Breaking down the UF recruiting board

With the Tennessee game now in the books – one of what figures to be two major recruiting weekends for the Gators this fall (Florida State being the other, although Arkansas could see some big names roll in as well) – here's a look at where the recruiting board stands for the Florida Gators with about 130 days remaining until National Signing Day.

Keep in mind, this is my take on where things stand for Florida at the moment, and my take only. I do not claim to be speaking for the people inside the football offices at UF with this post.

Quarterback: Will Grier is committed an on track to enroll at UF in January. The Gators may look at taking a second quarterback in this class. Tampa Wharton signal caller Chase Litton (6-5, 195) continues to show up on campus, and was in attendance for the Tennessee game last weekend. If Florida elects to take another signal-caller in 2014, he seems as likely as any. However, as of right now, I predict the Gators will take Grier and call it a day. But this could be a position to watch down the line depending on potential attrition. Especially in January.

Running Back: With Dalvin Cook in the fold, a second back seems unlikely. However, Bo Scarbrough (6-1, 225, Tuscaloosa, Ala./IMG Academy [Fla.]) and Joe Mixon (6-1, 210, Oakley, Calif./Freedom) continue to sit out there as possibilities. A scheduled official visit to Florida for Mixon last weekend was nixed, and does bring up the question of whether or not he'll actually make it in to Gainesville at some point. Again, like the quarterback position, I see UF hanging tight with one signee for the 2014 class, but it is something that bears watching over the coming months.

Wide Receiver: Although Ermon Lane is committed, Florida will have to work to keep him in the fold all the way through National Signing Day. There continue to be mixed signals on Travis Rudolph (6-1, 190, West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman). Florida appears to be sitting pretty there, but his has been a volatile recruitment to date. Alabama, Ohio State and especially Florida State loom as legitimate threats to the Gators for his signature. The Gators also continue to make overtures to a pair of prospects committed elsewhere in Virginia Tech pledge Ja'Von Harrison (6-1, 185, Lakeland Kathleen) and Clemson verbal Artavis Scott (5-11, 180, Tarpon Springs East Lake). The Gators appear to be making the most headway with Harrison, who visited Gainesville for the Tennessee game last weekend. Both Speedy Noil (5-11, 176, New Orleans, La./Edna Karr) and Josh Malone (6-2, 191, Gallatin, Tenn./Station Camp) have expressed a desire to make official visits to Gainesville during the fall. The Gators have significant ground to make up on each player, however. And while he was originally pegged as a defensive prospect, the general consensus on Adoree' Jackson (5-10, 182, Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra) seems to be trending towards the fact he will likely end up on offense in college, instead. I do not expect Florida to sign less than two receivers in this class. Three would seem to be the preferred number, but don't expect UF to reach too far off this list if they can land a pair of the above listed five.

Tight End: It is hoped that C'yontai Lewis will add another dimension to the passing game at the tight end position. But with Florida's shortcomings at the position, another addition seems likely as well. Deandre Goolsby (6-4, 230, Derby, Kan./Derby) made an official visit over the weekend and Florida appears to be in a good position for his signature with three official visits left to make (Goolsby has already been to Oklahoma as well). However, Florida doesn't appear to be resting with just Goolsby on the board. Garrett Dickerson (6-4, 230, Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic) and Bryce Dixon (6-4, 230, Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure) have offers from UF as well. Both are major longshots for UF at this time, but remain on the board. I would expect some other names to pop up on the radar as well.

