Advertisement
football Edit

Friday Night Lights Preview: Over 25 four-and-five star targets due in

After a couple of somewhat down years, Florida's Friday Night Lights Camp is making a serious comeback, with the Gators expecting an insane amount of talent on campus this weekend.

The coaching and support staffs have worked tirelessly to get many top targets on campus to spend time with the coaches, and in doing so have put together a star- studded visitor list which includes over 25 four and five star prospects.

Inside the Gators takes a look at some of the names to watch over the weekend.

The Gators will have many of their current commits on hand this weekend looking to help recruit others to join them at Florida.

Leading the pack is Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas quarterback Jake Allen, who will also be taking part in the Gators quarterback camp, which runs Thursday and Friday.

Allen will not be the only verbal pledge the Gators have in town as Rivals100 defensive end Zachary Carter, Rivals250 offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort, linebacker Ventrell Miller, four-star wide receiver DaQuon Green, athlete Kadarius Toney, defensive tackle Jordon Scott, and four-star tight end Kemore Gamble are all expected in.

2019 commits Jaquaze Sorrell and Jaleel McRae are also planning on being in attendance.

Being handicapped by a glaring lack of offensive playmakers when they took over, Jim McElwain and staff have made it a point of emphasis to try to bolster the wide receiver group in Gainesville.

What they began last year they are hoping to build on this cycle. Along those lines the staff will have an elite group of pass catchers on hand this weekend from the class of 2017 and 2018.

Leading that group is Rivals100 wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who is making his second visit to Gainesville of the summer. Alabama and Miami have been mentioned a good deal in regards to his recruitment, with the Gators looking to become a major player here.

A majority of the high profile wide outs expected in hail from the 2018 class.

A few names expected are four-star Mark Pope, four-star Warren Thompson, Amari Burney, Jacob Copeland, Florida State commit Justin Watkins, and four-star Xavier Williams.

-----

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS COUNTDOWN:

#5 four-star linebacker Nathan Proctor

#4 four-star cornerback Marco Wilson

#3 Rivals250 defensive tackle Fred Hansard

#2 Five-star defensive end Jarez Parks

-----

Advertisement

With the Gators looking to continue the tradition of DBU the staff understands that they need to continue to add top secondary talent to their roster in 2017.

This weekend they will have a who’s who of defensive backs on hand Friday night under the lights.

One prospect Florida is high on at the safety position is North Carolina athlete Hamsah Nasirildeen, who will arrive in Gainesville on Thursday. The four-star last visited Gainesville for the Orange & Blue Debut and has talked highly of the Gators as well as Alabama over the last several months. Another possible prospect possibly visiting that the Gators see as a safety is four-star athlete DeAngelo Gibbs. So far Gibbs has been very high on Tennessee and Georgia.

A pair of prospects from South Florida, who have been regular visitors to Florida over the last year are expected yet again this coming Friday. Three-star cornerback Shawn Davis has had the Gators leading for some time now, and is on a commitment watch as soon as he steps foot on campus. Davis will also be joined by Miami pledge Christopher Henderson, who has also made quite a few visits to Florida this year. Though he remains committed to the Hurricanes, the Gators staff feels good about their chances to pull off a flip.

Three-star athlete Tray Bishop will make a return visit to Florida on Friday after spending this past Tuesday on campus. The Gators are in his top three along with Auburn and Georgia, but Florida is the only school of that top group that is recruiting Bishop as a defensive back.

Another prospect making a second possible visit to UF this week is Alabama commit Chadarius Townsend. Though he is listed as an athlete, it sounds like the Gators may like him as a defensive back. Townsend is a big time playmaker and can play on either side of the ball or even help with special teams.

Rivals250 cornerback Marco Wilson named a top five earlier this week that included the Gators, and many feel in the end his recruitment comes down to Miami and Florida. He will be on campus this weekend to spend time with the coaches as well as the players. There has been some talk of Wilson looking to end his recruitment sometime near the summers end, but no date has been named.

A few other defensive backs expected in is new Miami safety commit Brian Edwards, Georgia commit Latavious Brini, Louisiana cornerback Brad Stewart, and 2018 Miami defensive back commit D.J. Ivey and Josh Jobe.

The defensive line is another area the staff has made a point to address in the 2017 cycle, and is another area the Gators will have a loaded roster at for the camp this weekend. Leading that group of expected visitors will be five-star defensive end Jarez Parks. At this time Parks has taken his recruiting process slowly, but Florida, Florida State, and Alabama have been mentioned by him consistently. A few other big names defensive linemen expected are Rivals250 defensive tackle Fred Hansard, four-star LaBryan Ray, four-star MJ Webb, and four-star Markaviest Bryant. 2018 defensive tackle Timaje Porter is also expected in, who attends the same high school as 2016 signee LaMical Perine.

The Gators are also looking to add some big names to the offensive line as well and will have quite a few big names on hand this weekend at the position. The Gators top target at the tackle position, Alabama commit Alex Leatherwood is a possible visitor for this weekend. The Gators will also have Miami offensive tackle commit Navaughn Donaldson on campus this weekend as well. This will be Donaldson’s first visit to UF. A few other big men worth mentioning are four-star center Cesar Ruiz, three-star Toryque Bateman, three-star Caleb Chandler, three-star tackle Jean Marcellus, recent Miami tackle commit Zalont’ae Hillary, Georgia commit De’Antne Demery, and 2018 offensive lineman Curtis Dunlap.

Rivals250 offensive tackle Adrian Ealy is also expected to visit UF on Saturday.

The Gators signed two top running backs in the 2016 class, but still have been evaluating others at the position in 2017. They will have their top in-state target at the position on hand this Friday when North Carolina commit Adarius Lemons comes to town. Despite his early commitment to the Tarheels the Rivals250 member continues to keep in contact with other programs. 2018 running back Ricky Slade will also be in town for Friday Night Lights as well. He last visited two years ago for the same event.

The Gators already have one linebacker in the fold for the 2017 class, but hope to squeeze a few more into the class. A few expected in this weekend at that position are Rivals250 linebacker Nathan Proctor, California four-star Rahyme Johnson, three-star linebacker James Houston another prospect on commitment watch this weekend, and 2018 Auburn commit Robert Hicks.

Follow along all weekend as we bring you extensive coverage of one of the most star studded camps of the summer

------

SIGN UP & GET FREE ACCESS UNTIL THE 1st WEEK OF THE FOOTBALL SEASON

If you have NEVER been a member before, new Users Click Here

If you are a registered users looking to become a subscriber or a past member (and keep username) Click Here

-----

Advertisement