Florida Gators recruiting mailbag: July 9th edition

The Florida Gators recruiting efforts picked up right before the dead period started in July but the Gators have continued that momentum throughout the dead period with a recent commitment.

Mullen and his coaching staff will be back to work later this month when they host Friday Night Lights in the Swamp.

Gator Country’s members have a lot of questions about how the 2019 class will shake out and who are the top prospects that the Gators are still after.

We answer your questions in this week’s Florida Gators recruiting mailbag.

Well let’s dive right in to this week’s recruiting mailbag:

 

Irgator12: Class is filling up, how many do we take? It seems we may have some extra spots with the Hammond/ Black going Juco and the transfers.

AS: They could potentially get to 27 in the class but Mullen won’t take guys just to fill a number, he will only take guys that he thinks can play at Florida.

 

Trader5jl: who are we looking at for safety and OT??

AS: At tackle, Marcus Dumervill and Issiah Walker are the top two guys right now. The staff is working on getting both guys on campus for FNL.

At safety: Avantae Williams and Henry Gray are two of the guys the staff is after at the position.

 

Woollybooger: About the recent decommits, what is the back story? Were they pushed, or just didn’t feel loved enough?

AS: Guys just wanting to take more visits is mainly the reason here. Joseph and Bell were still talking to the staff’s and still are now but they wanted to take visits.

 

GatorFanSeth: Can you give an updated view of how many of each spot they wanna take?

QB: just one right now but that could change if someone leaves.

RB: again, just one right now unless someone like Bowman wants in late then you take him.

WR: Four looks to be the number here with so many guys graduating and potentially leaving early.

OL: Four and possibly even five after Hammond and Wilson didn’t make it in. There’s still a small chance Wilson makes it in but if not then five is likely the number.

TE: Two is the number that the staff wants, they want an inline guy like Odom and then another flex guy like Jeremiah Johnson is right now.

DL: Four to five is likely the number here unless more big names want in the class, then the staff would work that out.

LB: Two is the likely number here with the staff wanting to add another inside guy to the class.

DB: Four to five is the number here as the Gators need some help at safety in this class.

All of these number are as of now and can change as we get into the fall.

 

Edwinvincent: The guys in the 2019 class who didn’t make it in (Hammond, Black) who has the best chance to rejoin the team after JUCO? And what does that do to our numbers for 2020? Assuming Wilson visa issue will get sorted out as well.

AS: Florida still has to count those guys but that means they have a few more holes to fill here. Diwun Black is very loyal to Dan Mullen and his coaching staff and if he gets everything taken care of in JUCO, he’s a guy that I think joins the Gators class in 2021.

 

Tonto-86: What is the word out on Anthony Richardson regarding his performance at the Elite 11? Did he surprise or did he perform as expected?

Out of all the recruits Florida is pursuing, who do you see as the most underestimated recruit by many services and has the most potential to really play above their rating earned by the recruiting services?

AS: Richardson was impressive out at the Elite 11 and everyone I talked to about him said he was one of the most athletic guys there and he had improved his passing game a lot since even the spring. Many people were shocked with how much he had improved.

I’ll give you a commit and a target for the second part. I’m very high on Jahquez Robinson’s game and I think he’s one of the top guys in the country at his position. And the commit that I think is underrated is Antwaun Powell, I think if he was healthy all of last year than he would be rated much higher. Powell’s is very good off the line of scrimmage.

 

Philobeddoe: Would appreciate a ranking of 2020 RB recruits with your estimate of probability (##% likelihood) of signing with UF.

AS:

EJ Smith- Florida recruiting him hard but Texas A&M and Stanford are also in the mix. I like A&M’s chances.

Michael Drennen II- Drennen is scheduled to visit Florida for FNL but you have to like Ohio State’s chances with an instate kid.

Lawrance Taofili- This is a UF/FSU battle and the Gators have made up a lot of ground with Toafili recently. This one is trending up for the Gators.

Demarkcus Bowman- I put him on here because I know I’ll be asked about him but he’s still solid with Clemson.

 

Blake_usmc: Jahquez Robinson still in the mix?

AS: Florida is still squarely in the mix for Robinson and the Gators have to like their chances with him right now. South Carolina and LSU also are in the mix to flip the Alabama commit. Robinson is scheduled to be back in Gainesville for FNL and that’s another big step for Florida.

 

Bhs11: The Dawgs believe they have a good shot at flipping Gervon Dexter. They think Mom is their problem. They are selling Dexter that it is a business decision vs following your heart. What say you?

AS: I like Florida’s chances of keeping Dexter in the class. Dexter is a big recruiter for Florida and doesn’t even have any plans to get back to Athens right now.

 

Ufgatordad: Several were feeling good on Jahari Rogers recently, but then there was a report about both UF and Texas feeling good. Do you think we secure a commitment at FNL, or could Texas regain momentum?

UGA still leading for Avante Williams?

AS: Rogers has kept in close contact with Florida’s coaching staff and is telling them all the right things right now and if I had to pick today, I would Florida is the team to beat. The key will be getting him back on campus again as Texas will surely get him on campus this fall.

Georgia is the team to beat right now for Williams but still a long ways to go in his recruitment.

 

Burton92: Issiah Walker shut his recruitment down and said no more visits after visiting usce. A week later decommits at the opening without even telling their staff. Are we behind usce and Miami still and do we have a shot?
Marcus Dumervil had a great opening and is probably at the top of my wish list. Where are we sitting with him right now?

AS: Walker said that he meant he was just shutting down visits for the summer but Florida is still in the mix here big time. Miami is the team with the momentum right now but Florida and Florida State aren’t out of it at all.

Florida has picked up some momentum with Dumervil lately as he talks with John Hevesy a lot more now and the fact that Derek Wingo is recruiting him hard is helping. Alabama, Oklahoma and LSU are teams that Florida has to worry about with Dumervil but if the Gators can get him on campus for FNL then that would be a huge step in the right direction.

 

74gator: Who are we recruiting for 2021 quarterback position? At this time, who is looking good for the Gators?

AS: Carlos Del Rio and Jalen Milroe are the big names that the Gators are recruiting the most right now. I like the Gators chances with Del Rio a little more than with Milroe right now but both have a lot of interest in Florida.

 

Unclegator: How was your vacation and did you catch any ballgames?

AS: Great vacation and actually caught three Braves games this weekend, including getting to watch them crush the Phillies on the fourth of July.

 

Acewade1: What’s the latest with Sav’ell Smalls?!

AS: Florida still in the mix but right now the Gators are trailing a few schools. I still think the home state schools win out in the end but still a long ways to go with him.

 

 

 

 

 

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.