Florida will hold their first Jr. Day of the 2025 cycle on Saturday hoping that it will start wiping away the bad taste left by their disappointing finish to the 2024 cycle.
I've covered Florida recruiting since the Steve Spurrier era, and this will be the most unique cycle in my coverage window.
It is the first time that a Florida coach is coming off of back-to-back losing seasons.
Billy Napier and Company have proven to be upper-level recruiters, but without question, it is much tougher to sell a vision while holding a 11-14 record.
We saw as much to end the 2024 cycle, where a five-game losing streak capped off two straight losing seasons, and that in turn resulted in UF falling from No. 2 to No. 16 on the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.
There is no downside to getting kids on campus. But, I want to forewarn you, nothing that happens over the spring and summer matters much. Not updates on visits or leaderboards. Until we see what happens during the upcoming season, recruiting will remain in a state of flux.
Those who commit now on the promise of a better day, will likely have second thoughts if UF again struggles on the field.
On the other hand, as I stated above, Napier and Company have proven that they are upper-end recruiters. Any improvement, say a six or seven win season, should be enough to ignite Florida's recruiting fire.
Either way, we likely won't get a feel for how this class is going to play out until we know what Florida does on the field this fall.
Until then, don't get too up, or down, nothing will be decided until at least November one way or the other.
Some of the visitors confirmed by Inside the Gators include:
Itinerary
I've covered Florida recruiting since the Steve Spurrier era, and this will be the most unique cycle in my coverage window.
It is the first time that a Florida coach is coming off of back-to-back losing seasons.
Billy Napier and Company have proven to be upper-level recruiters, but without question, it is much tougher to sell a vision while holding a 11-14 record.
We saw as much to end the 2024 cycle, where a five-game losing streak capped off two straight losing seasons, and that in turn resulted in UF falling from No. 2 to No. 16 on the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.
There is no downside to getting kids on campus. But, I want to forewarn you, nothing that happens over the spring and summer matters much. Not updates on visits or leaderboards. Until we see what happens during the upcoming season, recruiting will remain in a state of flux.
Those who commit now on the promise of a better day, will likely have second thoughts if UF again struggles on the field.
On the other hand, as I stated above, Napier and Company have proven that they are upper-end recruiters. Any improvement, say a six or seven win season, should be enough to ignite Florida's recruiting fire.
Either way, we likely won't get a feel for how this class is going to play out until we know what Florida does on the field this fall.
Until then, don't get too up, or down, nothing will be decided until at least November one way or the other.
Some of the visitors confirmed by Inside the Gators include:
- Jalen Wiggins
- Keon Young
- Trey Brown
- Josiah Abdullah
- Noah Grubbs
- Logan Rogers
- Carter Emanuel
- Jaelen Waters
- Antwann Hill Jr.
- Tyree Weatherspoon
- Tamez Young
- Wilnerson Telemaque
