The National Signing Day Thread

jdh5484

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It says his interest level for UF is "none". :lol:
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BMF

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This kid is lucky he committed when he did, as I'm not sure they would have taken his commitment w/ the momentum we have going.....and at 240-ish as a HS senior, he'll likely be a DT before it's all said and done! :D


UF Commit Upshaw Enjoying Gators Recruiting Success
Gators commit looking to prove a lot in senior season

http://florida.247sports.com/Articl...ent-enjoying-UF-recruiting-success--105933840

Since committing to the Florida Gators back in June, Bradenton (Fla.) Braden River defensive end Taylor Upshawhas continued to work hard to mold his body for the upcoming football season. So far the three-star end has looked to cut a few pounds in the offseason, and feels that loss has made a positive effect on his pass rushing skills.

“I had a little extra weight that I had worked off from just trying to stay in the weight room that caused the fat to turn to muscle. I feel a lot more explosive now and feel like that is only going to help my pass rushing abilities for this season.”

Last season was Upshaw’s first playing football, and since that time he feels his knowledge of the game has gotten much bigger. This coming season the 6-foot-5, 240-pounder has much more confidence behind him.

“I have no hesitations about my role on the field or my assignment the coaches have me doing. I am a lot more confident in what I am doing and I am not having to look at my coaches on the sideline to make sure I am doing what they want. The season I am going to have this year is going to be 100 times better than last year. I am just so much better as a pass rusher and getting off the ball and holding my ground.”

The main assistant from Florida that talks with Upshaw is defensive line coach Chris Rumph. The two have gotten much closer since Upshaw landed the offer from the Gators late in the spring.

“We have a really great relationship and I am on track to enroll in January and I just can’t wait to get up there and start working under him. He is a great coach and I know he is going to make me great. We have a natural relationship and now that I am committed he sees me as his own in the Gator family.”

The Gators have had some recruiting success since Upshaw’s commitment as well landing tons of big commitment in the month of July and August. Seeing the class rise so steadily in the recruiting rankings has been something Upshaw has enjoyed seeing.

“I am happy because the class is growing well and it’s great to see the coaches having success because they really work hard at it and they are great people. The players we are adding and will continue to add just makes Florida that much closer to getting into the National Championship race.”

Upshaw has also joined in on the recruiting fun with the rest of his fellow commits and has numerous targets he is after.

“I have been talking to Andrew Chatfield a lot since he opened things up and I think we have a really good chance of getting him. Brendan Radley-Hiles is another one that has come up in our group text chat that we want to get and guys like William Barnes, Tyson Campbell, and Richard Gouraige. Those guys would really help the class a lot.”

Going forward Upshaw has yet to lock in a date for his official visit to UF, but is tentatively looking at the weekend UF plays FSU. A few months after that he will be enrolling early and is looking forward to getting his college career started.

“I just want to get up there and show what I am made of,” explained Upshaw. “I want to show people that just because I have two years of football that I still am worth being at Florida. I want to work hard and try to avoid a redshirt if I am able. I want to try and contribute any way that I can.”
 

BMF

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DT Rick Sandidge still high on Florida Gators

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/rick-sandidge-florida-gators-recruiting

Rick Sandidge names UF in top 7
The Gators apparently made a lasting impression on the nation’s No. 11 defensive tackle.

Rick Sandidge, a 4-star DT from Concord, N.C., named Florida in his top 7 on Monday along Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Penn State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

Sandidge visited UF for the first time on April 22 and called it one of the best trips he’s taken as a recruit. That’s how impactful his meeting was with Gators defensive line coach.

“He just really impressed me,” Sandidge said. “I had a good time with Coach Rumph. I just felt what he was saying. We had never met but we talked like we knew each other. That was big.”

Big enough to put the Gators in the mix for Sandidge, who hasn’t been back to Florida since the spring and doesn’t plan to return for an official visit. However, his relationship with Rumph trumps another stop in Gainesville.

“He’s the type of coach I want to play for,” Sandidge said. “He got on me once about some plays on my film where I didn’t do good. I liked that. I feel like he can show me the ins and outs of the game.”

Sandidge told SEC Country he wants to officially visit schools he hasn’t seen before, such as Michigan and Penn State, but said he’ll “definitely” attend a game in The Swamp this season.

