Five early signees who could make an impact in the upcoming season
Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators have closed on the National Early Signing Period on a high note. The Gators signed the majority of their commits while also landing two elite targets.
Some of these early signees will enroll to the University of Florida in January. Florida is looking for some help and at a few positions and some of these signees could be the answer.
Here are five Florida early signees that could make a huge impact on the Gators in the 2018 season.
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* Early Signee In-Depth Analysis
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The commitment of Emory Jones was a huge one for the Florida Gators. Jones is an elite quarterback that will enroll early and compete for the starting quarterback job. Feleipe Franks was the starter for most of last season but didn’t play at a high level. The Under Armour All-American will come in and really give Franks a run for his money. Jones is a perfect fit for Mullen’s offense. He has a cannon for an arm and could really hurt defenses with his legs as well. The biggest attribute in Jones’ game is his decision making. That was Franks’ biggest issue last season as he didn’t know what to do with the ball. If Jones can come in next season and digest the playbook quickly, he could factor greatly into Florida's quarterback picture.
Kickers may not be the most exciting or sexiest of signees but Evan McPherson is likely going to play a huge role for the Gators next season. now that Eddy Pineiro has announced that he will forgo his senior season and will enter the NFL Draft. With that said, McPherson becomes the favorite to replace Pineiro as Florida’s placekicker. McPherson, the No. 1 rated kicker in the country, was a priority for Mullen when he was at both Mississippi State and Florida. This was Mullen’s only MSU commit to flip to Florida as of now.
When Jim McElwain parted ways with Florida, Randy Russell was the commit that not only remained solid to the Gators, but helped to continue to recruit for UF. The former Miami commit has officially signed with the Gators and will be an early enrollee. Russell is a very talented player that could really do some damage on the field. He might not be ball hawk but he is one of the biggest hitters in the country could really bring some more physicality to Florida’s secondary.
Since Jake McGee left Florida, the Gators haven’t gotten solid tight end play. DeAndre Goolsby was a major disappointment and C’yontai Lewis wasn’t any better. The Under Armour All-American tight end is a tall, lanky tight end that is a quarterback’s best friend. He is a really solid blocker but his best attribute his is pass catching ability. Pitts is a special talent that could be used all over the field. He should compete with Lewis, Kemore Gamble and others for immediate playing time.
The four-star linebacker could play a big part in Florida’s defense next season in aiding a linebacker depth chart which is incredibly thin. Outside of Florida’s top three linebackers, there isn’t much else the defense can lean on. Reese will have to come in this summer and really work his tail off to be able to help out the Florida defense. In Todd Grantham’s 3-4 defense, Reese will likely be used as a pass rushing linebacker. Reese is explosive with a nice first step and could really create havoc in the backfield.
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