Florida Gators staying local with 2023 recruiting class

Billy Napier has yet to coach a regular-season game for Florida, but the Gators’ first-year head coach is already making an impact on the recruiting trail. Florida’s class is currently ranked No. 10 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings and No. 4 in the SEC. A key reason for this is Napier’s ability to successfully recruit within Florida’s borders.

16 of the Gators’ 20 commitments this cycle are from the Sunshine State, including multiple top-100 prospects. Additionally, Florida’s 2023 recruiting class has an average distance to Gainesville of 165.5 miles, the shortest distance of any Gators class between 2004-2023.

Here’s how Napier and the Gators are keeping some of Florida’s top prospects home.

Florida is winning recruiting battles in the places it needs to

Of Florida’s 16 in-state commitments, 14 are located within 90 minutes of the Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa metropolitan areas. These three cities and their surroundings have been key recruiting grounds for the Gators in the past. It is something that Napier is using to his advantage, especially since Florida’s campus is within a two-hour drive to each place.

From the Tampa area, the Gators notched pledges from Tampa (Fla.) Gaither four-star wide receiver Eugene Wilson III and Saint Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood four-star EDGE Isaiah Nixon. They are both top-180 recruits and two of Florida’s top four in-state prospects. Additionally, the Gators are leading in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine for Tampa (Fla.) Wharton four-star cornerback Dijon Johnson, a top-100 cornerback who recently decommitted from Ohio State.

Florida commitments from Jacksonville include Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy four-star running back Treyaun Webb and Jacksonville (Fla.) Bartram Trail four-star cornerback Sharif Denson. Meanwhile, Gainesville (Fla.) F. W. Buchholz four-star defensive lineman Gavin Hill, Lake City (Fla.) four-star linebacker Jaden Robinson, Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.) Nease three-star quarterback Marcus Stokes and Gainesville (Fla.) F. W. Buchholz three-star wide receiver Creed Whittemore live within an hour-and-a-half of the city.

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All six players are top-500 prospects in the 2023 On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Denson, Hill and Webb are top-300 recruits who received offers from programs like Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.

Meanwhile, Orlando has a wealth of top talent this cycle, including Orlando (Fla.) Boone four-star wide receiver Aidan Mizell and Orlando (Fla.) Olympia four-star defensive lineman Kamran James, the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2023 On300. The Gators landed them both.

Other Florida commitments from near Orlando include Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola four-star cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson, Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Jordan Castell, Rockledge (Fla.) three-star interior offensive lineman Bryce Lovett and Eustis (Fla.) three-star wide receiver Tyree Patterson. Jackson and Casteel are top-225 prospects.

Gators are expanding reach in south Florida, nearby states

South Florida can be a tough place for the Gators to find commitments since they are competing against the top programs in college football. However, they earned an important pledge from Miami Northwestern four-star wide receiver Andy Jean in late July. A former Miami commit, he is the Gators’ first and only pledge of the 2023 cycle from the Miami area.

Napier is also seeking talent in the West Palm Beach area, another talent hotbed. Currently, Florida has one commitment from near the city in Port Saint Lucie (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star interior offensive lineman Knijeah Harris, whose hometown is roughly 50 miles from West Palm Beach. Harris’ IMG teammate, Camden (N.J.) four-star defensive tackle Will Norman, is also committed to the Gators.

Yet Florida is one of the toughest states to recruit blue-chip prospects. Look at the 2023 cycle, in which 23 of the top 100 players in the On3 Consensus play in the Sunshine State.

As a result, Florida has gone outside its boundaries to nearby states including Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. The Gators are certainly utilizing this geography to their benefit as they have landed three commitments from two of these states in Gardendale (Ala.) four-star defensive lineman Kelby Collins, Thomaston (Ga.) Upson-Lee four-star defensive lineman T.J. Searcy and Sharpsburg (Ga.) Trinity Christian School four-star safety Aaron Gates.

The Sunshine State is still the Gators’ main focus. Napier certainly believes it, as he said “it’s critical that you start at home base and you work your way out” during SEC Media Days. However, these commitments represent how Florida can get talented players from within 500 miles of campus to choose the Gators, rather than their in-state school.