Offensive Line: Really kind of surprising how few names are on the board with at least one offensive line slot remaining up front (if not more). David Sharpe (6-6, 290, Jacksonville Providence) was the primary target remaining, but Florida is clearly moving in the wrong direction for him. The names Damien Mama (6-4, 370, Bellflower, Calif./St. Bosco Prep) and Jordan Sims (6-4, 335, Birmingham, Ala./Homewood) have kept popping up as a possibility, but both prospects look like longshots for Florida at the moment. Expect some names to re-emerge on the radar that were pursued by Florida earlier in the process, including Alabama verbal Montel McBride (6-4, 350, Plant City), Purdue commitment Denzel Ward (6-8, 305, Chicago, Ill./Simeon) and Indiana pledge Delroy Baker (6-6, 270, St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut). If the Gators elect to go the JUCO route, Jordan Prestwood (6-6, 317, Plant City/Arizona Western C.C.) and Avery Gennesy (6-5, 305, Southaven, Miss./East Mississippi C.C.) are a pair of names to watch.

Defensive End: Lorenzo Carter (6-5, 235, Norcross, Ga./Norcross) and Da'Shawn Hand (6-4, 260, Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge) lead a host of names at the defensive end position. The Gators also appear to be trending up for Cory Thomas (6-6, 270, McCalla, Ala./McAdory) – who, with his frame, could also end up on the offensive line. Lorenzo Featherston (6-7, 220, Greensboro, N.C./Page), Malik McDowell (6-7, 290, Southfield, Mich./Southfield) and Dewayne Hendrix (6-4, 260, O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon) are the other names for whom the Gators still have some level of involvement at the end position. In any case, figure Florida takes at least one more here.

Defensive Tackle: The Gators need at least one more tackle to pair with Khairi Clark in this cycle. Thomas Holley (6-4, 300, Brooklyn, N.Y./Lincoln) and former UF pledge Anthony Moten (6-4, 290, Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) remain on the board, along with Gerald Willis (6-3, 275, New Orleans, La./Edna Karr). A name to keep an eye on for Florida is Jeremy Patterson (6-3, 310, Jesup, Ga./Wayne County). I also would not be surprised to see Florida make a move to bring 2013 signee Jarran Reed (6-4, 305, Goldsboro, N.C./East Mississippi C.C.) back into the fold once again.

Linebacker: Your guess is as good as mine. Clifton Garrett (6-2, 228) and Raekwon McMillan (6-2, 240, Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) remain the top two targets on the board. But Florida clearly trails LSU for Garrett, as well as Clemson/Ohio State and Alabama for McMillan. There's also Nyles Morgan (6-2, 230, Crete, Ill./Crete-Monee) and Dwight Williams (6-1, 205, Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra). But the Gators have yet to make much of a push for either player. Jakob Johnson (6-4, 240, Jacksonville Ribault) is a player who has emerged in-state, and he's a name we'll be keeping an eye on over the coming weeks. As are Josh Black (6-2, 225, Tampa Sickles), Xavier Preston (6-2, 220, Jensen Beach) and Sharriff Rhaheed (6-3, 205, Ft. Pierce Central).

Defensive Back: As long as Loucheiz Purifoy and Marcus Roberson fail to make much noise this fall, the need for secondary prospects continues to lessen. Keep in mind nearly all the receiver prospects Florida is still recruiting could just as soon get a look on defense if they were to come to UF. However, aside from Jamal Adams (6-0, 205, Carrollton, Tex./Hebron) – about as close as you will find to a Florida lock right now – there really aren't any other major targets on the radar for UF in the back end of the defense. I do expect the Gators to continue recruiting Jalen Tabor (6-1, 185, Washington, D.C./Friendship Academy), but at this point he looks all but headed to Maryland to play his football at the next level.

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I've long held that I expected Florida to sign a full allotment of about 25 players in this class, as UF currently has room to sign 16 in the 2014 cycle, and attrition of nine players to the NFL Draft, injury and transfer doesn't seem totally out of the question. This could still prove to be the case. But as time goes on, and I watch the board shrink for Will Muschamp and his staff, I'm beginning to change my tune. Now I'm projecting 23 as the target number for Florida in this class.

Tight end is still a major need, and I expect the Gators to grab a second prospect there, in addition to C'yontai Lewis. There is still a need for skill prospects, and I would expect Florida to grab three more of those types for 2014. Again, with so much versatility in the prospects remaining on the board, I think the Gators will simply look to sign the three best they can get and let the positions sort themselves out later.

