In the latest edition of Zach’s Mail Stack, I discuss Florida's in-state recruiting recruiting success, five-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye and the Gators' remaining needs in the Class of 2021.
Do you think this is the class that turns the corner for Florida winning recruiting battles against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson for in-state talent? — @llbake2
Florida coach Dan Mullen and his staff have won head-to-head recruiting battles against two of those three programs in every cycle, including 2021. This class, which is ranked No. 3 nationally, has the potential to be Mullen’s most successful.
His first class at UF included in-state recruiting wins over Alabama (Jacob Copeland) and Clemson, which sent the entire coaching staff to Richard Gouraige’s house two nights before National Signing Day.
The Gators kept a pair of Rivals100 members from leaving the state on NSD in 2019, flipping Khris Bogle from Alabama and winning a heated recruitment against Georgia for Kaiir Elam.
The 2020 class featured two victories over the Bulldogs, stealing Joshua Braun before the early signing period and preventing UGA from poaching five-star defensive tackle Gervon Dexter. Florida beat both Alabama and Clemson for Xzavier Henderson, who was expected to pick with the Tigers.
The Gators have also lost battles against those three programs in recent years, although not every top Sunshine State prospect they signed was recruited by Mullen's staff (ex: UGA signee Rian Davis, Clemson signee Fred Davis).
Alabama edged UF for Trey Sanders and Evan Neal in 2019, followed by Timothy Smith last year. Clemson’s last two classes have featured Florida targets Demarkcus Bowman (2020), Frank Ladson and William Putnam. UGA landed former Gators commit Tyrique Stevenson in 2019 and wide receivers Marcus Rosemy and Arian Smith last year.
The Bulldogs don’t have any pledges from Sunshine State prospects in their 2021 class and missed out on four-star wide receiver Marcus Burke, who chose UF over UGA on July 20. Florida won a major battle against Nick Saban for Rivals100 cornerback Jason Marshall and will have to keep the Crimson Tide from flipping top-20 overall prospect Tyreak Sapp.
Alabama currently has four commitments from Sunshine State recruits and topped the Gators for wide receivers Jacorey Brooks and Christian Leary. UF was only involved with one of Clemson’s three pledges (Marcus Tate) from Florida for 2021.
The Gators are still after Leary and have to contend with the Crimson Tide for remaining targets Terrion Arnold and Xavian Sorey. If UF can land one or both of those 850 products and sign Sapp, that will mark multiple in-state recruiting victories over Alabama in one cycle.
Is Leonard Taylor locked in at UM or is he still looking, especially with the jewels of Miami Palmetto heading to UF? Conversely, how solid to UF are Jason Marshall and Corey Collier? — @LTGator
With two of his high school teammates joining Florida’s 2021 class, don’t expect Mullen & Co. to give up on Leonard Taylor any time soon.
Corey Collier and Marshall will be in his ear about UF all fall, especially if the Gators have a great season and Miami struggles again under second-year coach Manny Diaz. Florida can also sell him on early playing time with three senior defensive tackles on the roster and no upperclassmen returning next year.
Despite those factors, it will take a two-way street to flip Taylor. He’ll have to continue showing interest in UF and keeping the lines of communication open with Mullen’s staff, which hasn’t been the case since his pledge to Miami on Aug. 6.
That could change in the coming months, but the Hurricanes may need to give Taylor a reason to cool on them (poor play, perhaps) before he starts reconsidering. If official visits are able to happen in this cycle, the Gators would have to get him back on campus to pull off a flip.
But I wouldn’t hold your breath, Florida fans.
The uncommitted Miami Palmetto players wanted to have their recruitments wrapped up before the 2020 season and all four stuck to that timeline. Other schools won’t stop pursuing, particularly Miami with Marshall, but I think all of them are solid in their decisions.
Collier told me he was ready to get the process over and tweeted “there’s no decommitting” after his pledge is made.
“Once I commit, I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “They ain’t gotta hear nothing about me leaving.”
Do you see the Gators taking Tunmise Adeleye and Bryce Langston if both wanted to come, or can they only sign one of them? — @tshoemaker2423
Despite four commits at the position, the Gators aren’t done recruiting defensive linemen. I could see a scenario where they sign both Adeleye and Langston if the scholarship numbers allow it.
Florida needs to land at least one more D-tackle in the 2021 class, and Langston may fit that bill. He’s a 6-foot-3, 250-pound strongside defensive end who could bulk up in college and slide inside.
LSU is the biggest competition for the Gators, but they’re considered the team to beat at this time. Langston is a former UF commit and his teammate at Ocala Vanguard, Trevonte Rucker, is part of the class.
I like Florida’s chances better with Langston than Adeleye, who decommitted from Ohio State last Tuesday. The Gators had been viewed as a threat to flip the five-star defensive end, especially after they landed his IMG Academy teammate Kamar Wilcoxson.
But neither of them are there now. Wilcoxson is set to reclassify and enroll at UF, while Adeleye has moved back home to the Houston area. He plans to re-enroll at his old high school, Katy Thompkins, but will take online classes to graduate early and won’t play football this fall.
So the Gators no longer have the luxury of Adeleye being in the Sunshine State or around Wilcoxson. Florida is still very much in the picture and he intends to visit Gainesville, but it’s no surprise that Texas A&M is now trending in his recruitment.
Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma are other schools to watch. If UF ends up losing a commitment from Sapp, that makes Adeleye an even bigger priority and might entice him to come more.
That’s also a scenario where the Gators would certainly take Adeleye and Langston, although they could sign both along with Sapp if their class or roster has some attrition.
How many more 2021 commitments can we realistically take in this class? — @Phenry44, @DicksonAsare9
Florida holds 24 verbal commitments for the Class of 2021 after the additions of Collier and Marshall.
With 2020 pledge Leonard Manuel not signing, the Gators will have 83 players on scholarship this fall and 18 seniors. That gives them room to sign 20 recruits, but that’s before juniors turning pro or possible portal departures.
Tight end Kyle Pitts, running back Dameon Pierce, defensive end Zachary Carter, linebacker/nickel Amari Burney and cornerback Marco Wilson will all be candidates to enter the NFL Draft. And based on the Gators’ 2020 depth at running back and up front, there could be a player from their backfield or O-line who elects to transfer.
Florida’s 2021 class could experience some deflections as well. Sapp and linebacker commit Chief Borders, who is still high on Stanford, are flip candidates, and there’s always the chance of a recruit(s) failing to qualify academically.
UF can sign a max of 27 players in this cycle, so right now there’s only space for a few more. But depending on future attrition, as many as five prospects could still be added to the class.
What are the priorities in recruiting before signing day at the end of the year? — @davemock
With the current commits, Florida has addressed its needs from a numbers standpoint at quarterback (4 total for 2021), wide receiver (10), tight end (7) and cornerback (11). And if four-star offensive athlete Charles Montgomery plays running back, that position will be up to six players.
The biggest remaining need for the Gators is along the offensive line, which loses four starters after the 2020 season. UF will have 15 linemen next year with 11 returners, but adding Miami commit Laurence Seymore or Diego Pounds to that group would be huge.
Along with Adeleye and Langston, the Gators would love to land Sorey or Jeremiah Williams at linebacker and add Arnold to their secondary class. And don’t rule out the possibility of Leary or Miami commit Brashard Smith, a former UF pledge, making the switch.
The most important priorities moving forward are offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, safety and wide receiver.
