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Florida Football Recruiting Roundup: The Final Push

Olivia Granaiola

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Dan Mullen’s second recruiting class currently ranks 20th in the nation with one week until the Early Signing Period (according to the 247Sports composite rankings).  This weekend, he will be welcoming 14 recruits to Florida for official visits. Eight of the visitors are verbal commits, meaning the Gators’ staff has a shot to make an impression on six highly-regarded members of the 2019 class.

Commits

The eight verbals are QB Jalon Jones, OL Ethan White, LB Jesiah Pierre, WR Trent Whittemore, LB Tyron Hopper, WR Ja’Markis Weston, OLB Mohamoud Diabate, and OL Wardrick Wilson.

As of right now, Hopper and Diabate are Florida’s second and third highest ranked commits (150th and 168th nationally). LB Diwun Black (who will unofficially visit this weekend) takes the top spot (148). White (591), Weston (554), Pierre (691), and Whittemore (751) are three-star commits. Wilson (308) and Jones (311) are both four-star prospects and Jones, the nation’s 11th ranked QB, plans to enroll early.

Targets

KAYVON THIBODEAUX, 5-STAR DEFENSIVE END

When the nation’s second-best recruit takes an interest in your school, you do whatever you can to keep it that way.

Thibodeaux, a California native, listed Florida in his top five schools earlier this year, along with FSU, Oregon, USC, and Alabama. Unfortunately, two visits to Gainesville were cancelled beyond the DE’s control. However, Mullen made a trip to Los Angeles to convince the 5-star that the third time is the charm.

Thibodeaux is an Oregon-lean right now, according to 247Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions. But, USC trails behind in predictions despite him leaving the Trojans off of his Signing Day flier.

Thibodeaux took officials to the other three schools on the list earlier in the year.

TYRIQUE STEVENSON, 4-STAR CORNERBACK

In Stevenson’s case, the Gators need to win him back. The Miami native de-committed from UF roughly one year ago after the departure of defensive backs coach Corey Bell.

Since then, the CB has mostly shown interest in other SEC schools, especially that team in Athens. In fact, 75% of Crystal Ball predictions are sending Stevenson to Georgia. But, it is well-documented that Florida is his dream school.

Getting the four-star corner back on campus might re-ignite a childhood spark that could put Stevenson in the Swamp for good.

KEON ZIPPERER, 4-STAR TIGHT END

Zipperer is a frequent Twitter user who is clearly having a lot of fun with the recruitment process. However, he tweets more about Florida than he does any other school, despite shrouding his final decision in mystery.

The last time the TE visited, Florida downed then-unbeaten LSU and he seemed all but ready to commit. Case in point…

However, he has since taken official visits to Alabama and LSU, as well as accepting in-home visits from Miami and Florida. It is also noticeable that the Lakeland native carries a Chucky doll (a Gators tradition) everywhere from visits to the Swamp to his own high school football games.

Right now, 75% of Crystal Balls land Zipperer in the Swamp and it makes sense. But, with all of the trolling that goes on in college football, it is hard to say for sure. For now, I am going to predict that a good meeting with Mullen will make a lasting impression on the tight end.

LLOYD SUMMERALL, 4-STAR DEFENSIVE END

Summerall, another Lakeland High School target, also seems to be trending toward Florida. Like Zipperer, 75% of analysts predict that he will choose the Gators. However, save for a recent visit to Nebraska, the DE’s decision seems narrowed down to Florida and Miami.

The four-star is a little less exuberant than his teammate when it comes to the Twitter game, but he still uses the Bird regularly. Especially when it comes to his upcoming college decision.

A pass rusher will like the work Mullen and Grantham have done with Jabari Zuniga and Jachai Polite. Polite in particular was a three-star recruit and one of the lowest-rated recruits in Florida’s 2016 class. This year, he ranks sixth in the NCAA in sacks and is projected to go in the first round of the upcoming NFL Draft.

I think a positive experience at Florida puts the program in the driver’s seat for Summerall’s signature.

MARCUS BANKS, 4-STAR CORNERBACK

Texas A&M looks like the school to beat if the Gators want to add Banks to the roster. The Texas native has a 69% chance to stay home, according to Crystal Ball.

Banks, a former LSU commit, scheduled this final official to UF not long after the re-opening of his recruitment. He also recently retweeted a video about the Gators’ DBU reputation after an in-home visit with Florida’s staff.

https://twitter.com/MarcusBanks1k/status/1067951543377367040

It is not hard to see why a cornerback would show interest in Florida. The duo of Marco Wilson and CJ Henderson is arguably the nation’s best. Not to mention, the previous duo of Quincy Wilson and Teez Tabor went in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. This year, Trey Dean garnered SEC All-Freshman Team honors at corner.

However, Banks is not the only corner to notice the caliber of the position in Gainesville. The Gators seem to be one of two final teams for 4-star Chris Steele and 4-star legacy Kaiir Elam.

DONTAE LUCAS, 4-STAR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Right now, Lucas is an FSU verbal commit. However, the foundation of his commitment does not appear strong. Case in point, he has a “Final Three,” schools that he will choose from.

https://twitter.com/7totha8/status/1071076919360262144

Swaying the IMG Academy student would make him the seventh OL commit in the 2019 class. However, the addition of Lucas would make him the highest-rated OL and overall commit in the 2019 class. So, if Florida needs to turn away some guys in the class, it might be for a player like Lucas.

Add to that the offensive line struggles in Tallahassee that could be further exacerbated by stealing an elite guard away from Willie Taggart, and Lucas presents an opportunity for Dan Mullen to further separate himself from his biggest in-state rivals.

The “last-visit” aspect of Lucas’ visit proves a good sign for the Gators’ chances of getting the Miami native. Plus, there is almost no way he’s not thinking about the Seminoles’ lack of an OC.

Making the Case for the Gators

In just one year, Mullen transformed a 4-7 program to a program that is now considered the 10th best team in the country. He did so with almost the same roster as in 2017.

Despite that, teams like Arkansas (2-10), Tennessee (last in SEC East), and FSU currently have better classes than Florida. (Arkansas currently has the 16th best class, Tennessee has the 15th, and FSU has the 14th).

If all of these targets fax their Letters of Intent to Gainesville, the Gators’ class goes from 229.3 points to 270.4, which in the last three years would have ended up ranked between 8-10 nationally. Perhaps more importantly, Thibodeaux, Stephenson, Lucas and Zipperer would be the Gators top four ranked recruits and provide high-end talent needed for any program to succeed.

It’s really unlikely that these chips all fall Mullen’s way. But scheduling the last official visit before the “dead-period” of recruiting is important. It shows that the school in question is the last one a target will see before making his final decision.

Getting elite recruits to hear your initial pitch is step one in recruiting. Getting them on campus for unofficial and official visits is step two. Mullen hasn’t had any trouble with either of those.

The issue has been convincing top-100 recruits to pull the trigger and choose to help build the program in Gainesville. This weekend, Mullen has a chance to close the deal and show Gator Nation that his on-field prowess is matched by his ability to sell his vision for the program.

I would be surprised if Florida doesn’t get at least one silent commitment this weekend. Whatever the outcome, Gators fans will be anxiously awaiting the early signing period (December 19-21) and National Signing Day (February 6).

Mullen has shown he can win on the field. He’s gotten the final visits of a bunch of recruits. Now he has to show he can close the deal.

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