For all the stress and worry about Florida’s recruiting in the 2019 cycle, one theme has been constant among those trying to talk others off the ledge: if Dan Mullen puts a good product on the field, it’ll give the class a boost.
With the season’s start imminent, it’s worth stopping for a moment to look at where things with the class are so we know later on how much the product on the field did (or didn’t) give the recruiting that boost.
Class Size
Florida has 78 recruited scholarship players on the roster at present. Walk-ons R.J. Raymond and Nick Villano received scholarships earlier this week, but I’m not counting them here. Raymond is a senior and, as far as the redshirt junior Villano goes, walk-ons who receive scholarships aren’t guaranteed to get them for more than one year (though we don’t know whether or not Mullen would pull it to give it to a recruit). Walk-on long snapper/undercover comedian Ryan Farr is known to have similarly received a scholarship in the past, but whether or not he still has it, he’s in his final year of eligibility like Raymond is.
Among the 78 scholarship players, nine are seniors. The initial subtotal is that Florida has room for 16 recruits in the upcoming class before early NFL entrants and other attrition.
I fully expect, as seemingly everyone does, to see Jordan Scarlett turn pro this winter. I think it’s very likely that Van Jefferson and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson will as well. I suspect at least one of Jabari Zuniga and Jachai Polite will enter the draft, while Tyrie Cleveland will have the opportunity if he becomes more than just a deep threat.
If five or six players go pro, UF will be able to sign 21 or 22 recruits in this cycle before hitting the 85-man cap. They might be able to get one or two more if some lightly-used reserves who are running short on eligibility decide to finish their careers somewhere they can see the field more.
Current Commits
At time of writing, Florida has 13 commitments. That’s low compared to a lot of its peers, but it’s not out of line for a program that is currently not 100% sure whether it’ll be able to sign more than 20 recruits in this cycle.
According to the 247 Sports Composite, UF is 11th in the SEC overall but 6th by average player ranking. With six 4-stars and seven 3-stars among the estimated 21 or 22 spots available, the budget for nice-to-have players and projects is filling up given where the Gators want to be. The lion’s share of the commits from here on out should be guys who can contribute in their first or second years to continue the restocking of talent started by Mullen’s strong close to the 2018 class.
Position by Position
The Gators are set at quarterback with Jalon Jones. The Virginia dual threat guy is a strong commit, and even if the loser of the Feleipe Franks-Kyle Trask battle transfers, UF probably won’t go after another.
Running back is not a huge position of need given that there are enough around to spare 4-star 2018 signee Iverson Clement to bolster the banged-up safety spot in practice. Florida is in fairly good shape right now with Nay’Quan Wright, and the coaches are taking a shot at all-everything prospect Trey Sanders (brother of walk-on LB Umstead Sanders). With only Scarlett likely to leave after this year, the Gators will be all right numbers-wise even if neither ends up signing.
UF’s promising wide receiver corps is veteran-heavy with real pro prospects for this year and next. Plus, Jacob Copeland is the only addition from 2018 left after Justin Watkins’s arrests and departure, so UF really needs some players in the pipeline. Current commits Ja’markis Weston and Dionte Marks will probably need a little time to acclimate to college — the latter, for example, has Tyrie Cleveland height with Chris Rainey weight — so there’s room to find a more instant-impact kind of player.
Tight end could use some help with two seniors graduating and nothing proven behind them. While Kyle Pitts has impressed in fall practice and Lucas Krull’s height is tantalizing as a target, Mullen basically can’t have too many good tight ends for his offense. The main prospect to watch here is Lakeland’s Keon Zipperer.
The offensive line loses four seniors this year and four more next year, so it’s definitely a position of need. Miami tackle Wardrick Wilson, guard Riley Simonds from Georgia, and Clearwater tackle Ethan White make for a good start, but there’s room for at least one more.
The defensive line will lose seven players across the next two years, so it needs reinforcements too. All four sophomores are defensive tackles, as is big-time commit Jaelin Humphries, so true defensive end (as opposed to the new rush end/Buck position) stands out as a position of emphasis. Florida is after a number of guys to get another tackle and one or two ends, and in the latter category, Friday Night Lights attendee Lloyd Summerall is a big one to watch.
Linebacker got a boost on Wednesday night with the commit of Mohamoud Diabate. This comes after a commit from 247 Sports Composite top 100 player Diwun Black earlier this month. Those two along with Tyron Hopper make guys at this position the top three highest rated guys in the class according to the Composite right now. Not to be overlooked, commit Jesiah Pierre has the versatility to potentially play each of the linebacker spots in college. Perhaps nowhere on the field needs more help from this class than linebacker, so the results so far should excite Gator fans.
Defensive back is the most lopsided position grouping on the team thanks to it having no seniors, two juniors, and eight combined true and redshirt sophomores. However thanks to Gardner-Johnson’s likelihood to go pro this year and Marco Wilson and CJ Henderson’s likelihood next year, the Gators could use some help back there — particularly at corner. UF helped itself by nabbing New Orleans CB Chester Kimbrough from LSU and others, while Buchholz safety Trent Whittemore has kept his commitment from the old staff to the new. They still need more at cornerback, though, and Kaiir Elam (nephew of Matt Elam) and Jaydon Hill are among the top targets there. A top tier safety would be nice to see as well.
Florida does not have an imminent need to sign a specialist this cycle. Punter Tommy Townsend has two years to go, and true freshman Evan McPherson should have the kicker job covered for a while whether or not he beats out senior walk-on Jorge Powell in camp.
To sum it all up, the Gators have somewhere in the seven to nine range for spots still available. If they can come up with a top prospect at receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive tackle, defensive end, cornerback, and safety that would be seven additions in places of real need in the cycle. Barring UF missing out on one of those positions, it would leave one or two spots available for another defensive end, corner, and/or a relative longshot like Sanders.
This is where the board stands now. It’s up to the coaches to put that good product on the field to help seal the deal with top playmakers between now and the two signing days.