida on Friday and participated in the Gators’ elite camp. There was some speculation that he might commit to the Gators while in town. He wound up not pulling the trigger, but he admitted he was tempted.
“I almost did,” Cottrell said. “I’m not going to lie. I almost did it, but I’ve just got to see everything first.
“I love the atmosphere. I could see myself playing here. I like the indoor facility, the way the coaches treat their players.”
While he didn’t commit, he reaffirmed UF’s status as his “dream school” and said they are definitely his leader right now. He said Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State round out his top-five at the moment. He doesn’t plan to make his final college decision until after his senior season.
Aside from growing up watching the Gators, his relationship with UF receiver Jacob Copeland has also allowed Florida to jump way ahead in his recruitment. Copeland is from nearby Pensacola and was also a top-100 recruit with offers from pretty much every school in America. He hung out with Copeland on Friday and talked with him about his experience at Florida and what it takes to get to the NFL.
“It’s humbled me because he showed me the way that anybody can make it out of our city, and not a lot of people do that,” Cottrell said.
He also has a strong relationship with receivers coach Billy Gonzales, who also serves as his primary recruiter. He said Gonzales has kept in touch with him in ways that no other coach has. Cottrell likes how genuine Gonzales has been with him. The person he heard over the phone was the same person he heard while working out for Gonzales at the camp on Friday.
“I love Coach G,” he said. “Coach G is everything. Everything I thought of, he was that.
“If I got here right now, and he said, ‘Hey, let’s do this,’ I’d be like, ‘OK, let’s do it’ because his coaching style fits me.”
Cottrell said he plans to return to the UF campus in July.
“Everything they do is family-oriented,” he said. “They’re family. They always make sure you’re good.”
Maybe next time Cottrell will decide to officially become a member of that family.