4-star edge Jalen Wiggins locked in with Gators, shuts down recruitment
Florida State and Stanford have pushed hard, but 4-star Florida edge commit Jalen Wiggins of Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards said Monday he’s all Gator. Wiggins told Gators Online he is shutting down his recruitment and is locked in with Billy Napier’s program.
“I’m sticking with UF because it feels like the best decision for me,” Wiggins said. “There are many great institutions around the country, however UF is where I want to achieve success at and continue to succeed later in life on and off the field.”
Wiggins is an important recruit for the Gators. He’s not only the highest-ranked commitment in the class (He’s No. 93 overall in the On3 Industry Rankings), but the only edge in the boat. He officially visited Florida, FSU and Stanford in June.
Wiggins has been committed to the Gators since Jan. 15. However, his plan for awhile was to officially visit a few different schools. The ‘Noles got the final official; that took place June 21-23. Wiggins then spent last weekend evaluating his recruitment with his family.
“It just kind of gives me a moment to recall all the official visits I’ve taken,” Wiggins told Gators Online last week. “On the official visits, I heard a lot of different things from the coaches and I’m just kind of taking it all into account and keeping an open mind. I talk to (the Gators) frequently. I talked to (defensive line coach Gerald Chatman) today — I am still feeling strong about (his commitment). Really, I am kind of just taking this weekend to figure it out. I don’t have any major concerns with Florida. Like I said, I’m just keeping an open mind.”
By shutting things down, Wiggins will be done with visits to other schools.
Wiggins officially visited the Gators on June 7-9. A week later, he was back in Gainesville for a three-day unofficial visit to help them recruit.
“It went well,” Wiggins, a standout at Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards, told Gators Online. “I got a chance to interact with some other players and go to OTAs (organized team activities). That was real good. I got to see how much they do and the attention to detail. It wasn’t like a hard practice during the spring or the fall. It was more paying attention to certain keys. But they were still working hard.”