Florida currently has a total of six linemen in the fold, and I expect that number to get to 10 when all is said and done. As much importance as Will Muschamp places on the line-of-scrimmage, more than 10 would not surprise me. However, that is my projection for now, and figures to be a baseline projection for the number of linemen UF will aim for in most recruiting classes.

The numbers don't look bad for UF at linebacker. There is a loss of one scholarship player after this year as Darrin Kitchens exhausts his eligibility. I do ultimately expect Florida to grab a true linebacker in this class, and that is where the ninth signee would come from in my projection.

This, of course, assumes that Florida will hold on to their other 14 commitments in this class to date. That seems like a rather unlikely scenario. But in lieu of the fact there is no really strong evidence to support any of the current pledges are wavering, we'll just go for now on the notion that UF will keep the guys they have for now, moving forward.

Lynden Trail and the 2010 Defensive Line Class

Looking back on Florida's 2010 defensive line class, it's hard not to think that's not one of the better units signed at that position in UF history. Urban Meyer and his staff should get a lot of credit for this group. Let me illustrate this point. The Gators signed six players to play up front for the Class of 2010:

Neiron Ball (6-3, 196, Jackson, Ga.)
Dominique Easley (6-3, 270, Staten Island, N.Y./Curtis)
Sharrif Floyd (6-3, 311, Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington)
Leon Orr (6-5, 344 New Port Richey/Gulf)
Ronald Powell (6-4, 250, Moreno Valley, Calif/Rancho Verde)
Lynden Trail (6-7, 220, Miami/Booker T. Washington)

Ball was technically listed as a DE-OLB, and has played both positions at Florida (as Ronald Powell has done as well).

Overall, let's consider what this group has accomplished.

– Floyd, of course, picked up All-SEC and All-American honors as a junior on his way to being selected 23rd overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2013 NFL Draft.

– We're only three games into the season, but Easley appears well on his way to earning at least All-SEC honors as a senior in 2013. His draft stock is steadily climbing as well, and he could very well be a first-round draft pick when next April rolls around.

– With a year of eligibility remaining for both Orr and Powell, there could be a few chapters left to write on both of their careers in Gainesville. Nonetheless, both are extremely talented physically, and figure to at least here their names called at some point during one of the next two NFL Drafts.

– After overcoming a condition known as arteriovenous malformation (AVM), that Neiron Ball is even still playing for the Gators is a miracle. The fact he's become a solid contributor with plenty of still untapped potential is even more incredible.

– Finally, that brings us to Trail. The one "bust" you could label in this class for the Gators. In that sense, Trail certainly didn't live up to the lofty expectations placed on him entering Florida. A tall, lanky and extremely athletic defensive end, many (including myself) thought Trail would come to UF, hang around on the bench for a year or two as he gained weight, then provide a pass-rushing presence similar to that of former Florida star Jarvis Moss. Things never worked out in Gainesville, as Trail quickly added the weight, but was unable to make any sort of impact for the Gators. After redshirting in 2010, he only dressed for one game in 2011 (the season-opener against Florida Atlantic) before opting to pursue a transfer after the season.

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But the story doesn't end there. Trail's journey would take him to 1-AA Norfolk State, a member of the MEAC based in Norfolk, Va. There he has excelled in 15 games with the Spartans. Playing as a outside linebacker in Norfolk's 3-4 defensive scheme, Trail led the team with 70 tackles, 17.0 TFL and eight quarterback pressures, and tied for the team lead in sacks (6.0) and fumble recoveries (2) in 2012, despite the fact he only started three of 11 games during the season.

Trail is off to a solid start this fall as well. Now a full-time starter, Trail is second on the team in tackles with 22, and has added 1.5 sacks through the first three contests of the season. While things may not have worked out for the big man in Gainesville, the now 260-pound Trail appears well on his way to playing at the pro level, just like his defensive line comrades in the 2010 recruiting class for UF who have seen their success take place in The Swamp, as expected.

