The final weekend of recruiting before a dead period begins is all about the 2023 class for the Gators. Several top recruits from that class took unofficial visits to campus on Friday, headlined by defensive end Jayden Wayne out of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash.
Wayne is ranked as the No. 13 overall prospect in his class by the 247Sports Composite, and he checked out campus for the first time.
He toured some of the facilities and talked to head coach Dan Mullen, defensive line coach David Turner and assistant director of player personnel Keiwan Ratliff, who has been his primary contact at UF up to this point. They reaffirmed his scholarship offer after he was initially offered in April.
Had a Great time at @GatorsFB Thankful for the Official Re-offer from @CoachDanMullen @KeiwanRatliff @coachdt48 pic.twitter.com/ICcANkfHRy
— Jayden C Wayne (@JaydenWayne8) June 25, 2021
He finished the day off by watching part of Florida’s elite camp.
Wayne said he was excited to meet the coaches in-person for the first time after all of the Zoom meetings and phone calls that took place over the last year during the COVID-induced dead period. The Gators are pitching the program’s family-like environment and what the future of the program could have in store.
“It’s like, ‘It’s good to be here,’” Wayne said. “They’re like, “Family, family, traditions’ here. They’re building, like, a new facility over there. I can’t wait to see that when it gets done.
“I’d say the most exciting thing to see was the academic [center] and how they help the student-athletes out and stuff.”
Wayne, who stands at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, said the coaches love his versatility. He has the length, quickness and explosiveness off the ball to be an elite pass-rusher, and he still has plenty of time to improve his strength and become a more complete player.
The Gators plan to take advantage of his versatility by playing him at BUCK, where he’ll be expected to rush the quarterback, stuff the run and cover running backs at different times depending on the play call.
Wayne said that UF is “definitely up there,” but the reality is that it would be a shocker if he becomes a Gator at this point. He admitted that distance from home will be a factor in his decision-making process, though not necessarily the most important factor.
He plans to take his recruitment easy for now and make his college commitment during his senior year. He’ll take four main criteria into account when he makes his decision.
“Development, academics, nutrition and whoever shows the most interest in me and my family,” Wayne said.