Recruiting

One last BCSCG item, and now on to recruiting

Besides the X’s and O’s of college football, recruiting is my favorite of the game. So without further ado here is my assessment, gathered from multiple places, of where the Gators stand.

Early Enrollees.
The following recruits are currently enrolled at the University of Florida:

Dee Finley. Finley committed to the Gators last year, but had some work to do in order to gain admittance to UF, so he went to Prep School last fall. The 5th ranked Safety in 2008, Finley has decent size already (6’1” 193lbs) and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him grow into an OLB.

Edwin Herbert. Herbert is a JC DT from the #1 JUCO Football Team, City College of San Francisco and originally committed to Tennessee. Herbert, originally from Fairfield, CA, is 6’4” 300lbs and chose the Gators over Arkansas, Tennessee, Nebraska and North Carolina State. My understanding is that the injuries suffered along the defensive line throughout the year made the staff feel as though a JUCO DT was a necessity.

Nick Alajajian. Alajajian, the #1 rated OG, is from Naples, FL. At 6’4” 280lbs, Alajajian will have to put on some weight before he can play in the SEC, but you have to love his style. Alajajian chose the Gators over Miami, Florida State, Georgia, and Notre Dame.

Jon Bostic. Bostic, the #3 rated WLB, is from Wellington, FL. He is 6’2” 225lbs and runs a 4.5 forty. Those in the evaluation business say he needs to learn the position a little better, but has great athleticism, speed and hitting ability.

Jonatthon Harrison. Harrison, the 11th rated OG, is from South Lake HS. He is listed at 6’3” and 285lbs. He is a considered an excellent prospect with extremely long arms (a bonus in pass protection) that will need to work on his technique before he gets to play (then again what HS lineman don’t).

Desmond Parks. Parks is a 6’6” 215lb TE, who is more in the mold of Tate Casey than Aaron Hernandez. Reports from the Offense Defense Game (one of the many High School All American games) had him as one of the top 15 players on the East Squad (as was Harrison) and should be a matchup nightmare once he sees the field, which may be sooner than later given the fact that Hernandez is the only TE on the Gator roster as of today.

Current Commits – non-binding – by position:

Quarterback:

Jordan Reed. Reed, from New London, CT, committed to the Gators back in August. At 6’3” and 225lbs he is a huge QB prospect. The scouting report on Reed says that he is a tremendous leader with excellent size and speed (4.59 in the forty). While he does lack some experience, sitting behind both Tebow and Brantley, Reed will have plenty of time to mature.

Running Back:

Mike Gillislee. Gillislee, from DeLand, committed to the Gators early in the process, only to re-open the recruiting process last week, which led to him confirming that he is 100% Gator earlier this week. Yes you have to love January in Recruiting. Gillislee has pretty good size at 6’0” 190lbs, and excellent speed at 4.5 in the forty. While he is not likely to move the pile, when given an opening he is very likely to produce a big play. Gillislee was the most impressive player during the Central Florida All-Star game, which had about 20 Div. 1 prospects.

Wide Receiver:

Andre Debose. Debose committed to the Gators during the 4th Quarter of the Under Armor All American game, which was televised on ESPN. He lead his team to a State Championship and is the best of the Seminole 3, teammates Armstrong and Dye committed to Miami. He is also widely considered the closest thing to Percy Harvin. Debose has tremendous speed and quickness, which shown during his touchdown during the Under Armor game. At 5’11.5” 180lbs, Debose has good size and might be able to make it on the field next year. The only factor that might keep Debose from keeping his verbal commitment is Percy himself, who as of today has not informed the coaches whether or not he is going to the NFL.

Nu’keese Richardson. Richardson, from Pahokee, goes by the nickname “Nuke”, and rightly so. Although he is only 5’9” 165lbs, he runs a 4.4 forty and is lightning quick and will not hurt Coach Meyer’s moniker of becoming the fastest team in football. Richardson is the #6 rated WR and considered an excellent prospect. He was one of the most impressive players on the Black Squad at the Under Armor game, where he also played CB.

Offensive Line:

Jon Halapio. Halapio, from Saint Petersburg Catholic, is not as highly rated as some of the other OL prospects but he is a load. At 6’4” 300lbs he possesses the size, attitude and determination that this staff loves. According to the talent evaluators once he gets better technique, he will be a force to reckon with.

Kyle Koehne. Koehne, from Indianapolis, IN, was the winner of the Offensive Lineman of the year in the State of Indiana and the best player at any position in the State of Indiana by the Indianapolis Star. At 6’6” 300lbs, Koehne projects as either a guard or right tackle and has excellent technique and is fundamentally sound.

Xavier Nixon. Nixon, Fayetteville, NC, is the best offensive line prospect of this class, which is without a doubt the #1 OL class in the country. At 6’6” 285lbs, Nixon, the Maxwell Award winner, possesses tremendous strength, great feet, and a mean streak. The son of a military man, who recently returned from Afghanistan, it is only fitting that Nixon committed to the Gators during the Army All-American game. Although he chose the Gators over LSU and Miami his choice was one of the worst-kept secrets at the Army All-American game.

Defensive Line:

Gary Brown. Brown, from Quincy, FL, is 6’4” 275lbs and a beast. He consistently beat the OL during the UA game and he recently became a 5 star player based on this performance. Although there were rumors that Brown would visit FSU, he has decided against it and will stick with the commitment he made in March 2008, after his junior season when he had 25 sacks and 20 tackles for loss.

Kendric Johnson. Johnson, from Palmetto, FL, is 6’4” 215lbs and very fast – 4.7 forty. As a junior Johnson recorded 19 sacks and had another 24 sacks this year. To say that Johnson has flown under the radar this year would not be an exaggeration for the 3 star player.

Linebacker:

None as of this report.

Defensive Back:

Marsalis Teague. Teague, from Paris, TN, is 5’10” 175lbs and runs a 4.5 forty. He plays cornerback, which is good since Wondy Pierre Louis recently declared for the NFL. Yes I know that is crazy so don’t get me started. Teague was voted the Tennessee player of the year and the Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee after rushing for over 1600 yards and 22 touchdowns and throwing for over 1300 yards and another 18 touchdowns, this all in limited play due to the scores of the games. Teague chose the Gators over Miami, Alabama and Tennessee amongst others.

Stay tuned for a look at who is left on the Gators recruiting board leading up to Signing Day in February.