The 6-foot-5, 288-pound Sandidge is ranked the nation’s No. 134 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite. He plans to “take his time” with his commitment and doesn’t have a decision timeline.

Abolverdi analysis
The Gators will need to pull off another recruiting upset to land Sandidge. South Carolina seemingly has a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot, though he hasn’t named a leader. He texts daily with Will Muschamp and his mother is openly lobbying for the Gamecocks.

However, Sandidge is in no rush to decide and wants to experience official visits. Should Rumph convince him to take one — or if Sandidge indeed shows up for game — a return trip to Florida could shake up his recruitment, especially if UF continue its hot streak.

But for now, I think South Carolina has a strong lead and the Gators have a better shot with 4-star defensive tackles Nesta Silvera (Miami commit) and Dante Stills.
 

BMF

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OL Ed Montilus raves about coaching style of Florida assistant Brad Davis

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/ed-montilus-brad-davis-florida

Ed Montilus talks Gators
William Barnes is not the only offensive lineman Florida wants from Apopka High School for the Class of 2018.

While checking out Barnes during the spring evaluation period, new Gators offensive line coach Brad Davis took notice of another Blue Darter — Ed Montilus.

The 3-star offensive guard received an offer from Davis in April, adding Florida to a list that includes Auburn, Miami, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Montilus didn’t have much interest in the Gators prior to the spring, but Davis has changed that.

“He helped Florida a lot because he actually recruits me,” Montilus told SEC Country. “He comes to my high school and checks on my school work. He doesn’t just stop by. He comes to my practice and watches me. He doesn’t just hang out.

“He talks to me consistently and we actually have conversations. He doesn’t just send me pictures. So he’s a guy that I can relate to and he really tries to get to know me. I can definitely see myself coming to Florida because of him.”

Montilus visited UF twice this summer with Barnes, with the Apopka teammates telling SEC Country in June that they plan on attending the same college. Florida and North Carolina are the co-leaders for Barnes as well as Montilus, who is also considering the in-state Hurricanes and Auburn.

The 6-foot-2, 288-pound Montilus last visited UF for Friday Night Lights and competed in the camp so he could work with Davis.

“What made me come back up was to really see how he coaches. It went pretty good. Actually, it was better than I expected,” said Montilus, who plans to decide on National Signing Day. “I can really learn from him if I come to Florida. I just like that he’ll get after you. He’s going to make you re-do things you do bad on. He’s going to make you better.

“He’s a great coach. He was teaching me techniques I didn’t know. You’re supposed to keep your butt down when you’re trying to lift your opponent. He showed me the proper way to kick. I was really trying to understand what he was telling me. We went over some film, too. It was a great experience.”
 

BMF

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Florida, LSU among leaders for 4-star DE John Waggoner, Iowa’s top prospect

http://gridironnow.com/lsu-florida-leaders-john-waggoner/

Four-star defensive end John Waggoner, considered the best prospect in Iowa in the 2018 recruiting cycle, may end up playing his college ball in the SEC.

Waggoner has been offered by many programs from around the country, including Arkansas, Florida and LSU.

“I probably communicate the most with LSU at this point, but I visited both LSU and Florida and liked both of them quite a bit,” he told GN.

Waggoner (6 feet 5, 230 pounds), from West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling Catholic, is a national top-250 recruit overall.

“I still like quite a few schools and I’m still trying to figure out where I will be taking my officials,” Waggoner said. “I’m still communicating quite a bit with Iowa, Iowa State, LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and others. There are still a lot of schools on my radar. … I’m not worried too much about location.”

What type of defensive lineman is Waggoner?

“I like to think I have a high motor and good athletic ability for my size,” Waggoner said. “I like to fly around and do my job to the best of my ability.”

As for when we can expect a commitment from Waggoner, there is no timetable.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to getting it over with if I knew what I wanted to do at this point, but I’m
playing it by ear right now and going with my gut. Once I’m ready to make a decision, I will
make a decision,” he said.
 

BMF

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(borrowed from gatorcountry):

Well, well, well, Joe Kenda might say. It’s the dead period but things are rather active. Let’s get to it, some you know, some maybe not.

