2/3/2017 football Edit

Signing Class Positional Grades - Defense

Blake Alderman

Inside the Gators Recruiting Analyst

With the Class of 2017 in the books, today Inside the Gators awards grades to the defensive signing class on a position-by-position basis.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Grade: B+

Breakdown: This undoubtedly was one of, if not the biggest, needs for Florida to fill in the 2017 cycle. The Gators were able to sign three four-star prospects at the position, a much needed talent infusion to add much needed depth at the very least. Florida currently has early enrollee signee Kyree Campbell on campus to participate in spring ball. Florida is also very excited about the additions of Tedarrell Slaton and Elijah Conlifee.

Biggest Get: I think Florida is equally excited for all three of their additions, but Campbell seems to be the most interesting prospect. After signing with North Carolina in the 2016 cycle, Campbell went the prep school route this past fall, and committed to Florida on his official visit in December. He just turned 18 years old and has checked in at 323-pounds, making him a very large human being that isn’t done growing yet.

Biggest Miss: I would say five-star Aubrey Solomon is the most talented player the Gators missed on this cycle, but Florida just never really seemed to be a legitimate player in that race. The one miss I would say that stung the most was four-star Fred Hansard flipping his commitment from Florida to Penn State during an official visit there in the fall. When Hansard backed away from his UF pledge it left the Gators with only a few options on the board which left the coaches in a bit of a mad dash in December and January where they had to expand their board for some new names.