The National Signing Day Thread

[BMF]

(from gatorcountry recruiting board):

Greetings:

The class sits in limbo at 18 commits. UF picked up Nigel Bethel and has lost Jamar Chase. That UF has had only one public de-commit is remarkable. There is a lot going on although it is not happening in a public manor. Here goes.

I reported last week that UF would get a commit over the weekend. It did in the form of the previously mentioned Bethel. I almost didn’t put it out there because even though it seemed reliable it seemed implausible. Also, I didn’t hear anyone else saying anything about a new commit. So I asked myself what if I told you guys and then it didn’t happen, well 4 beers later and I said WTH, I put it out there. I was not told who it was going to be, only that it was a kid from South Florida.

Bethel: I have never seen him play nor watched his film. He is fast and he is not real big, listed 160 I believe. Let’s face it, he is not rated as high as others but I’m not going to bash the kid. He wanted to come to UF and the coach (Shannon) said yes. The next coach will need to honor it IMO.

Chase: The new guy will most certainly try to get him back in the fold. That said, I expect him to commit in the next week or so. I’m guessing LSU but I have never thought he has truly wanted to go there.

What’s Next: The staff and leaders of this class are trying to hold it together. I believe you have a core group of 12 -14 guys who are coming to UF regardless.

Scwartz: He keeps getting mentioned so I will address what I know. He will either come to UF or go to Houston to run track. He is not going to decide until after his season and gets the OK from the New Guy that he can do both at UF. Carl Lewis is a big sell and Anthony has to consider which sport he could potentially make the most money in. He is fast but does not have the size most NFL teams look for so he could be sold on track being his future money maker. Regardless, a decision is not close.

Really: It’s 6:30 am as I write this so I can’t blame it on beer, but it is possible that UF will get another commit this weekend. This would not be a shocker as I already have him projected in the class.

William Barnes: You may have seen the thread where Barnes advocated for Frost as the next coach. I think you can read a lot into that. Hint Hint: If he didn’t want to come to UF why would he care who the coach is.

OL: I still believe UF will have a very good O-line class. Add Barnes and Tillotsen but I expect NPF to go elsewhere at this point.

Coaching Search: Am I hearing stuff, yes. Is it specific, no. UF is keeping a lid on things as best they can. You will begin to hear rumors soon, even if people have to make them up. My concern is that although UF seems to have a good pool of coaches they all have questions. Either lack of HC experience, win loss record, or stronger ties to another school that may soon enter the coaching market. What UF would like IMO is to not appear to go to the 2nd, 3rd or 4th choice. What you will hear publicly is this is our guy and the only coach we offered. While that could be true I can tell you that several feelers have been sent out and I can tell you that at least one coach has contacted UF.

Misery and Company: Over the next 2-3 weeks, look for some schools to enter the coaching market as teams make their moves. Out west, FSU will have some turnover even if not at the top. Their fans are screaming loud about certain assistant coaches. A loss to UF would drive them nuts this year.In the SEC, you could have changes at Arkansas, UT and MS if Mullen moves. UF helped Barry Odom tremendously. Missuri is bad and a flat uninspred effort has their fans thinking they are better than they are.Despite a nice story by SEC country, David Shaw will not leave Stanford for the UF job. Some say that Norvel has his eye on Arkansas and some say he is the front runner for UF. The concern with Frost is family ties to Nebraska. The Frost are having a child and anyone with kids knows all about being close to grandparents. GrandPa and Grand Ma Frost still live in Nebraska. Stoops retired, please leave the man alone. Lane Kiffin will move to another school if I’m a betting man. UT fans are even starting to consider bringing him back. I’ve never hated Lane, I just felt he was immature and his career progressed too fast.

Last words: Try and enjoy the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to UGA and Bama in the SECCG, I think it will be a heck of a game. UF/FSU could be a wild one. ND and UM is an interesting matchup this week. I see turmoil ahead for the final four teams. Some conference or two is going to be pissed when they are not represented in the playoff. Remember, there is always alcohol.

 

[BMF]

Brendan Radley-Hiles no longer listing Gators
Top-100 defensive back Brendan Radley-Hiles de-committed from Nebraska on Oct. 31. Three months earlier, the U.S. Army All-American had renewed interest in Florida and was planning to visit this fall.

But in a video interview last week with Rivals.com, Radley-Hiles did not include the Gators among the teams he’s considering right now. Those are Clemson, UCLA, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas.

Radley-Hiles told Rivals he plans to announce his commitment at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

 

[BMF]

Monday, November 13, 2017


What Tennessee’s coaching change could mean for its recruiting
Jason Kersey writes:

Tennessee fired football coach Butch Jones on Sunday morning, and within hours, wide receiver prospects Altontae Taylor and Shocky Jacques-Louis announced they were decommitting from the Volunteers’ 2018 recruiting class.