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What's most interesting to me about the 2010 class, is the success Florida had recruiting on the defensive line, considering the mixed bag of evaluations for the Gators at that position from 2006-09.

– In 2006, the Gators had a need for numbers, and reeled in a group that included Brandon Antwine, Jermaine Cunningham, Corey Hobbs, Lawrence Marsh, and Terron Sanders. Cunningham would excel for the Gators, while Marsh and Sanders were more than serviceable. Antwine showed flashes when he got on the field, but injuries ultimately derailed his career. Hobbs was a bust in every sense of the word, as he would eventually move to offense before disappearing from the squad altogether. The Gators made a run at a trio of linemen who would eventually sign with Penn State – Aaron Maybin, Jared Odrick and Phil Taylor – but obviously missed on all three. However, the glaring miss for Florida in 2006 would be a guy right under their noses: Geno Atkins at St. Thomas Aquinas. Atkins would go on to have a productive career at Georgia and is now considered one of the two or three best interior defensive linemen in the NFL today.

– In 2007, Florida again signed a large and highly-touted contingent of defensive linemen that included John Brown, Torrey Davis, Carlos Dunlap, Jaye Howard, Duke Lemmens and Justin Trattou. Dunlap and Howard had fine careers in Gainesville, while Trattou proved to be an extremely versatile piece of the defensive line rotation for four years. Brown and Davis, of course, were unable to stick around at Florida for too long, although Davis holds a place in most Gators fans hearts for his big fourth-down stop at the goal line against Oklahoma in the 2009 BCS Championship Game. Looking back now, the defensive tackles that UF turned away in the 2007 cycle have to make some fans sick. Local product Linval Joseph was committed to the Gators at one point, but then dropped (ultimately to free up a slot for James Wilson). Joseph went on to become a dominant force at East Carolina and was a second-round pick of the New York Giants. Ian Williams had a solid career at Notre Dame after the Gators elected to move on from his recruitment. He's now a key contributor in San Francisco (or was until he was placed on IR a week ago). There was also Cameron Heyward, who reportedly had a high level of interest in the Gators before UF elected to move on from his recruitment as well. Heyward starred at Ohio State before becoming a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2011.

– 2008 was a mess. William Green and Omar Hunter were a pair of All-Americans who never quite lived on to their billing. Earl Okine was a local project who never could really carve out a major role at Florida, despite his immense physical talent. Troy Epps was an undersized JUCO transfer who had no business ever playing for the Gators. That UF elected to pursue Epps, instead of Swanson Miller, a local product from Alachua always sort of baffled me. Miller played for Oklahoma State before moving on to spend two years with the Broncos.

– The following year, 2009, again proved to be problematic on the defensive line. Gary Brown was talented, but troubled, and lasted less than a year at Florida. The Gators then elected to reach on a pair of projects – Kedric Johnson and JUCO transfer Edwin Herbert – as they missed on many of their top targets (Ryne Giddens, Demonte McAllister and Curtis Porter, among others). That Florida couldn't close the deal on Pernell McPhee, a Pahokee product who ended up at Mississippi State and is now with the Baltimore Ravens, had to sting a bit.

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How this class even came about was a bit of a minor miracle. Of course, this group was held together in the Urban Meyer "he's going, he's staying, he's going" drama that played out in three acts over the course of 12 months from December of 2009 until December of 2010. But when Meyer first decided to stick around for what would ultimately prove to be his final season at Florida, Steve Addazio essentially ran most of the operations, although Meyer was still involved in terms of interacting with and contacting recruits.

