Oftentimes in recruiting, verbal commitments should be taken with a grain of salt, especially for prospects who haven’t even started their junior years yet.
It’s become the norm for a player to commit to one school early, only to sign elsewhere after his recruitment blows up late or staff changes taking place at his original school of choice.
That likely won’t be the case for 2023 top-100 wide receiver Raymond Cottrell, who committed to the Gators during Friday Night Lights.
“I’m 100 percent committed to Florida,” Cottrell said on Saturday. “There will be no other schools contacting me or anything. I’m committed.
“This is where I want to be. It’s a great place to be, and I know if I trust Coach [Dan] Mullen and if I trust Coach [Billy] Gonzales, they can put me where I want to be.”
It’s obvious to see why the coaches and recruiting experts think so highly of him. He’s a bigger receiver at 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, but he also runs track in high school and can blow past defenders. He was one of the top receivers during Friday Night Lights. And he still has two seasons of high school football left. He’s got a chance to be one of the most physically mature receivers in his class by the time he signs.
Cottrell had been open about Florida being his No. 1 choice since he received his offer in May. It seemed inevitable that he would commit to UF at some point; it was just a matter of when. Still, he managed to catch his future coaches off guard.
“I surprised them with it,” he said. “They were all excited, and they were just telling me they can’t wait for me to come up here.
“[Their reaction] was amazing. It was priceless, actually. I was shocked.”
Aside from being the top in-state program, Cottrell was also drawn to Florida via his connection with Gators receiver Jacob Copeland. Both of them are from the Pensacola area, and they’ve forged a special bond in recent months.
“He’s like, ‘Not a lot of people make it out,’” Cottrell said. “It’s very weird for a lot of people to make it out of our city. So, for him to really tell me, ‘Hey, you can really do this,’ it’s really inspiring.”
The Gators now have perhaps one of their biggest building blocks in place for the 2023 class.