Impact Analysis: The Quarterback Board Minus Milton
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* Rivals100 linebacker has top eight
* Four-star Burney talks final three
* Florida high on list of four-star
* Grad-transfer Zaire ready to decide?
* Signee Academic Update: Four to keep an eye on
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Joe Milton Impact Analysis
On Sunday, the Florida Gators took a hit to their quarterback recruiting board, when Joe Milton decided to announce his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines. Tough the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Orlando, Fla. native may not have been the overall top target at quarterback for the Gators, he was perhaps the top target Florida currently has a realistic chance of landing and losing out on him leaves Gator Nation wondering who their quarterback in the 2018 class will be.
The Build-up
It was long thought that if Florida offered, Milton would be the Gators to lose.
It looked to be that way early on, as many in the loop thought Milton was only a short time away from committing to Florida after they offered early in March. After all, roughly a month before, in February, Milton told Inside the Gators that Florida was his “dream” offer.
It was shortly after a visit to Georgia, in the middle of March, that rumors began spreading that Milton was looking to go out-of-state.
After a visit to Michigan for their spring game, those rumors came to fruition, as it became public knowledge to those in the know that Michigan had taken the lead.
Florida turned around and visited his high school as one of their very first stops their first day out on the road for the spring evaluation period.
However, the path had already been forged and now roughly three weeks later, Milton has pulled the trigger to the Wolverines.
The Impact
With Florida missing out on Milton, who is arguably the state’s top quarterback prospect, the staff will need to continue to try and find a quarterback in this class.
Although Florida has signed four quarterbacks in the past two classes, only one of those prospects, projected starter Feleipe Franks, was rated higher than a three-star.
The Gators badly need to sign a highly regarded quarterback this class, as they do not have a proven player at the position on the roster.
Milton is as strong armed of a quarterback as there is in the country, and the staff should have been licking their chops at the thought of getting to coach up a prospect with the amount of raw talent he possesses. Missing on Milton has to sting.
The Board
If the Gators want to sign a highly rated quarterback in 2018, it will likely need to come in the form of a flip.
Justin Fields is without a doubt the top priority on the board, and that was before Milton committed. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Georgia native is one of the nation’s best overall prospects, showing off elite arm strength to go with big time mobility. Although his commitment to Penn State seems strong, he has not denied he is looking around, with many believing Florida being his second option at the moment.
The staff is still working Emory Jones out of Georgia as well. The 6-foot-4, 179-pound five-star currently has the Gators running in second, but his commitment to Ohio State seems set in stone at this juncture.
Keeping a trend going in the Peach State, the staff is also hard after Jarren Williams, a 6-foot-3- 205-pound three-star who recently decommitted from Kentucky. Williams is as hot a prospect as there is currently, as he has recently picked up offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and LSU, along with the Gators. He will not be an easy get down the line.
The Gators will continue to keep tabs on Milton, along with Artur Sitkowski, who is committed to Miami.
The staff has also seen Joey Gatewood (committed to Auburn) and Chase Wolf (committed to Wisconsin) this spring.
Be on the lookout for new offers if things do not look good for these prospects down the line.
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