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Signing Class Positional Grades - Offense

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

QUARTERBACK 

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Grade: B

Breakdown: If you watched Florida this past two seasons you had to notice the poor play from the quarterback position. The Gators signed three-star Jake Allen as well as athlete Kadarius Toney, who is listed as an athlete but will get a crack at quarterback in the spring. The Gators also signed two signal callers in the 2016 class, and both redshirted this past season. With Luke Del Rio out this spring nursing recent shoulder surgery, many of these unproven signal callers will get some much needed reps.

Greatest Get: While I am very high on Toney’s ability to make plays with his legs, I don’t think he is quite there as a passer, so I am giving this one to Allen. The three-star from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas is a two time state champion and has a lot of tools that Doug Nussmeier can help develop.

Biggest Miss: With Florida landing Allen so early in the cycle there really weren’t many others that the Gators missed on. If I had to pick one to not avoid the question, I guess it would be five-star Hunter Johnson, who had an offer from the Gators and visited very early in the process before committing to Tennessee and eventually flipping to Clemson.

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* Redshirt Report: Wells looks to rebound after shaky start

* Anonymous Florida Football player Q&A (ask anything UF related)

* Florida's furious finish is one for the ages

* Player switches positions ahead of spring ball

* Florida coaches share signee evaluations

* GET TWO FREE MONTHS OF INSIDE THE GATORS

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RUNNING BACK  

Grade: A

Breakdown: Florida was able to sign two really talented backs from the state of Florida in four-star’s Malik Davis and Adarius Lemons. Both backs were very productive in their high school campaign as Lemons was one of the top backs in state before running into some trouble his senior year. Davis on the other hand really boosted his name in his senior year by breaking the Hillsborough County all-time rushing record set by former five-star Ray-Ray McCloud.

Greatest Get: I am going with Lemons here. Before hitting some off the field issues earlier this fall that caused him to be kicked out of his high school and miss his senior season, he was considered the top back on Florida’s board. Lemons will need to continue to work hard in the classroom and stay out of trouble, but Florida is excited about what he can do on the field.

Biggest Miss: There really isn’t a back out there that Florida offered that they missed on.

WIDE RECEIVERS  

Grade: B+

Breakdown: Rivals250 wide receiver DaQuon Green had been committed to Florida longer than any other name in the class, after pulling the trigger at Friday Night Lights in 2015. The Gators had an added surprise when they were able to bring in four-star James Robinson on signing day as well, after Florida’s administration had informed Jim McElwain earlier this week that they would not allow Robinson to be signed coming off his citation for Marijuana possession on a visit to Ohio State. These two Under Armour All-American’s should fit right in with the stable of wide outs Florida has signed over the last several classes.

Greatest Get: Robinson has the skills and upside to be one of the best wide outs on Florida’s roster. At the same time there are also a lot of concerns about his personal life that could hinder his production on the field. If he keeps his nose clean and buys in to what the coaches have to say he could really flourish with his gigantic frame and ability to come down with the 50/50 balls.

Biggest Miss: This really could have been for five-star Donovan Peoples-Jones, but I am going with the in-state kid and five-star Jerry Jeudy. The Gators finished second for Jeudy behind Alabama.

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* Has Florida hired a new assistant coach

* Worton no longer with football team

* McElwain discusses the addition of Robinson

* Video Analysis: Florida adds Robinson

* Signing Day Central

* GET TWO FREE MONTHS OF INSIDE THE GATORS

* Looks like Florida will finish 9th in recruiting rankings

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TIGHT ENDS  

Grade: B

Breakdown: Florida was able to sign the state’s number one tight end in Kemore Gamble, who has enrolled early at Florida. He will join current tight ends C’yontai Lewis, Deandre Goolsby, Camrin Knight and Moral Stephens. ITG has learned that former wide out Kalif Jackson has also been moved to tight end as well. So Gamble will be coming in hoping to compete for some playing time. Florida also had a commitment from three-star Zech Byrd as well, but a local news outlet in Alabama reported that Byrd would not be signing with the Gators yesterday, leaving questions on his future.

Greatest Get: With Gamble being the only signee for the Gators he is the greatest get by default.

Biggest Miss: Florida wasn’t legitimately in the running for any other tight ends except for Gamble and Byrd. Three-star Tre McKitty, who signed with FSU, had interest in the Gators, but there wasn’t much interest from the Florida side of things.

OFFENSIVE LINE  

Grade: B

Breakdown: Under McElwain Florida’s offensive line has continued to improve numbers wise each year for the Gators. Many of this past season’s starters will return to Florida next season and are still on the younger side. Florida added four-star Kadeem Telfort, and also got him on campus in January as an early enrollee. Florida also added four-star TJ Moore as a commitment on Christmas Day and was able to hold onto him despite the loss of former offensive line coach Mike Summers. Florida is excited about adding these two guys along with what is currently on the roster.

Greatest Get: Telfort was seen as one of the top offensive tackles in the state of Florida and was a guy that made a big jump in Rivals.com’s rankings late in the cycle. A few of Florida’s current players on the team have compared a lot of Telfort’s game to former offensive tackle David Sharpe when he first arrived in Gainesville.

Biggest Miss: There really were quite a few talented linemen that Florida was in on in the fall like Alex Leatherwood, Navaughn Donaldson, and Calvin Ashley. However late in the process it was Leatherwood that Florida had the best shot of flipping. The Gators could have counted on Leatherwood to contribute immediately, but instead he enrolled early at Alabama.

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