All four Gators official visitors have arrived in Gainesville

Among the boatload of prospects expected in Gainesville this weekend are four official visitors. Two of them are teammates from Alabama and the other two are committed to Florida.

James Smith and Qua Russaw, who hail from Montgomery (Ala.) Carver, are five-star prospects on the defensive side of the ball. According to the On3 Consensus, Smith is the No. 2-ranked defensive lineman and Russaw is the No. 3-ranked EDGE.

Both prospects also spent multiple days on campus during the weekend of Friday Night Lights, so this weekend marks their second trip to Gainesville. Defensive line coach Sean Spencer attended one of their games this year as well.

According to Russaw, Florida, Alabama and Auburn are pushing the hardest for his commitment. The Crimson Tide, however, is trending for both prospects in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

“Florida is coming hard,” Russaw recently told On3’s Sam Spiegelman. “He (Napier) is bringing Florida back. He’s trying to change the program and that really stands out to me. He’s working hard and they’re continuing to play well.”

The majority of UF’s class will be in Gainesville today

Quarterback Marcus Stokes and safety Bryce Thornton are in town to officially visit the Gators as well. They are currently spending time with Russaw and Smith, so there is no doubt they have already slipped on their recruiting caps.

On July 7, Stokes announced his commitment to the Gators after flipping from Penn State. The four-star prospect never publicly announced his offer from UF, but conversations were taking place behind the scenes and it ultimately resulted in a verbal commitment.

Thornton, however, is less than 48 hours removed from making his commitment to Florida.

The four-star safety from Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton has visited the Gators a handful of times this year and chose them over the Crimson Tide. It was the home-like feel and hospitality among the coaching staff that pushed UF over the top, but co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney deserves the most credit.

“As soon as he offered me, he said he was going to come get me. They recruited me hard from the beginning and he hasn’t stopped since. I just feel like he wanted me the most out of any school,” Thornton said of Toney.

“He thinks I am very versatile. He said I will be doing a lot of things in the defense, like nickel and safety. I can fit the scheme real well based on my abilities.”

Georgia, Miami, Tennessee, LSU, Clemson, Texas, Oregon and Michigan are some additional schools that offered Thornton during the recruiting process.

The Gators are inching closer to a top-five recruiting class

On Thursday evening, the University of Florida climbed multiple spots in the 2023 Consensus Football Team Recruiting Rankings, as four-star cornerback Dijon Johnson went public with his commitment to the Gators. As noted above, the aforementioned Thornton committed on the same day.

With those additions, the Gators now have the No. 8-ranked recruiting class. They previously checked in at the No. 10 spot.

According to the rankings, All-American defensive lineman Kelby Collins is the highest-ranked prospect in UF’s class. The Alabama native ranks as the No. 7 defensive lineman and No. 66 player overall.

Additional Gators commits inside the top 300 include wide receivers Eugene Wilson III and Aidan Mizell, defensive linemen T.J. Searcy, Will Norman, Kamran James and Gavin Hill, safety Jordan Castell, running back Treyaun Webb, EDGE Isaiah Nixon, and cornerbacks Dijon Johnson, Sharif Denson and Ja’Keem Jackson.

Alabama, Georgia and LSU are the schools currently ahead of Florida in the SEC recruiting rankings.

Stay tuned to Gators Online.