The Vols have now, since October 4, lost six commitments from what was shaping up to be one of the very best signing classes in the country. And more are sure to come; cornerback commit Tanner Ingle told the Orlando Sentinel that he would take other visits, and added that Jones had told him “to find a place to go, quickly.”

That led to speculation that Jones might be sabotaging Tennessee’s recruiting efforts, but athletic director John Currie said Sunday evening, “I find that kind of speculative stuff silly and I trust Butch Jones and his character.”

All of Tennessee’s decommitments are coming in the first year of the NCAA’s new early signing period, which runs from December 20-22 and allows high school prospects to put pen to paper weeks before National Signing Day in early February. That makes getting a new coach hired and in place even more urgent.

“It’s uncharted territory for all of us to some extent,” Currie said. “Ultimately, we have to make the decision we believe to be in the best interest of the student-athletes we have at the University of Tennessee right now, (the) student-athletes who are approaching graduation, some of whom are playing their last two games in Neyland Stadium ... while we also look at the long-term future of our program.

“It certainly is a variable that’s new, but the core values in how we make decisions remain the same.”

Jones’ fate has essentially been sealed for weeks while the losses piled up and got worse. Two weeks ago, SEC East rival Florida got out in front of what is expected to be a competitive coaching market when it parted ways with Jim McElwain.

Currie was asked Sunday if he considered making a change earlier.

“I believed as we went throughout the season (that) even though there were moments of frustration, there were also moments of optimism,” he said. “I wanted to give our coaching staff and our student-athletes the best possible chance to be successful and I believed that best possible chance to be successful and win the games was under Coach Jones’ leadership.”

So now the search begins. Possible candidates currently in head coaching jobs likely won’t be directly contacted until after the regular season ends, but feelers will surely go out through intermediaries.

Florida and Tennessee fans expect top-flight recruiting classes every year, so this transition period will be critical. They cannot afford to have their recruiting classes are totally decimated by these coaching changes, because there may not be many top prospects left to choose from in January and February.



(Top photo: Denny Medley / USA TODAY Sports)

 

[alcoholica]

Teammate of Corral....

 

[lagator]

I would think if the Kelly announcement pops, not only are we going to hold the class together, but we are going to see serious Mo with a bunch of new 4-5* guys wanting in.

Man this could be a great time to be a Gator despite the worst season in 2 generations. That's the thing about irony, it's so damn ironic.

 

[CGgater]

I would think if the Kelly announcement pops, not only are we going to hold the class together, but we are going to see serious Mo with a bunch of new 4-5* guys wanting in.

Man this could be a great time to be a Gator despite the worst season in 2 generations. That's the thing about irony, it's so damn ironic.

Easy there, Sonny. I want to see a head coach officially announced by UF before I’m willing to have recruiting expectations run wild like that.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Easy there, Sonny. I want to see a head coach officially announced by UF before I’m willing to have recruiting expectations run wild like that.

Why are you such a downer?

 

[NavetG8r]

Why are you such a downer?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I chuckled as I wrote that.

 

[CGgater]

Why are you such a downer?

Hey, Mr. Pot! Good to see ya!

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Let’s face it, he is not rated as high as others but I’m not going to bash the kid. He wanted to come to UF and the coach (Shannon) said yes. The next coach will need to honor it IMO.

lolz....

 

[BMF]

lolz....

Yeah, that's stupid. Even Kiffin booted kids at FAU last year! (he got some bad pub, which isn't good w/ HS coaches....but it's quickly forgotten about). This kid is ranked 1200 or so IN THE STATE! Why is he even on our radar? (oh, I know....Randy Shannon)

It's likely even a few of the current commits may be told to look elsewhere (Gammage?). It happens w/ coaching transitions. As long as they don't do it the day before signing day (giving the kid time to find another school) I don't see a problem w/ it.

We need some damn LB's and DT's now!

 

[BMF]

Gators commit Jalynn Williams officially visits Auburn

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-recruiting-jalynn-williams-auburn

Jalynn Williams officially visits Auburn
Another SEC program hosted a Florida commit on campus last weekend.

Jalynn Williams, a 3-star athlete from St. Petersburg, Fla., took a surprise official visit to Auburn and was in attendance for the Tigers’ 40-17 win over No. 1 Georgia.

SEC Country’s Benjamin Wolk first reported the news.

Williams attended the last two Florida games against LSU and Texas A&M, but is now considering his options with the coaching changes at UF. Williams wanted to visit other schools even prior to Jim McElwain’s departure.

Williams committed to Florida in January as an athlete, but is expected to start out at receiver. Auburn is recruiting him as a cornerback and still has needs at the position, according to Wolk.

The Tigers want to sign two or three corners in their 2018 class and they’re awaiting the decision of Christian Tutt, who announces his decision on Tuesday between Auburn and Ohio State.

The Tigers will be a team to monitor with Williams moving forward, but Wolk reported that Auburn hasn’t pulled the trigger on him yet.

