Florida Gators Football Recruiting Class of 2022
On3’s 2022 recruiting team talent composite
Despite a lack of national titles in the last eight seasons, Florida still has the potential to recruit at the highest level. Florida’s brand recognition, rich history, and recruiting footprint are packed with talent. Last month, Florida State lost the nation’s top recruit at the last minute. Still, despite a 5-7 season, Mike Norvell signed a top-15 class. A better 2022 season might lead to brighter recruiting days for the Gators.
The Florida Gators have a good rotation at point guard, but still need to add a lead ball handler. One prospect who has the potential to be that lead is 6’1″ 180-pound point guard Edgerrin James. A native of Orlando, James plays in the style Golden is implementing, preferring to push the ball in transition. Golden has stated that the Gators will try to score early on every possession.
On3’s rankings of UF’s class
On3’s rankings of the Florida gators football recruiting class for 2023 show a handful of high-level prospects that the Gators are pursuing. While there are no studs in the Florida Gators’ 2019 class, there are a few bright spots. Coach Billy Napier is a strong defensive coordinator, and he’s missed out on a couple of high-end prospects. For example, he’s been missing out on high-level defensive line prospects, and Sean Spencer is now working to fill that need.
The Gators’ recruiting class for 2023 continues to grow, as they recently added three-star offensive lineman Bryce Lovett. On3’s consensus rankings for Robinson, a four-star recruit, are at 379 overall and 36 among linebackers. Adding Jaden Robinson to the mix moved Florida ahead of Tennessee, taking sole possession of the fourth-best position in the SEC.
On3’s ranking of UF’s quarterback class
The scouting service On3 has ranked the 2020 Florida Gators quarterback class as one of the nation’s top 50. Dailey was considered a favorite by fans under Mike White and continues to be a favorite in the Golden era. The recruiting service is noting that Florida is one of four “Qualified Broadcast Universities” (QBUs) in the 2020 recruiting cycle, and has given him a No. 41 ranking.
James is ranked 131st by On3. While some recruiting services rank him in the top 75, the Gators are still looking for a top-five quarterback in this class. According to On3, they have a 13.1% chance of securing James. A recent visit by Miami has helped them narrow down their list to six schools. However, this doesn’t mean the Gators are out of the running for a quarterback.
On3’s ranking of UF’s offensive tackle class
In the most recent update to On3’s rankings of UF’s offensive tackle class, Heard jumped from a solid four-star recruit to a five-star. He now ranks alongside the nation’s top offensive tackle prospect and No. 3 prospect from Louisiana. Heard’s stock is rising as the fall recruiting season approaches, and UF is clearly trying to move up the list. Heard’s high ranking came after Texas and LSU made serious plays to sign him in the spring.
UF’s recruiting history is riddled with problems. Class sizes have fluctuated wildly in recent years. During the Muschamp era, UF signed twelve OL prospects, only to see them leave early. Next year, Dan Mullen added a class of three and then regressed to one and two. And in the three years following that, Meyer has failed to reach his target number of OLs.