Post-LSU recruiting thoughts

To start, a recap of the week that was. Some of the posts you might have missed:

– Eight prep receivers from the state of Florida who have shined so far this fall.

– Where is Delray Beach Village Academy defensive lineman Kevin Bronson on the radar for the Gators?

– The Gators have had a strong run of success at the tight end position since 2000. Where does it stack up against other programs in college football?

– Jacksonville Ribault linebacker Jakob Johnson, a German transplant, is now sitting on four offers after Wisconsin extended a tender to him last week.

– Which positions could Florida look to for immediate relief after this season from the JUCO ranks?

– Some late-week Gators-related news and notes.

And now, on to the new stuff ...

– Chewing on Florida's 17-6 loss in Baton Rouge for a couple of days can leave one with the sensation of a mouthful of gristle. This explains why the typical day-after recruiting post comes on Monday instead of Sunday. It's hard to discern at this point whether the offensive struggles are an issue of coaching or an issue of personnel. And that's obviously a dangerous place to be in if you're the coach of the Florida Gators. We'll have to see where the rest of this season goes, but I'm hard-pressed not to think there won't be some coaching turnover on the offensive side of the ball after this season. But that's really not the point of this post, so that topic will have to be saved for another day.

Going into the season, if you asked me to concede one game for Florida this season, the LSU contest in Baton Rouge was the very obvious pick. I'm sure some are disappointed by the manner in which Florida lost on Saturday. Yes, there's some things that have to be corrected on offense (especially up front on the line). We'll see how Florida rebounds from this one, and it will only take a few days to get their response. No rest for the weary (now down another starter in RB Matt Jones) as a tougher-than-originally-expected trip to Missouri looms on the schedule this weekend.

– Florida was originally able to sell Immokalee receiver J.C. Jackson on the idea of dropping his pledge to FSU in favor of a commitment to UF by focusing on the defensive angle, as he preferred playing cornerback to receiver, which is the position Florida State recruited him for. He may want to re-think that stance.

Immokalee defeated Naples 33-27. Immokalee WR JC Jackson had 5 catches for 231 yards and 3 TDs. #npfnf
— David Dorsey (@DavidADorsey) October 12, 2013

On the season, Jackson now has 621 yards receiving and nine scores on just 18 receptions. He's averaging 34.5 yards per catch. These numbers are obviously pretty good.

I always liked the idea of taking J.C. Jackson to go along with Adoree' Jackson and Chris Lammons, because it seemed natural that one of those guys would probably end up on offense as a slot guy. But Florida still has a lot of work to do to make that happen. Lammons is committed, but hasn't completely shut the door. Jackson visited LSU this past weekend and came away singing the praises of the Bayou Bengals after their win over Florida. Now, Jackson is flirting pretty heavily with Miami, and it will certainly be interesting to see what comes of that. The Gators don't need to sign all three of those guys, certainly. But getting at least two would be nice.

The number of skill players (RB, WR and DB types) in this class likely needs to be right around 10 to offset the losses UF will experience after this season, especially in the secondary. The Jacksons, as well as guys like Lammons and some of the other top targets on the board are keys to making sure the Gators restock
with the proper amount of speed and athleticism.

Florida could also use a guy who can take the top off the defense and give them a vertical threat down the field in the passing game. J.C. Jackson may turn out to be exactly that guy.

– At this point, a total overhaul at the tight end position needs to be considered. All four of the scholarship players at that position currently for Florida, have eligibility remaining after this season. That number needs to be cut in half. Deandre Goolsby, who visited Arkansas this past weekend, has to be considered a major priority at this point. If he decides to stick closer to home for college, then the Gators will need to go back to the drawing board and consider other options. With the type of season Jordan Franks is putting together at Crawfordville Wakulla, a scholarship offer for his services no longer seems like such a far-fetched option.

– Danielle Hunter showed on Saturday why Florida needs to add some height to the defensive line. Two batted balls on screen passes, one of which was set up to go for a long way to Valdez Showers if it's completed. Hunter is listed at 6-6 by the LSU sports information department. Florida has one 6-6 end in Alex McAllister on the roster, but he's not currently a factor in the defensive line rotation. This is why "the Lorenzos" (6-5 Carter and 6-7 Featherston) are such a priority for the Gators on the recruiting trail in the Class of 2014. Expect Brad Lawing to continue trying to add length and size to the defensive line moving forward, as well.

