Rivals 250 for 2018

[BMF]

From SEC Country:

UF sends out 4 new offers
The Gators extended an offer Tuesday night to Corey Gammage, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound wide receiver from Delray Beach, Fla. Auburn also offered him Tuesday, and some of his other suitors include Miami and West Virginia.

Another 2018 prospect, 4-star defensive tackle Keondre Coburn, was offered by Florida on Wednesday. His early offer list includes Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M.

The Gators also sent out offers Wednesday to a pair of 2019 recruits: 4-star athlete Kenny McIntosh (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and 4-star cornerback Derek Stingley (Baton Rouge, La.), an LSU commit.

 

[BMF]

From Zach A's recruiting story:


Who’s going to be the first 5-star to commit this cycle?
(From @__Gators, @thedougbailey, @TweetsByJMike)

As always, fans want to see stars on the commitment list. The Gators technically signed one 5-star prospect in each of the last two classes according to Rivals (Antonneous Clayton) and Scout (Tedarrell Slaton), but they haven’t landed any players with a consensus 5-star rating since 2015.

Florida has a few potential targets for 2018. The obvious name is Patrick Surtain, the 5-star cornerback from American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Gators signed three of his teammates in the Class of 2017.

UF will try to flip 5-star running backs James Cook (Miami) and Lorenzo Lingard (Orange City, Fla.). Cook is committed to Florida State, where his older brother Dalvin Cook played, and Lingard pledged to Miami on Thursday.

Several Florida targets who are top-100 recruits could eventually earn a fifth star: wide receiver Jacob Copeland (Pensacola, Fla.), Miami cornerback commit Josh Jobe (Miami) and Tampa offensive tackles Richard Gouraige and Nicholas Petit-Frere.


Does Mac and his staff build on the in-state progress this cycle or is this a high water mark?
(From @matt_evelyn)

The Gators signed 11 of the top 50 recruits from Florida in the Class of 2017, more than any other program in the country.

That number may not be duplicated on an annual basis, but UF should be in contention for the most top-50 recruits every year. The Gators improved in-state recruiting in the last cycle, but they need to do a better job of landing the cream of the crop.

Alabama and Ohio State landed six of the top 13 players for 2017, and Florida can’t let that happen again. Fortunately for the Gators, they appear to have a legitimate shot with at least 10 of the top 20 recruits from Florida in the Class of 2018.

 

[BMF]

What are our chances with Patrick Surtain Jr. with these new recent hires?
(From @josedolphins561)

Surtain is the son of former NFL cornerback Patrick Surtain, who’s the head coach at American Heritage. He was born and raised in New Orleans, which is why LSU is considered the favorite to land Surtain Jr.

The 6-foot-2, 181-pound cornerback is ranked the nation’s No. 1 cornerback and No. 6 overall recruit. He holds more than 30 scholarship offers, and in-state schools Florida, FSU and Miami are the Tigers’ competition.

Surtain is scheduled to visit UF this weekend for Junior Day. His father is presumably familiar with Bell and Seider, and Shannon was an assistant coach with the Miami Dolphins (1998-2001) when Surtain played for them.

 

[BMF]

How high of a priority is Amari Burney? Do you see him at WR or S?
(From @Ruben___Moreno)

Burney is one of Florida’s top five targets. Safety is the biggest need for UF in the Class of 2018, and Burney will play that position in college.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound athlete from Clearwater, Fla., is ranked the nation’s No. 9 safety and No. 101 overall recruit. Florida and Ohio State are considered his top two schools, and he plans to make his commitment on June 1.

Burney has visited UF several times, with his most recent trip coming on Jan. 21. Losing him to the Buckeyes would be a huge letdown for the Gators, especially with the recent recruiting success they’ve had in the Tampa Bay area.

Florida’s other targets at the position are Gurvan Hall (Palm Beach Lakes, Fla.) and Nadab Jospeh (Miami), an LSU commit.

What’s your read on Artur Sitowski? Great arm and is very tall — a welcome change as of late. Could he a game changer at QB?
(From @champton85)

I think the Gators are the team to beat at this point in his recruitment. Sitkowski has offers from the likes of LSU, Michigan and Ohio State, but Rutgers will pose the biggest threat to Florida for the New Jersey native.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound passer has a cannon for an arm and the skill set that McElwain looks for in a quarterback. He needs to develop the mental side of his game and expand his understanding of the pro-style system, but that’s why he transferred to IMG Academy.

Sitkowski will likely need a redshirt year, and McElwain isn’t too keen on playing a true freshman at the position. But two people close to Sitkowski have told me they believe he has the talent and intangibles to be a successful quarterback at Florida.

Unless otherwise indicated, ratings and rankings come from the 247Sports Composite.

 

[T REX]

I hope our staff does not waste resources on James Cook. Linguard is all Miami. Who are some other top RBs we can go after? A lot of the top RBs are already committed. Geez.

