Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Updates from FNL and Grill in the Ville
- Getting to Know: Daniel Pierre Louis
- Buy, Sell, Hold: Official Visit Weekend Prospects
- Getting to Know: Onis Konanbanny
- Post-Spring/Transfer Portal Ranking of Florida position-by-position
- Getting to Know: Byron Louis
- Mock Signing Class 4.0
- Recruiting Wire: In-state four-star will officially visit
- Florida solidifies position as a top option for four-star
- Commitment Burn Barometer
Saturday’s Grill in the Ville was an overwhelming success for the Florida Gators.
Not only did UF make a positive, in some cases first, impression on multiple top-end targets, they also landed their first commitment of the cycle when Cottondale (Fla.) four-star receiver Tramond Collins pulled the trigger while on campus, and then publicly pledged to the Gators late Saturday evening.
“I was in front of Coach [Billy] Napier when I did it, and he announced it to the other coaches,” explained Collins. “All the coaches and staff were fired up about it. Coach Billy G [Billy Gonzales] was super excited.”
In the end, it was that type of enthusiasm from the UF staff attempting to get to know him more as a player and person that helped win Collins over.
“The coaches were just telling me how much of a priority I am for the Gators, and they were pretty much just getting to know me more from outside of football besides that.”
With early offers from the likes of Auburn, Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee, it was a budding relationship with the UF staff, as well as Gonzales’ track record, that helped put the Gators over the top.
“What stood out to me is just the communication with the coaches and staff and the number of players Coach G showed that he has had drafted.”
Though he is committed, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the process is over and done with. There are still 18 months until the Class of 2027 actually puts pen to paper, leaving plenty of time for other programs to attempt to poach Collins from Florida.
“I will probably take a couple of other visits, but for right now I’m definitely locked in with the Gators,” said Collins.
He added that there are two other programs he could visit.
“I am still considering checking out Vanderbilt and Louisville.”
Collins is the No. 272 ranked prospect in the nation according to the On3 Industry Composite