Azeez Ojulari: #3 ranked DE out of Marrieta Ga. Has an announcement scheduled for August 17th at 3 p.m. He is crystal balled to UGA but as with Pierce, I disagree and at least a few UGA people feel the same way. Azeez was blown away by his FNL visit and if he can get past his dads love of Auburn I predict he picks UF. Azeez is highly spoken of by his coach and is 5#s away from the school record in the power clean. Benches 355 and squats 500+. Here is a short quote from his coach.

Ojulari ‘just leads us every day with a strong example of working hard and taking care of his business,” Morgan said. “He’s a great character kid. He’s everything you want in a player already, but he can also improve a great deal in terms of his remaining football potential.”

BJ Ojulari: 2020 class and is the younger brother of Azeez. BJ came on the visit with his older brother and is already a physical specimen. BJ is a big Dante Fowler fan and is already 6’4 215. Chances are he and big brother will play together on the next level. He has had a UF offer since spring.

UGA recruiting: Fans are concerned. If they get Azeez as they hope next week, he would be their 2nd highest ranked recruit at 136. Many of their other top targets are toss ups as far as decisions at this time. That could all change quickly with a Justin Fields or Azeez Ojulari commitment, neither of which is a sure thing.Dawg fans are nervous.

Coynis Miller: Most view Auburn and UF as 1 &2 at this time. Coynis now says he will make a decision after the season. You could interpret this delay a couple of different ways. Either he is unsure and needs more time. Or if he is leaning to UF and can alleviate the infamous Alabama pressure to stay in state by choosing UF or anyone else later. I don’t know what he will decide but if he is all in for Auburn, why not announce before the season as he originally planned.

Josh Jobe: Will play in Connecticut his senior season due to Florida age laws. I believe he is 19 and thus can’t compete at the HS level. He has reopened his recruitment but I have no idea where UF is with him. Even so, we are starting to see leaks in Miami’s class begin to emerge.

Nesta Silvera: He has scheduled three OV’s to UF, UM, and Ohio State. Nesta has been recruiting for UM, is committed to UM but there are signals he is seriously looking at UF and OSU. Silvera has a great relation with UF coaches. This one could go several ways. That said, Silvera is IMO the best DT prospect that UF has on its board. In fact, I like his DT film better than any I have watched.

Tyson Campbell: Another AH kid. Some Miami fans thought they would get him after Silvera committed. That didn’t happen, at least yet. He will visit OSU and UF probably at the same time as Silvera. I have never projected TC in UF’s class and I don’t know how tight these kids are but you never know if 3 or 4 of them may decide to play together at the next level. It can’t hurt to have Scwartz and Chatfield strongly considering UF. What I have picked up on is that I don’t expect to see Surtain Jr. and TC pick the same school. Randy Russel is very open about recruiting TC. I do not see UF as the favorite but I do now see them as an option for TC.

Andrew Chatfield: Now projected to UF and I told you to keep an eye on him. Some seem concerned about his size. I don’t think the staff is.

Numbers: Will get tight. I keep reading speculation that UF will have de-commits. Probably, but I can tell you that I don’t believe Upshaw will not be one of them. He is very pro UF. I expect a DL class of 4. It could very well be 3 DE’s and only 1 DT. That said, if 2 of the DT targets want to come, you find a way.

Next 3 commits. Well, Pierce pulled the trigger so I’ll leave Scwartz, Gouraige and add Ojulari, not in any particular order.

Marlon Dunlap: We have threads on his transfer so I won’t add much other than UF adds another 300+ pounder in the middle. I don’t know if Marlon will ever be an all-conference type of guy but I do feel after talking to someone in the know, the staff likes him and think he has a lot of potential. Yes, he is the cousin of the #1 ranked RB for 2019, but I don’t believe that was part of the decision to take Dunlap.

Doug Nester: Becomes the first OSU commit for 2019. I only mention him as I had felt UF was in good standing with the Huntington WV native. I would have liked him in the class, but 2019 looks like UF will be fine on the O-line. It’s early but if things go like I think they will, UF will only take 3 OL next year.

