Billy Napier explains how he kept Alabama from flipping Jalen Farmer

After originally committing to Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators on Sept. 10 of last year, three-star offensive lineman Jalen Farmer stuck with his pledge and signed with Billy Napier on Wednesday.

The signing was a huge win for the Gators as programs like Alabama and Kentucky attempted to sway him ahead of decision day.

On Wednesday, Napier explained how his new staff held on to the Covington (Ga.) native.

“Jalen was a previous commit, one of the first players that we went to see,” Napier said. “He’s not all about the glitz and the glamor of recruitment. He’s got a plan and I was very impressed with his maturity and approach. It’s a good thing when some of the best programs in the country try to recruit some of your commits. We’ve got a ton of confidence in Jalen. We’re ecstatic about what he’s going to bring to our team so, big win for the Gators.”

The Eastside High standout said it was a hard decision but he felt Florida was the right pick.

“In this short time it’s been a tough process,” Farmer told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I want to thank all the coaches that recruited me. It’s been a wild ride. But at the end of the day, I just felt like it was the best fit for me.”

Napier celebrates Farmer win

Jalen Farmer is the No. 729 overall prospect in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the No. 57 interior offensive lineman and No. 73 player from the state of Georgia.

“We were very impressed with the initial evaluation,” Napier said. “This is a big man, he’s 6-foot-4.5, 330 pounds, I think he may actually be under 330. He plays with effort, he plays with power. He comes from a great family, mom and dad are really impressive people, and he is all business.”

Farmer has an On3 NIL Valuation of $5,800. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High offensive tackle David Conner and Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend Marshall interior lineman Christian Williams are Florida’s other offensive line commits in the 2022 class.

Billy Napier’s first signing class finished the first day of the late signing window at No. 25 in the nation, 10th in the SEC.