Interestingly enough, Dominique Easley had recruited Florida harder than Florida had recruited Easley throughout most of the process. He visited Gainesville twice on his own dime – once, in the spring of 2009 for a Florida practice. His second trip was to Friday Night Lights in July. It was there that Meyer reportedly nixed Easley's inclusion in the class after eyeing him in person. One person in the Swamp that night later relayed to me that Easley had issues with a warm-up routine led by strength coach Mickey Marotti that included push-ups (this witness claimed that Easley struggled to do even 10 on that particular day, whether or not that's true I can't say for certain). In any case, Easley had come to Gainesville expecting to give his commitment to UF. Instead, as he left Florida that weekend, he and the Gators appeared to have parted ways. So Easley's recruitment carried on, and he figured to be head elsewhere for college. All the way until the morning of the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game, that is.

Oregon and Penn State had moved in as the leaders of Easley's recruitment after UF backed off. Easley made official visits to both programs, and Oregon appeared to be in the driver's seat. In covering practices the week of the Under Armour All-America Game, I hadn't even bothered to do a story with Easley, as he did not appear to be on the radar for the Gators. Then as I showed up to Tropicana Field a couple of hours before game time, an excited JC Shurburtt (then with ESPN, now the top national analyst at 247Sports) stopped me as I set down my stuff. 

"Easley's going to Florida," he told me.

I was dumbfounded. The Gators hadn't even appeared to be a factor just 24 hours before, now they were going to sign a guy whose performance that week rocketed him up the charts from a borderline national top-100 caliber player to a consensus five-star stud. What had happened?

The answer was very simple: Steve Addazio. Now given the authority to make some of the personnel decisions, he authorized a late offer to Easley which the big man quickly jumped on. Addazio had been the point man on the Easley recruitment and was in his corner from the outset. He had privately relayed to people that he felt Easley was the "second coming of Dwight Freeney." While his game didn't ultimately translate to the college level the same way in which Freeney's did, the impact both can have on a game is very much similar. Addazio's projection was off, but his evaluation was right on. He saw a high-quality blue-chip prospect long before many others did.

For Floyd and Powell, it was more of a matter of building the right relationships with the right people around them. Then, it was just a matter of holding on those last few days as Meyer went back-and-forth on his future in Gainesville. Once he decided to stick around (albeit, for less than a year), all the pieces fell into place on a recruiting class that was proclaimed to be perhaps the best in school history. While some positions didn't live up to their billing, it's hard to say that Florida didn't knock it right out of the park along the defensive line back on February 3, 2010.

Post-UT recruiting thoughts

A few things that have popped into my head since Florida's 31-17 win over Tennessee on Saturday, as it relates to the recruiting side of things:

– This is the last time I'm going to write about this, since I've already covered it twice (here and here), but Florida has got to make some serious personnel adjustments at the tight end position. Right now there are four guys with scholarships on the roster, and none has proven themselves to be any more than a No. 3 or No. 4 option for this squad. All four of those guys have eligibility remaining after this season, but there is no doubt in my mind there will be some level of attrition at the position between now and National Signing Day.

Yes, the Gators have a commitment from C'yontai Lewis already in hand. But it has to go further than that. Florida continues to recruit Deandre Goolsby out of Kansas, but if they don't get him, they're going to have to look elsewhere. Another high school prospect is a possibility. Looking to the JUCO ranks is a possibility. Heck, I'd seriously think about inviting Will Yeguete out for a look next spring if he's willing. The point is, while going out and finding the next Aaron Hernandez or even Jordan Reed might be a stretch, finding a player who can at least contribute in the passing game as a receiver is not much to ask. Right now, none of the tight ends on the Florida roster can claim to give the offense even that much.

– I'm not going to totally crap on the offensive line for UF. There has been no continuity with that unit since the beginning of the season. Chaz Green was lost for the year. D.J. Humphries, Tyler Moore, Jon Halapio and even Jonotthan Harrison have all been in-and-out of the lineup with injuries. That said, among the players who are on the roster, only Humphries has shown signs of being a consistently upper-echelon SEC player. The rest of the bunch are just adequate right now (Max Garcia and Kyle Koehne have had their moments, still would like to see a little more out of those two.) Over the next few weeks, we'll see if this group can start getting healthy and building some chemistry as a unit. While the Gators have actually pass-protected fairly well through three games, they simply aren't getting any push inside, which has severely hampered the running game (the Gators are averaging 4.0 yards per carry through three games. Not good enough.)