Random stuff: UF should pass Tennesee in the rankings with its next commit. UM will fall as they struggle to keep their class together. Texas is doing great and is a program that I believe will have a big turnaround starting this year. What the hell Charlie, I was pulling for you man. Ohio State lost Chatfield but they will replace him quickly. Urbs will most likely finish at 1 or 2 with his class. Bama is starting to make a move, they added Cameron Latu, a 4* DE and sit at 10 commits. The Barners are hot and bothered about Dameon (this is the correct spelling) Pierce. I guess they thought they would get him and Asa Martin. Miami fans were thinking they would get Surtain, Campbell and Jobe, now they may not get any of them.

Next week: This is a bit long for a dead period candy gram, so next week, I may talk about why the UF recruiting philosophy is working so well.

Go Gators, Michigan will fall.
 

GR8 2B

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What is this weird belief that getting some pledges for the next class somehow cures the shytty recruiting of the last 3-4?
What is this weird belief that having some bad recruiting in past years means that getting a great class is a meaningless pile of crap that shouldn't be celebrated????
:box: Boom!
:deadnanner:
Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!!!
 
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BMF

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Here's a good write up on DE Azeez Ajulari (#3 DE) from the UGA seccountry site, he's making his decision on 8/17:

Elite DE Azeez Ojulari has much to say about Florida, UGA ahead of decision


https://www.dawgnation.com/football...o-3-de-azeez-ojulari-breaks-upcoming-decision

(Florida comments pasted here):

The body language factor with Azeez Ojulari
The 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions are unanimous that Ojulari will choose UGA. I didn’t get that feeling when we talked Monday after practice.

Azeez-Ojulari-by-Jeff-Sentell-070317d-1_ezpjgj.jpg



When we covered all his schools, his very big smile and most transparent facial expressions trended toward Florida. He also articulated his thoughts about Florida in a way that matched up with his gestures when discussing those Gators.

“It was a great first time,” Ojulari said. “Great feelings and a great atmosphere. Great time meeting with [Florida defensive line] coach [Chris] Rumph and coach [Jim] McElwain the first time. It was great. Great meeting up with coach [JaJuan] Seider is on me very hard, too.”

Here are a few quick points on that front:

  • Ojulari said Florida and Georgia are the two schools that met the academic criteria and relationship to his degree. Those were the academic heavyweights in his mind.
  • He said that trip to Gainesville met every expectation he had for any school visit. The 4-star DE camped when 5-star QB Matt Corral was still in town. He also chatted extensively with a current Florida defensive end. “He was telling me about the coaching staff and all the players and how things would really be if I went there,” Ojulari said.
  • Ojulari made it very clear that he had seen everything he needed to see to commit to the Gators off of that one visit to that campus.
He said the Gators really “took him in” and “made him feel wanted as an impact target” for this class.

“Florida is a great place,” Ojulari said. “Great academics. Great place. Just a great opportunity there for me to play, too. … They are preaching family and all that with me right now.”

If he chooses to play for the Gators, he said those relationships he has with coaches Rumph and Seider would be the big reason why.
 

BMF

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Gators Targets in Initial 2020 Top100 Rankings
Florida Gators targets in the initial 247 Top100 rankings for class of 2020

http://florida.247sports.com/Articl...gets-in-Initial-Top100-ranking-for--105975895

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The initial 247Sports Top100 ranking for the class of 2020 released on Thursday which showcases the top prospects for the upcoming sophomore class. The Florida Gators staff has already identified quite a few targets that made this list. GatorBait.Net breaks down a few early names to know.

The highest rated Florida target on the list, checking in at No. 6 overall is Ocala (Fla.) Vanguard 2020 athlete Leonard Manuel. The Gators offered Manuel in his freshman year, and he later gave an early commitment to Tennessee. He’s since opened his recruitment up and is shaping to be one of the top names in the entire 2020 class. The Gators have also offered his offensive lineman teammate Miller Merriweather-Lewis, who checks in at No. 91.

A prospect that recently wowed at the Gators Sensational Sophomore night is Marietta (Ga.) athlete Arik Gilbert. The four-star checks in at No. 18 overall in the nation and could play defensive line or tight end at the next level.

Another prospect from the state of Georgia from the same team to recently land an offer from the Gator is Marietta (Ga.) defensive end B.J. Ojulari. The four-star is the younger brother of 2018 four-star end Azeez Ojulari, who plans to make a commitment next week. The younger Ojulari checks in at No. 28 overall in the Top100 rankings for his class.

