Last fall, Billy Napier and his Florida staff were facing down a losing record on the football field and a floundering recruiting class. Despite a blowout loss to Texas, Napier got a vote of confidence from athletic director Scott Stricklin and the Gators managed to close the season with three straight wins. Florida’s class saw a late resurgence as well, as they flipped a host of their top targets and eventually ended with the No. 10 class nationally by the time February rolled around.
Four months later, Florida sat well outside the top 25 of the Rivals Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings this cycle and didn’t look to have much momentum building. But after 10 commitments in the span of two and a half weeks, the Gators were screaming up the list and pushing for a top-10 class.
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The month saw some huge additions, including Rivals top-100 offensive tackle Tyler Chukuyem; four-stars Marquez Daniel, JaReylan McCoy and Carsyn Baker all joined up with UF as well. And that was just in the span of a few days. Billy Napier and Co. also grabbed four-star wideout Justin Williams and IMG Academy tight end Kekua Aumua, Lakewood (Fla.) offensive tackle Chancellor Campbell, among others.
In total, the Gators added an even dozen commitments in those 30 days — and then followed it up with even more in the month of July.
Five more pledges have come their way this month, all of whom rank as blue-chip prospects nationally. Four-star defensive lineman Kendall Guervil is the headliner, but he’s flanked by fellow four-stars Heze Kent, Kevin Ford, Malik Morris and CJ Hester. The additions of that quintet have the Gators sitting at No. 14 in the team rankings heading into a pivotal fall on the field.
Of their 18 commitments, 10 hail from the Sunshine State, and the Gators also have 13 blue-chip commitments in total.
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Below is a full breakdown of UF’s class:
Florida commitments by position
Quarterback
Four-star Will Griffin, No. 202 NATL. (No. 15 QB)
Running back
Four-star Carsyn Baker, No. 199 NATL. (No. 16 RB)
Wide receiver
Four-star Marquez Daniel, No. 161 NATL. (No. 23 WR)
Four-star Justin Williams, No. 184 NATL. (No. 28 WR)
Tight end
Three-star Kekua Aumua, No. 710 NATL. (No. 43 TE)
Offensive tackle
Four-star Heze Kent, No. 183 NATL. (#16 OT)
Four-star Tyler Chukuyem, No. 285 NATL. (#24 OT)
Three-star Chancellor Campbell, No. 460 NATL. (No. 37 OT)
Three-star Javarii Luckas, No. 977 NATL. (No. 73 OT)
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Interior offensive lineman
Three-star G’Nivre Carr, No. 435 NATL. (No. 42 IOL)
Three-star Desmond Green, No. 750 NATL. (No. 72 IOL)
Defensive lineman
Four-star JaReylan McCoy, No. 108 NATL. (No. 11 DL)
Four-star Kendall Guervil, No. 112 NATL. (No. 12 DL)
EDGE
Four-star Kevin Ford, No. 125 NATL. (No. 17 EDGE)
Linebacker
Four-star Malik Morris, No. 232 NATL. (No. 10 LB)
Cornerback
Four-star CJ Bronaugh, No. 114 NATL. (No. 15 CB)
Four-star CJ Hester, No. 306 NATL. (No. 29 CB)
Safety
Four-star Kaiden Hall, No. 267 NATL. (No. 22 S)