In terms of how this impacts recruiting, it's very simple. The Gators need to recruit more offensive linemen. The numbers really aren't bad here. The Gators are in line to return 12 scholarship linemen for next year, and have a lot of older guys in that group. Trenton Brown (who needs to drop some more weight), Max Garcia and Ian Silberman would presumably return as seniors. The juniors would include a group of Chaz Green (assuming he gets a medical exemption), Humphries, Tyler Moore and Trip Thurman. Throw in a young guy or two already on the roster in with this group, and Florida would presumably have a fairly experienced offensive line to work with next year.

But outside of Humphries and Garcia, who of the returners should really have offensive line coach Tim Davis excited at this point? Right now, I'm not sure it's anybody. And that's why UF needs to start looking to the JUCO ranks for at least one guy who can come in and compete for a spot right away. That may be all Florida needs to make the jump from a middling offensive line unit to a good (or even great) group. Just one player (or maybe two) who can step in and compete right away. It might be a little late for Florida to move in on some of the top JUCO talent out there (Jermaine Eluemunor, Dominick Jackson and Chad Mavety, for instance), but there are plenty of other options out there ripe for the picking. We've already mentioned Jordan Prestwood and Avery Gennesy as options with ties to UF. There are others out there as well. Again, I'm not saying Florida needs to go to the JUCO ranks to find their savior along the offensive line. Just a player or two who can come in and compete for a position is all they need at this point.

– It really amazes me how quickly Florida has seemingly fallen out of favor with OL David Sharpe. But after the big lineman out of Jacksonville Providence did not show up for the Florida-Tennessee game, it is now becoming clear that Florida could be running third (at best) behind Clemson and Georgia (now widely presumed as the favorite for his services.) It's hard to fault UF too much here. They did all they could in the spring, Georgia never gave up, and have seemingly connected better with the Sharpe family in the months since then. These things happen. UF would be foolish not to continue making a run at the top tackle prospect in the state, but they've got to consider their other options on the board now. Contingency plans need to be put in place as the chances of Sharpe ending up in Gainesville seem to be getting slimmer with each passing day. While looking to the JUCO ranks for a player or two is a worthwhile option for the Gators to consider this point, building for the future is still the key. Finding more targets from the high school ranks to add to the three prep prospects UF already has committed is the only way to do that.

– Defensive tackle is still a very critical position for my vantage point. Florida should have five returning guys along with a commitment from Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna prospect Khairi Clark. But finding another tackle or two to continue building depth up front is important for UF. Right now, the Gators have official visits lined up from Gerald Willis (who was scheduled to visit this weekend along with prep teammate Speedy Noil, but both have pushed back their trips to Gainesville for later in the season) and Davon Godchaux, both of whom project down the line as three-technique tackles on the next level. Both prospects should be considered strong LSU leans at this point, however. Again, like the offensive line, Brad Lawing seriously has to consider the possibility of dipping down into the JUCO ranks for at least one guy who can offer immediate relief for next season in the defensive line rotation.

– Before the season, it seemed entirely likely that Will Muschamp would have to begin preparations for a future without Loucheiz Purifoy and Marcus Roberson after this season. Both looked primed for huge junior campaigns and then would presumably head off to the NFL in 2014. But three games into the fall, neither player has been overly productive to date. Roberson was solid against Toledo and Miami before going down with an injury against the 'Canes and sitting out the Tennessee game. Purifoy missed the Toledo contest and has played uneven in the two contests since then. Both have been usurped by true freshman phenomenon Vernon Hargraves III, who right now is looking and playing like the Gators' top cover corner. It's still early in the season, but it's worth noting that perhaps the need for Florida at corner in the Class of 2014 may not be quite as dire as originally anticipated? And that's a good thing, of course, since the Class of 2015 is loaded in the state of Florida at the cornerback position.