Checking in at No. 43 overall is Clearwater (Fla.) Superior Collegiate Academy athlete Keyvone Lee. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder was a standout performer in the Gators 7on7 camp back in June where he later landed an offer.

Early on the Gators top quarterback target for the 2020 class they have focused their efforts on is Marietta (Ga.) quarterback Harrison Bailey. The four-star landed his offer from UF before ever taking a high school snap. Since then tons of big schools have offered, but the Gators are in great shape early on after hosting him on several visits. He checks in at No. 49 overall.

The Gators were the first to offer Sarasota (Fla.) Riverview wide receiver Malachi Wideman. The four-star pass carcher checks in at 6-foot-4, 180-pounds and also holds an offer from FAU as well.

Orange Park (Fla.) Oakleaf offensive guard Jalen Rivers checks in at No. 59 in the country, and landed his offer from the Gators back in the spring after area recruiter Tim Skipper stopped by. Rivers currently holds a dozen offers with several SEC schools on that list. His defensive end teammate Chantz Williams also holds an offer from the Gators and many others and checks in at No. 63 in the country.

After camping back in June, the Gators extended an offer to Miami (Fla.) Norland defensive end Samuel Anaele, who checks in at No. 72 in the county. Since landing that offer the likes of FAU, N.C. State, Texas A&M, and Miami have joined the fray with offers.

Other prospects making the list from the Sunshine State that made the Top100 list, but currently do not have Florida offers are defensive tackle Johnnie Brown (No. 19), linebacker Jaylen Harrell (No. 22), and recent Louisville commit Latarie Kinsler (No. 97).
 

BMF

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Debuting the Top100 for the class of 2020
When high school football season kicks off this month, we’ll all have a pretty good idea who the top seniors in America are. A lot of rising juniors are already

http://florida.247sports.com/Article/Debuting-the-Top100-rankings-for-the-class-of-2020-105973292

When high school football season kicks off this month, we’ll all have a pretty good idea who the top seniors in America are. A lot of rising juniors are already household names, as well. But now it’s time to welcome the sophomore class to the party. This fall, the class of 2020 gets its first heavy dose of collective action around the country and with the release of the Top100 for the class of 2020, we’ve got you covered on the names to know.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP100 FOR 2020
Who’s No. 1?
It’s a rare feat to hang on to the No. 1 spot in the rankings from start to finish and the next guy with that opportunity is Bryan Bresee out of Damascus, Md. At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, Bresee has the size to hang on to the title. He’s got the athleticism, too. We saw it first hand at The Opening D.C. Regional when he was one of the best pass rushers in attendance despite being the youngest on hand and showed rare quickness with a 4.2 short shuttle time. With 20 offers already, college programs are clearly believers. Already Ohio State seems to have carved out a good position in his recruitment which is fitting considering the Joey Bosa comparisons that are already emerging.

RELATED | Bresee discusses the latest on his recruitment

In this initial release, the other prospect most heavily considered for No. 1 was Kevin Pyne out of Millis, Mass. Pyne is rare at 6-foot-8, 275 pounds with quickness and athleticism and college coaches are high on his upside, but he’s not a player we’ve been able to evaluate in person, he’s still predictably very raw and how tall is he going to get? Pyne also has offers from around the country and is generating a lot of excitement from offensive line coaches.

No five-stars?
We’re not ready to name any five-stars in this initial release but with more exposure to these guys this fall, it shouldn’t take long to get there and there are several that we expect to be in contention. In addition to Bresee and Pyne, Jason Harris out of Arizona has everything we look for in a five-star prospect with size at 6-foot-6 and basketball athleticism as an edge rusher.

RELATED | 5 sleeper prospects to watch

Virginia running back Chris Tyree has maybe the best film of any prospect on this list and has a great shot at a fifth star if he adds the size we expect him to over the next year or so. Pennsylvania wide receiver Julian Fleming is a good basketball player, a 23-foot long jumper and the No. 1 receiver in the country in this initial release. He certainly has five-star upside. As does Leonard Manuel, a 6-foot-4 wide receiver/tight end/linebacker/defensive end out of Florida that is one of the most intriguing players in this entire class.

