Impact Analysis: Florida picks up four-star pledge

Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators

• O&B Board: Junior Day to kick off unique 2025 recruiting cycle
• Umanmielen Q&A: An in-depth look at Florida football from a player perspective
• Anonymous Player Q&A I: Thoughts on the state of Florida football
• Defensive Commits: Ranked too high, too low, or about right
• Offensive Commits: Ranked too high, too low, or about right
• Evaluating the Class of 2023: Wilson clearcut freshman of the year

A day after calling Florida his leader when leaving Saturday’s Jr. Day, Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins called the UF staff on Sunday night and committed to the Gators.

“I spoke with Coach [Billy] Napier about it last night,” said Wiggins. “They were extremely excited and congratulated me.”

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Wiggins is Florida’s third public commitment in the Class of 2025.

IN HIS WORDS

“It was more than just football, the people and opportunities that are possible. As well as being able to develop and play at a high level” – Wiggins on why he choose Florida

“From here I’ll still check out many other schools and see what they have to offer. I’ll try to get out to Stanford, FSU, and LSU again. I’m also trying to get down south to UCF and Miami.” – Wiggins when asked if he was shutting it down or would still take other visits.

COMMITMENT IMPACT

After losing both Jamonte Waller and Amaris Williams to Auburn to close out the Class of 2024, Florida had a big need at rush end and this commitment will go a long way towards filling that hole. Also, coming in at No. 82 overall on the On3 Consensus, Wiggins is by far Florida’s highest-ranked commitment to date. With the addition, the Gators move up to No. 12 in the Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. With the way the season and recruiting cycle ended, the Gators needed to start out with some positive momentum here in 2024, and Wiggins’s commitment helps get the ball rolling.

RANKING REVIEW

Industry Comparison Ranking via On3

THE BOTTOM LINE

Billy Napier and Company have shown that they have the ability to be a top-tier recruiting staff. At one time last year, when UF was sitting at No. 2 in the Team Recruiting Rankings, they were the only program to be ranked in the Top 15 that had a losing record at that time. That should give the Gator Nation hope that if they can turn it around on the field, this staff can recruit with any program in the nation. However, as I posted on the Orange & Blue Board before the beginning of Jr. Day, this is a unique cycle for Florida football recruiting. Coming off of back-to-back losing seasons, there isn’t much we can count on, or should read too much into, over the spring and summer. We’re going to need to see how Florida performs on the field during the 2024 season. Yes, getting a Top 100 target to commit is a good reason to celebrate, but remember, as I posted in that thread, don’t get too high or too low during the offseason. We’ll have a better understanding of where Florida stands – as a program, and in recruiting – in late November.

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