28/100 of the Rivals 100 is already committed. Seems like a high number 8 days after NSD.

 

[BMF]

This is pretty good regarding Davis (OL coach):

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/gators-lead-on-top-william-barnes-florida-visit

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Two years ago, Jim McElwain landed his highest-ranked recruit to date when 5-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey committed to Florida on National Signing Day.

Ivey’s high school alma mater, Apopka, has produced another elite lineman for 2018 in William Barnes. And like Ivey, Barnes could end up at UF.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound prospect named the Gators his early leader last year, and he’s still favoring them after meeting new offensive line coach Brad Davis on Saturday.

“It was my first time talking to Brad Davis face-to-face,” Barnes said. “From the way he talked to me, I can see that he’s a great coach and he’s looking out for me. So it was just a great visit.

“After talking with Coach Davis, I definitely feel a bond with him coming on. I just feel great talking to him. So definitely Florida is still on top.”


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Coach brad Davis the man

@coachbraddavis

12:46 PM - 11 Feb 2017

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Barnes, the nation’s No. 10 offensive tackle and a top-100 overall recruit, also spent time with Ivey during his trip to Gainesville.

“I got to talk to Tez,” Barnes said. “We talked about the school a lot. He has told me about it a few times. He’s just like the coaches. He says I can go wherever I want to, but he’s always giving me a heads up about Florida. I like Tez a lot. He’s real cool and I look up to him.”

Barnes said he and Ivey text each other on a regular basis and they played together in 2014 when Apopka won the Class 8A state title. Ivey has been a two-year starter for the Gators, earning SEC honors at the end of each season.

“It shows me a lot about the school and how it’s doing for him,” Barnes said of Ivey’s success. “All the accolades he’s gotten, it’s no surprise to me because I know he’s a great player.”

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Great time

@tezivey @coachbraddavis@CoachMcElwain

1:25 PM - 11 Feb 2017

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Barnes said he could make his commitment soon, but then added that he may wait until signing day like Ivey did. He’s named North Carolina, Auburn, Florida State and Ohio State as his other top schools, with the Tar Heels being the biggest threat to UF.

“Probably UNC,” Barnes said. “Just like Coach Davis, I have a good bond with the offensive line coach (Chris Kapilovic) and also the tight ends coach, Chad Scott. It’s also a good school.”

Barnes’ parents accompanied him on his visit Saturday. Neither of them are pushing Barnes to Florida, but that won’t keep him from choosing the Gators.

“My mom, she actually graduated from UNC, so she’ll be on me about UNC,” Barnes said. “My dad’s a little bit of an FSU fan, but he tells me I can go wherever I please.”

 

[t-gator]

I hope our staff does not waste resources on James Cook. Linguard is all Miami. Who are some other top RBs we can go after? A lot of the top RBs are already committed. Geez.

28/100 of the Rivals 100 is already committed. Seems like a high number 8 days after NSD.

I damn sure don't wanna see Cook's little brother in orange and blue. Not even a little bit.

 

[GatorJ]

 

[BMF]

Look at the picture of the kid from Apopka w/ Ivey & Coach Davis. Davis was OL at Oklahoma in college. Was he a walk-on? He's SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than either of the players, and one of the players is a HS kid. Look at the HS kid compared to Ivey, he's listed a 6'4 290. Look how much bigger Ivey is. Unbelievable!

 

[Gator2222]

The IMG kid threw 5tds 10 picks and had a 48 completion percentage last year. I hope weve moved on if that's true. I don't see how IMG would take a kid who struggled like that.

You are looking at one stat line and think that tells the whole story.

Artur Sitkowski is 6'5" and weighs 205. He is rated the #5 pro style QB and the 65th overall player in the nation by Rivals. Going into his senior season Sitkowsky has a Rivals score of 5.9 and a 4* rating (6.1 is 5*).

Sitkowsky started playing varsity ball as a freshman and became the starting QB as a sophomore. He played for Old Bridge High School in New Jersey. The team is not known as a powerhouse and the current coach, Anthony Lanzafama, has an overall record of 42-32-1. Old Bridge employs a run heavy offense.

In his sophomore season Sitkowsky was 95 of 185 for 1,436 yards with 16 TDs and 4 INTs. The offense did not feature a passing game as exemplified by the two games against Edison High in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 9 passes and 6 passes, the game against Stephens High in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 8 passes and the game against North Brunswick in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 2 passes. The most passes thrown by Sitkowsky in any single game that season was 28. Sitkowsky averaged 15.1 yards per completion.

In his junior season Sitkowsky was 107 of 213 for 1,190 yards with 5 TDs and 10 INTs. The season featured a starting offensive line made up almost entirely of sophomores with a 205 pound tackle on one side and a 265 pound tackle on the other.