The top arm
We are slow-playing this quarterback class and you’re not going to run into an arm until you hit Jack Miller of Arizona at No. 47 nationally. He just edged out Harrison Bailey out of Georgia as the top quarterback in our initial release. They are players that we could see in the five-star range down the line but we want to see how they develop before we bestow top 10 expectations upon them.

California signal-caller Bryce Young comes in as the No. 3 quarterback but may have the best film of any arm in the class. He’s just limited with his size at under 6-foot. Another California quarterback with much less varsity tape but with more physical ability is DJ Uiagalelei out of St. John Bosco. While we try to limit this list to prospects with varsity experience, there are exceptions and his rare arm talent is one of those exceptions. From a pure talent standpoint, he’s the best quarterback in this class but he will be a backup once again this fall behind senior Iowa State commit Re-al Mitchell.

State breakdown
With 13 names each on the list, Florida and Texas lead the way in terms of geographic representation. Georgia continues to turn the Big 3 into a Big 4 for talent production by landing the third most players on the list at 12 with California fielding 10 names in the ranking.

The state of Tennessee continues to be an emerging talent hotbed leading the next tier of states with six names along with Maryland. In rough drafts of the ranking, Tennessee had as many as eight names in the tally.

Arizona, Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana all put four names on the list. Among the four for North Carolina, two are teammates ranked within the top 10 in Porter Rooks and Jacolbe Cowan out of Providence Day School in Charlotte.

Early commitments
There are verbal commitments and then there are freshman verbal commitments. The first is non-binding, the second is something even less stable. There are four schools with the task of keeping a Top100 player committed for the next three years led by Oklahoma and their running back pledge out of Texas, Jase McClellan. As the current No. 1 in Texas, that’s a big pickup for the Sooners but they will undoubtedly get plenty of competition for the back in the coming months and years.

Miami continues its typical fast start with a commitment out of the No. 13 player in safety Avantae Williams. Texas A&M has another talented offensive lineman locked up in Jordan Jefferson out of Navasota, Texas, and Louisville has landed one of the most athletic edge rushers anywhere in the country in Latarie Kinsler out of Pahokie, Fla.
 

GatorJ

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Tyreke Johnson story on seccountry's UGA site. I didn't know his brother was the FSU QB who got booted for punching the girl at the bar:


Big UGA target Tyreke Johnson says he wouldn’t mind rooming with Justin Fields

https://www.dawgnation.com/football...ke-johnson-wouldnt-mind-rooming-justin-fields

He's an early enrollee. He would be a massive win for this staff.

Johnson said he was impressed by the show that both Corral and Fields put on for the campers at Friday Night Lights in Gainesville, Fla.

#WeAreTheFuture pic.twitter.com/bxXLyA22KW

— HAITIAN FIVE (@JCope5era) July 22, 2017



“When I am talking about both of those guys were spinning it, I mean oh-my-gosh,” Johnson said. “Oh my goodness. It was just like being at The Opening all over again.”

Johnson said the following schools have given him every indication he has a spot in their 2018 class, regardless of how long he needs to make his decision: Georgia, UCLA, Ohio State, LSU and Florida.
 

BMF

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He's an early enrollee. He would be a massive win for this staff.

Agree. It seems there's a theme that "we don't want him anyway" or "he's not a CB, he's a Safety" (so that makes it okay?). He's a damn 5-star! They don't grow on trees! If he wants to come to UF, take him! Another thing is his HS.....we used to get guys from his school (Gus Scott, for one). He's the 3rd 5-star DB to come out of there in the last few years; one went to LSU, one went to Ohio State, and now Johnson. WTF?
 

BMF

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Good article, praising the staff's efforts:

I see myself in Jim McElwain, and I’m finally starting to like him

http://gridironnow.com/see-jim-mcelwain-im-finally-starting-like/

I’ll admit it: I don’t understand how Florida’s football staff is pulling this off. These Gators coaches are pulling off the best sales job since I convinced a woman way out of my league to marry me nearly 20 years ago.

Now that I think about it, we must have sold the exact same bill of goods to get the job done. We sold the future.

I knew that if I told this woman that the man standing in front of her was as good as it was going to get, I’d get nowhere. We married young, before life beat the hell out of us, before we really even knew who we were.

