The Florida Gators recruiting efforts have been going strong over the last month, as the Gators will take that momentum into the 2019 season.
Gator Country’s members have a lot of questions about how the 2020 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:
OklahomaGator: Is there a difference in how grad transfers are counted as opposed to undergrad transfers through the portal? Do both count against the annual 25 limit?
AS: They both count against the 25 man limit and count on the 85 man counter list. The difference is that they come off the books in a year compared to a normal undergrad transfer.
Gatordadx2: I know things change for whatever reason, but what happened with Dumervile? I thought he was all Gator now I am hearing corndogs. Is he leaning their way?
AS: LSU has always been squarely in the mix for Dumervile and before he visited Gainesville for FNL, he was all but done to the Tigers. Florida has made LSU work but it does look LSU has a slight lead for the offensive lineman right now but Florida is still trying to get him back on campus again.
Macbgator: Do you think E. J. Smith, RB will be in this class???
AS: I think Smith either goes to Texas A&M with his sister or goes to Stanford. I believe that Smith wants to pave his own way and not follow in his dad’s footsteps but Smith does like Florida a lot.
Macbgator: What happened to the recruitment of OL Parks, have we moved on???
AS: Florida never truly went hard after Parks and he never visited to get to Florida to do that either. Parks committed to Oklahoma and things have cooled even more since then.
Unclenunzio: What is going on with Demarkcus Bowman? Hearing that he is suspended/kicked off LHS football. And how does that play into his current Clemson commitment?
AS: Bowman was suspended but apparently everything is good with his commitment to Clemson. I’ve been told that Dabo is aware of things and still plan on taking his commitment.
Wuerffel5220: Are there any big uncommitted guys you think announce before ESD? How many spots do you think we have left after that for NSD?
AS: Right now it doesn’t look like any of Florida’s big targets will announce before early signing day as most of them want to take official visits and then announce on that day. After early signing day I expect Florida to have five-six open spots left depending on which guys announce on early signing day.
Wuerffel5220: Do you expect a recruit list for FSU similar to Homecoming?
AS: Yes, several guys have already said they’re taking an official visit that weekend and usually a lot of instate prospects attend that game. With it being a holiday weekend, it makes it a little easier for kids to make it, plus most high school teams are done by then. I expect it to be a loaded weekend.
Gator126: I understand we are outside the top ten in recruiting for 2020 class. What will it take to get to say top 5-10, and do we have a better than 50/50 chance to get there?
AS: I think they have a better chance to get inside the top 10 because they still have some big name prospects out there that are rated highly that would push them up past several teams. There’s no one answer on what they need to do besides keep winning on the field and showing prospects that Florida is truly back.
Objectivegator: If the idea is to establish momentum why would any serious “game changer” not want to get out there with his commitment?? Who was the most impactful real “Silent” of the last 20 years from ANY school?
AS: A lot of guys will help recruit behind the scenes but ultimately it’s about getting guys to go public before the real momentum does happen. Having said that, guys that are game changers like to take their time and make sure they’re making the right decision.
IAmBornAGator: DL is going to be gutted in the next 2 years. We lose 4 DTs 3 LB/DE hybrids. We do pick UGA transfer Cox so who are some of the big name DL prospects? Edited to add we lose 5 DTs Shuler, Dunlap, Conliffe, Campbell and Slaton in the next 2 years and depending on where you put Ancrum it could be 6 DTs or 4 LB/DEs
AS: Gervon Dexter and Tim Smith are the two big names in the class that the Gators hope to add to the class. Dexter is solid but the Gators still need to flip Smith. Also don’t sleep on Johnnie Brown in the class either. Florida is working on JUCO DE Justin Jackson to help add depth to the position as well and don’t forget about guys like Mohamoud Diabate, Andrew Chatfield and Khris Bogle who are on campus already.
Happygator: Regarding the new ruling that players can make money on their own name likeness, how will this effect future recruiting for Florida? Will our Nike affiliations help us out on the recruiting trail now with some of these elite 5* recruits? What teams do you think will prosper from this the most?
AS: To my knowledge with the rule still being worked out, I believe that it will have nothing to do with Nike or the other sponsors. It will deal with more of the selling of jerseys and advertisements. So it won’t be Nike paying kids to attend schools. Again the rule is still being worked out so I’m still learning about it.
G8trsnapper: To me three players that could launch this class from good to great are Marcus Dumervil at OT, Henderson at WR and Avantae Williams at safety. Where do you think we stand with each of them and with Tim Smith at DT?
AS: Right now Florida trails LSU for Dumervil, Florida is in good shape for Xzavier Henderson but Clemson is still strongly in the mix. Williams is a guy that I think Florida is still right there with but he plays things very close to the vest. Florida is the favorite to flip Smith from Alabama right now and I think the Gators have a really strong shot at doing just that.