– I know Florida has an upperclassmen-laden depth chart along the offensive line, with most of those guys returning for next season. But if the LSU game is an example of the best effort this group can muster, Florida has got to consider looking to the JUCO ranks for talent (once again) in order to find a player or two who can come in and compete for playing time right off the bat. There is simply no excuse for the lack of production in the running game for a team built to win by being physical and pounding opposing defenses with a physical ground attack.

Will Grier's Madden-like numbers

It was just another ho-hum game for Florida QB commit Will Grier (Davidson, N.C.) over the weekend. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback completed 18-of-22 passes for 370 yards with six touchdowns against one interception in a 45-0 win for Davidson Day over the Community School of Davidson on Friday night. It was the Patriots' lowest scoring output on the season to date through five games.

 Highlights from UF commit Will Grier's junior season at Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.)

Grier and Davidson Day appear to be coming up on the real meat of their schedule, with arguably the three toughest games on their schedule on tap within the next four games, beginning with a trip to Marvin Ridge of Waxhaw, N.C. (the general area in which former President Andrew Jackson was birthed, just in case you didn't know) on Friday.

With the regular season now half-over for Grier, it's interesting to note what he's done so far this season. It really is like something out of a video game. In some respects, he's taken a step back on the passing side of things from his junior year, although it was going to be nearly impossible to top the numbers he put up in 2012. He's completing 71.1% of his passes this fall (down from 78.3% a year ago). Although, it should be noted that his completion percentage is improving as the season moves along, and he's connected on 48-of-62 passes in his last two games (77.4%).

Grier has also tossed six interceptions in 149 passing attempts this season. That number doesn't sound too bad, until you consider he threw six picks in 414 attempts for the entire season a year ago. Grier's interception rate in 2013 (4.0%) is up considerably from both his sophomore (2.5%) and junior (1.4%) campaigns.

However, Grier has also been tossing touchdowns at a ridiculous rate. He's thrown for 31 scores through five games, and is currently on pace to wind up with as many as 79 on the season (assuming Davidson Day plays a full total of 13 games, as they likely will). That would even usurp his incredible run in 2012, when he connected on 61 touchdown strikes, but would still fall short of the national single-season record of 91, held by Corey Robinson of Lone Oak (Ky.) from 2007.

Of course, this goes back to the issue of Grier's numbers not being recognized in the national record books. Grier's Davidson Day squad is under the governing body of the NCISAA (North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association), as opposed to the standard NCHSAA (North Carolina High School Athletic Association, the equivalent of Florida's FHSAA). Since the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) only recognizes the official records of the NCHSAA, and the NCHSAA doesn't officially recognize Grier's numbers, as his school isn't a part of the NCHSAA, Grier's name will never grace the "official" high school record books.

I hope you got all of that. But Grier's place in the national pantheon of great prep signal-callers should be unquestioned at this point, even if his numbers aren't officially recognized.

He's currently on pace to pass Chris Leak's state record of 185 touchdown passes (accomplished at Charlotte Independence High School between 1999-02, good for second all-time nationally). However, the national record of 219 (credited to current Missouri backup Maty Mauk, who attended Kenton High School in Ohio from 2008-11) will be tough for Grier to match (he would need 70 touchdown passes in a maximum of eight games). Likewise, Chris Leak's state record of 15,593 yards will be tough to top as well (Grier would have to average 525 yards per game the rest of the way to beat that mark). Ultimately, Grier should "unofficially" finish up as one of the top-five most prolific passers in national prep history. Behind the Mauk brothers, Leak and West Virginia native J.R. House, but ahead of such luminaries as Brock Berlin, Garrett Gilbert, Tim Couch and Josh Booty, among others.

It should also be noted that Grier is running the ball even better this year, piling up 519 yards and six scores on just 31 carries. His 16.7 average per carry is nearly double his output from a year ago (8.8).

Barring injury, Will Grier will go down as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the history of high school football. Even if he doesn't play another down at the prep level, his legend is already quite secure. But considering how many names litter the top of those all-time high school passing lists (the aforementioned Mauk brothers, Leak, Berlin, Gilbert, Couch and Booty, along with Greg Paulus, Drew Tate and Jamarcus Russell), Grier's prep accomplishments do not guarantee even a high degree of success at the college level. How Grier fares at Florida will be determined by a completely different set of circumstances than the ones that have allowed him to reach such heights in Davidson, N.C. over the past two-plus seasons (and counting).