Sitkowsky has transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida to give himself the opportunity to compete with athletes at the highest level.

He currently holds offers from 25 universities including Florida, FSU, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

Do you still think we should move on?

 

[Gator2222]

They just took him as a backup which explains our interest in him.

Is this just your opinion or are you stating this as a fact?

If not an opinion, I would love to see the information. Please provide a link,

 

[GatorJ]

You are looking at one stat line and think that tells the whole story.

Artur Sitkowski is 6'5" and weighs 205. He is rated the #5 pro style QB and the 65th overall player in the nation by Rivals. Going into his senior season Sitkowsky has a Rivals score of 5.9 and a 4* rating (6.1 is 5*).

Sitkowsky started playing varsity ball as a freshman and became the starting QB as a sophomore. He played for Old Bridge High School in New Jersey. The team is not known as a powerhouse and the current coach, Anthony Lanzafama, has an overall record of 42-32-1. Old Bridge employs a run heavy offense.

In his sophomore season Sitkowsky was 95 of 185 for 1,436 yards with 16 TDs and 4 INTs. The offense did not feature a passing game as exemplified by the two games against Edison High in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 9 passes and 6 passes, the game against Stephens High in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 8 passes and the game against North Brunswick in which Sitkowsky threw a total of 2 passes. The most passes thrown by Sitkowsky in any single game that season was 28. Sitkowsky averaged 15.1 yards per completion.

In his junior season Sitkowsky was 107 of 213 for 1,190 yards with 5 TDs and 10 INTs. The season featured a starting offensive line made up almost entirely of sophomores with a 205 pound tackle on one side and a 265 pound tackle on the other.

Sitkowsky has transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida to give himself the opportunity to compete with athletes at the highest level.

He currently holds offers from 25 universities including Florida, FSU, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

Do you still think we should move on?

That's pretty impressive that you know all that.

 

[Gator2222]

That's pretty impressive that you know all that.

I appreciate the complement, but I looked it all up.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

In his junior season Sitkowsky was 107 of 213 for 1,190 yards with 5 TDs and 10 INTs. ...

Do you still think we should move on?

Absolutely. Especially after taking projects the last two years, absolutely. At some point we have to move past these "HOPE AND A PRAYER" types and actually land a guy who is fvkking ready to play. Project after project after project is no way to build a program. Not that it matters after Butters rolls out his third straight 100+ offense.

Of course you can try to spin and pump like you always do, but 5 TDs and 10 Ints is 5 TDs and 10 Ints.

We should be talking to any decent QBs available and should not in any way limit ourself to this guy unless this guy is ok with signing as a second take.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

From Zach A's recruiting story:
...
UF will try to flip 5-star running backs James Cook (Miami) and Lorenzo Lingard (Orange City, Fla.). Cook is committed to Florida State, where his older brother Dalvin Cook played, and Lingard pledged to Miami on Thursday.

We own the state.

Don't worry, we will land someone who got kicked out of high school and claim victory.

 

[T REX]

Does IMG have any other QBs on their roster? Could he get beat out?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I appreciate the complement, but I looked it all up.

Where?

 

[Gator2222]

Where?

Multiple sites, but a lot of it is on Maxpreps.

 

[Gator2222]

Absolutely. Especially after taking projects the last two years, absolutely. At some point we have to move past these "HOPE AND A PRAYER" types and actually land a guy who is fvkking ready to play. Project after project after project is no way to build a program. Not that it matters after Butters rolls out his third straight 100+ offense.

Of course you can try to spin and pump like you always do, but 5 TDs and 10 Ints is 5 TDs and 10 Ints.

We should be talking to any decent QBs available and should not in any way limit ourself to this guy unless this guy is ok with signing as a second take.

Sitkowsky has always played in a run heavy offense for a school and coach not known for winning. His offensive linemen often weren't big enough to be linebackers at a major school. Now he is going to play at IMG with the big boys and we will get a better idea of his talent level.

You are always complaining that we get in on these kids too late in the process. Now you want us to back off even though Rivals and most power 5 schools think this kid is the real deal.

I guarantee if we did back off and then the kid tears it up at IMG and becomes a 5* you would be complaining that we screwed up again.

 

[MJMGator]

Sitkowsky has always played in a run heavy offense for a school and coach not known for winning. His offensive linemen often weren't big enough to be linebackers at a major school. Now he is going to play at IMG with the big boys and we will get a better idea of his talent level.

You are always complaining that we get in on these kids too late in the process. Now you want us to back off even though Rivals and most power 5 schools think this kid is the real deal.

I guarantee if we did back off and then the kid tears it up at IMG and becomes a 5* you would be complaining that we screwed up again.

The sad part is, if he is the real deal, then someone will likely poach him from us. Kids don't want to play in the worst offense in the conference.