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Hey, Florida fans!
The Gators’ class of 2023 is now officially in the books as far as high school recruits go.
🖋️ Gators finalize 2023 class on National Signing Day
Florida finalized its 2023 class on National Signing Day this past Tuesday, with coach Billy Napier announcing the addition of 31 Gators to the program.
The group consists of 21 players from the high school level, including one technically in the class of 2022, and 10 transfers. Fifteen of the new Gators are from the state of Florida.
The Gators signed 14 recruits inside the ESPN top 300, ranking the third most in the Southeastern Conference and tied for fourth in the country.
| Name | Position | Hometown | High school/previous school |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Banks | Defensive lineman | Southfield, Michigan | Southfield A&T/Louisville |
| Cam Carroll | Running back | Flowood, Mississippi | Northwest Rankin/Tulane |
| Jordan Castell | Defensive back | Winter Garden, Florida | West Orange |
| Kelby Collins | Defensive lineman | Gardendale, Alabama | Gardendale |
| Sharif Denson | Defensive back | Jacksonville, Florida | Bartram Trail |
| Aaron Gates | Cornerback | Sharpsburg, Georgia | Trinity Christian |
| Demieon George Jr. | Offensive lineman | Houston, Texas | North Shore/Alabama |
| Kiyaunta Goodwin | Offensive lineman | Louisville, Kentucky | Charlestown, Indiana/Kentucky |
| Knijeah Harris | Defensive lineman | Port St. Lucie, Florida | IMG Academy |
| Gavin Hill | Defensive lineman | Gainesville, Florida | Buchholz |
| Cam’Ron Jackson | Defensive lineman | Haynesville, Louisiana | Haynesville/Memphis |
| Ja’Keem Jackson | Wide receiver | Kissimmee, Florida | Osceola |
| Kamran James | Defensive lineman | Orlando, Florida | Olympia |
| Andy Jean | Wide receiver | Miami, Florida | Miami Northwestern |
| Dijon Johnson | Cornerback | Tampa, Florida | Wharton |
| Caden Jones | Offensive lineman | New Orleans, Louisiana | De La Salle |
| Roderick Kearney | Offensive lineman | Orange Park, Florida | Orange Park |
| Tony Livingston | Tight end | Tampa, Florida | King |
| Bryce Lovett | Offensive lineman | Rockledge, Florida | Rockledge |
| Micah Mazzccua | Offensive lineman | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | St. Francis Academy/Baylor |
| Graham Mertz | Quarterback | Overland Park, Kansas | Blue Valley North/Wisconsin |
| Teradja Mitchell | Linebacker | Virginia Beach, Virginia | Bishop Sullivan/Ohio State |
| Aidan Mizell | Wide receiver | Orlando, Florida | Boone |
| Will Norman | Defensive lineman | Camden, New Jersey | Eastside |
| Mannie Nunnery | Linebacker | Pearland, Texas | Shadow Creek/Houston |
| Jaden Robinson | Inside linebacker | Lake City, Florida | Columbia |
| T.J. Searcy | Outside linebacker | Thomaston, Georgia | Upson-Lee |
| Duece Spurlock | Linebacker | Madison, Alabama | Madison Academy/Michigan |
| Bryce Thornton | Safety | Alpharetta, Georgia | Milton |
| Treyaun Webb | Running back | Jacksonville, Florida | Trinity Christian Academy |
| Eugene Wilson | Wide receiver | Tampa, Florida | Gaither |
The On3 Consensus and ESPN have Florida at No. 11 in their 2023 recruiting team rankings, while the 247 Sports Composite has the Gators at No. 14.
In the latest episode of Gators Breakdown, host David Waters and Will Miles discuss what Napier had to say about the class and recent transfer additions. They also compare Napier’s first two classes to past classes.
Of course, one name missing from the Gators’ 2023 class is Jaden Rashada. The blue-chip quarterback who signed with Florida in December and then asked to be released from the commitment when a name, imagine and likeness deal fell through, announced he is going to Arizona State.
During his National Signing Day news conference, Napier addressed what one reporter described as the “elephant in the room.”