It was possible then to realistically dream about how great and easy life would be because our screw-ups still could be chalked up to youth. It’s not like the ring I could afford at that time would sway this princess; I had to convince her to dream about future rings.

See where I’m going?

Do you really think that a five-star quarterback with offers from nearly everyone looks at what the Gators have established offensively and decides to make the move to Gainesville based on that track record?

Do you really think Jim McElwain has the swagger and street cred to just tell recruits they should be in Gainesville based solely on what he has done and his reputation as a coach? This coach doesn’t have the swagger of Urban Meyer. This coach doesn’t have the history of Nick Saban. This coach doesn’t have the reputation of Jim Harbaugh.

Like me 20 years ago, McElwain isn’t selling that this is as good as it’s going to get. Like me, he doesn’t have any rings from his time at Florida that would impress elite recruits. Like me, he can’t show how much better his facilities are than other programs.

As they read this, I know Gators fans will be yelling about the great Florida campus and how Florida sells itself. You’re wrong. I work with big-time FBS football recruits on a daily basis; few look at anyone other than Alabama in that light. These guys want to know where they fit, how they will be groomed for the NFL, who else is coming with them and how many championships their class can win.

What in the world could this guy possibly be selling?

McElwain has to be an elite salesman in a profession full of guys at the top of the sales food chain. Take a close look at the commitments in this class; McElwain is not only recruiting Florida well, he’s stretched out to grab top prospects from all over the nation. Among the 17 players who have committed to Florida’s 2018 class are players from California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

I’ve never really been a big Jim McElwain fan, but that’s changing. How can I not respect someone who can convince guys to believe in him?

Sure, I know there are a lot of con men who have that same attribute, but that’s also an attribute shared with the most successful people in the world. If he fools all of us, shame on him. Bit I respect his hustle.
 

gatorjohn

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Good article, praising the staff's efforts:

I see myself in Jim McElwain, and I’m finally starting to like him

http://gridironnow.com/see-jim-mcelwain-im-finally-starting-like/

I’ll admit it: I don’t understand how Florida’s football staff is pulling this off. These Gators coaches are pulling off the best sales job since I convinced a woman way out of my league to marry me nearly 20 years ago.

Now that I think about it, we must have sold the exact same bill of goods to get the job done. We sold the future.

I knew that if I told this woman that the man standing in front of her was as good as it was going to get, I’d get nowhere. We married young, before life beat the hell out of us, before we really even knew who we were.

It was possible then to realistically dream about how great and easy life would be because our screw-ups still could be chalked up to youth. It’s not like the ring I could afford at that time would sway this princess; I had to convince her to dream about future rings.

See where I’m going?

Do you really think that a five-star quarterback with offers from nearly everyone looks at what the Gators have established offensively and decides to make the move to Gainesville based on that track record?

Do you really think Jim McElwain has the swagger and street cred to just tell recruits they should be in Gainesville based solely on what he has done and his reputation as a coach? This coach doesn’t have the swagger of Urban Meyer. This coach doesn’t have the history of Nick Saban. This coach doesn’t have the reputation of Jim Harbaugh.

Like me 20 years ago, McElwain isn’t selling that this is as good as it’s going to get. Like me, he doesn’t have any rings from his time at Florida that would impress elite recruits. Like me, he can’t show how much better his facilities are than other programs.

As they read this, I know Gators fans will be yelling about the great Florida campus and how Florida sells itself. You’re wrong. I work with big-time FBS football recruits on a daily basis; few look at anyone other than Alabama in that light. These guys want to know where they fit, how they will be groomed for the NFL, who else is coming with them and how many championships their class can win.

What in the world could this guy possibly be selling?

McElwain has to be an elite salesman in a profession full of guys at the top of the sales food chain. Take a close look at the commitments in this class; McElwain is not only recruiting Florida well, he’s stretched out to grab top prospects from all over the nation. Among the 17 players who have committed to Florida’s 2018 class are players from California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

I’ve never really been a big Jim McElwain fan, but that’s changing. How can I not respect someone who can convince guys to believe in him?

Sure, I know there are a lot of con men who have that same attribute, but that’s also an attribute shared with the most successful people in the world. If he fools all of us, shame on him. Bit I respect his hustle.
Did we finally get the right Bag Men everybody was talking about?
 

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