“Probably the big takeaway from Williams’ visit, however, is he left without receiving an offer. That’s usually an indication of what a program thinks. … I wouldn’t completely remove Williams from the cornerback board, but there isn’t much substance to it at this time. With that said, it’s clear Auburn will try to poach players from Florida’s class and Tennessee’s class, if possible.”

Kyle Pitts selected to All-America Game
Gators tight end pledge Kyle Pitts has been officially selected for the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game. Pitts was presented with his jersey Monday at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pa.

He's big, he's fast, he's everything you want in a tight end. He's Kyle Pitts, and he's officially a 2018 @UAFootball All-American! #UAALLAMERICA pic.twitter.com/LtwTsQWsaA

— All-America Game (@AllAmericaGame) November 13, 2017

Pitts is one of four Florida commits playing in the game — along with Jacob Copeland, Curtis Dunlap and Richard Gouraige — on Jan. 4, 2018 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. ESPN will broadcast the game live.

 

[NavetG8r]

The 3*s are seeing the writing on the wall now with the Chip Kelly to UF rumors.

 

[BMF]

The 3*s are seeing the writing on the wall now with the Chip Kelly to UF rumors.

Funny thing though....is Auburn didn't give him an offer.

 

[BMF]

Florida could sign top-10 class amid coaching change, a rarity in recruiting

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/florida-top-10-class

Florida’s coaching search continues to pick up steam and the new coach will likely have time to make his mark on the recruiting trail.

Gators athletics director Scott Stricklin hopes to the hire made before the early signing period begins Dec. 20. Eight Florida commits were planning to sign on that day prior to Jim McElwain’s departure last month.

Those early enrollees have decided to remain committed for the time being, and it will be critical for the next coach to keep them on board. Florida’s 2018 class is currently ranked No. 9 nationally in the 247Sports Composite.

UF has never signed a top-10 class during a coaching transition. Here’s a look back at the recruiting rankings of the last four classes, according to Rivals.com:

2002: No. 20 class (Ron Zook)
2005: No. 15 class (Urban Meyer)
2011: No. 12 class (Will Muschamp)
2015: No. 23 class (Jim McElwain)

Florida currently has 18 commits and remains in great shape with wide receiver Anthony Schwartz, defensive linemen Andrew Chatfield and offensive linemen William Barnes and Nicholas Petit-Frere.

If the Gators can keep the commitment list in tact and land the majority of their remaining targets, they would accumulate enough points to sign a top-10 class in this year’s recruiting cycle. And if Chip Kelly or Scott Frost get the job, perhaps the class could finish even higher.

Regardless of who Stricklin hires, the next Florida head coach will walk into a much better recruiting situation than his predecessors.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

 

[rogdochar]

Another possibility to consider is perhaps some of UT's RS freshmen want to transfer, sit out a year.If any were 4*-5* we could consider them, esp. OLs, DTs, and LBs?? Or from any other school going through a shakeup on the coaches that recruits had developed a relationship with.?? If UF gets the best of the new coaches, why not look to flip recruits by that HC influence with the Corral-group draw.

We need a new HC and he needs the maximum # of high-ranking new recruits.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Another possibility to consider is perhaps some of UT's RS freshmen want to transfer, sit out a year.If any were 4*-5* we could consider them, esp. OLs, DTs, and LBs?? .

No Rog,, we arent getting transfers from an SEC school.

 

[BMF]

Uh-oh!

Elite Florida QB commit Matt Corral possibly taking official visit to Alabama this weekend

https://www.seccountry.com/alabama/...commit-matt-corral-alabama-crimson-tide-visit

Amid uncertainty at Florida and the team’s struggles on offense, the leader of the Gators’ 2018 class, 4-star quarterback Matt Corral, may possibly take an official visit to Alabama this weekend for the team’s game against Mercer, a source close to the program told SEC Country.

The Crimson Tide are still looking to fill the quarterback spot in their 2018 class. Emory Jones, a 4-star prospect who’s committed to Ohio State, appears to be the likeliest option, but it’s never a certainty that a recruit will flip his commitment.


Corral, before he committed to the Gators, had a top 3 of Alabama, Florida and Georgia this summer. He told SEC Country why he was strongly considering the Tide at the time.

“Coach Daboll is one of the biggest reasons (I’m interested in Alabama),” Corral told SEC Country at The Opening Finals in July. “Him having NFL experience, for sure, gives them an advantage.”

Alabama is in an interesting spot for quarterback recruiting this year because the team is loaded with young depth. Jalen Hurts is a sophomore and Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones are freshmen. It’s not an appealing situation for an elite Class of 2018 quarterback to commit there because early playing time doesn’t look obtainable; however, Corral sees the depth as a positive.

“I feel like they would be passing down knowledge to me,” Corral said. “I know Tua (Tagovailoa). He’s a great kid on and off the field. Now that he’s getting coached under Coach Daboll and Saban, he has a lot of stuff to pass on to me. I feel like that would make me a better person on and off the field.”

Corral is rated as the nation’s No. 3 pro-style quarterback.