“It’s not permissible for me to get specific,’’ Napier said, per FloridaGators.com senior writer Scott Carter. “The big thing here, as the dust settles, our focus is preparing our team, the group of players who have joined our team. I think the reality is the current structure of NIL, with third parties being involved, with agents being involved, with marketing representatives, with lawyers, with collectives, [is] very fluid and, I think, a very unique dynamic. We’re living in a time in college athletics that we’ll look back upon. We’re playing a game that’s never been played before.
”I think, ultimately, NIL is a strength for the Gators. I’m very pleased with where we’re at relative to our current players, all [UF] athletes, and what we’ve been able to accomplish in a short amount of time.”
And looking ahead to Florida’s 2024 class, elite quarterback commit DJ Lagway will be on a new Gators Breakdown episode this week.
🏈 Gators participate in East-West Shrine & Senior bowls
Several Gators participated in the East-West Shrine and Reese’s Senior bowls last week.
Linebacker Amari Burney, safety Trey Dean III and wide receiver Justin Shorter competed in the East-West Shrine Bowl this past Thursday night. Former Gators linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. also took part.
Cox, Dean and Shorter were on the West team, which defeated the East team, including Burney, 12-3.
Dean was even named defensive MVP. According to Blake Alderman, of Swamp 247, Dean picked off a tipped pass near the end zone that was thrown by Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan.
Meanwhile, offensive linemen Richard Gouraige and O’Cyrus Torrence competed in the Reese’s Senior Bowl last week in Mobile, Alabama.
They were members of the American team, which lost 27-10 to the National team this past Saturday.
READ MORE: National team wins Senior Bowl 27-10
According to Zach Abolverdi, of Gators Online, Torrence stood out during the practices leading up to the game.
Linebacker Ventrell Miller was also invited to the Senior Bowl, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Miller had a bone graft to repair a Jones fracture after playing through it this season.
🏀 Gators men’s hoops gets huge win followed by loss
The Florida men’s basketball team got a huge win last week against Tennessee and then put up a fight against Kentucky this past weekend but just couldn’t pull out the W.
Forward Colin Castleton had 20 points, including 16 in the second half, in Florida’s 67-54 upset of Tennessee last Wednesday night in Gainesville.
The Volunteers, playing with their highest ranking in four years at No. 2, lost for the first time in five games. They had won nine of 10. The Vols have since fallen to No. 6.
Tennessee led by six points in the second half before the Gators stormed back behind Castleton. He scored 11 of 14 points as Florida rallied. He said he was shocked when Tennessee decided to guard him with a single defender in the second half.
“I’ve got to take advantage of that,” Castleton said.
Guard Kyle Lofton added 14 points for the Gators, who delivered coach Todd Golden his most significant victory in his first season in Gainesville. It was Florida’s second Quad 1 win in the last two weeks.
“A little bit of a culmination of just the work the guys have put in. I talked to them in the locker room afterwards. Obviously, this team has had a lot of ups and downs in terms of the results in games. I felt pretty strongly, and I’ve talked to the guys about the fact, I feel like they’re better than the record indicates, even through some of those stretches,” Golden said about the win. “Proud of our guys for putting in the effort like that today for 40 minutes.”
Then the Gators traveled to Lexington, where they lost 72-67 to Kentucky this past Saturday night. It was Golden’s first time facing Kentucky as a head coach, and the Wildcats never trailed.
Castleton finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. Lofton and Guard Will Richard scored 13 points apiece. Richard added six rebounds.
GAME RECAPS: Florida upends Tennessee 67-54 behind Castleton | Kentucky posts wire-to-wire 72-67 victory over Florida
The Gators (13-10, 6-4 SEC) face another tough test this week when they travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama at 9 p.m. Wednesday. That game will be on ESPN 2.
And this weekend, the Gators will host Vanderbilt, with tipoff set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
✉️ Send us your Gators thoughts & questions
David and I want to hear from you. Do you have any thoughts or questions about the Gators football program? Agree or disagree with something we’ve said? Let us know here, and we’ll share our responses to your questions.
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