Recruiting Notebook: New Commit, Jake Allen Bounce Back And More

It was a relatively quiet week for the Florida Gators as far as commits go, but they’re in a much better place than they were last week. So what’s new?

News

We’ll start this one off quick. If you haven’t heard yet, the Florida Gators started their attempt to retool their defensive tackle recruiting board with the commit of Kyree Campbell. Campbell currently attends Wyoming Seminary Prep School.

The 6’4″ and 32- pound defensive tackle was a three-star coming out of high school last season on 247Sports Composite, but a four-star recruit on ESPN. The Virginia native garnered numerous high-profile offers out of high school, even from Florida and Alabama.

Not a flashy pickup, but it was at a definite position of need for Florida.

As expected at this point, Jarrett Stidham announced his commitment to the Auburn Tigers last night. The Gators made a quality late push for the five-star quarterback, but it just wasn’t enough to pry him from the Tigers, who have pursued his talents since July.

Florida flipping five-star Shaun Wade is almost dead and gone, as you can see from the video below.

More from Florida Gators Football Recruiting

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• Florida football recruiting: Where does Michai Boireau’s de-commitment leave Gators?

Five-star Alex Leatherwood was in The Swamp this weekend. This was and will be the last chance for the Gators to flip the superstar tackle from Pensacola. He will make a final decision on his commitment next week.

Jake Allen’s teammate and current Michigan commit, four-star Kai Leon Herbert, will take a visit to the Swamp in January. I expect the Gators to do an all-out push if they cannot flip Leatherwood.

Kendall Randolph, a four-star offensive tackle from Madison, Alabama, who is also an Alabama commit, will visit the Gators on January 17. The Gators will be pushing hard for him, as well as the other three linemen mentioned in this article.

Rumors

Although the defensive tackle position isn’t looking spectacular right now on the recruiting board, the position is trending upwards. The Gators are still reported as Tyrone Truesdell’s leader, who is a three-star out of Augusta, Georgia.

They also appear to be once again trending upwards for five-star Aubrey Solomon, who has set his last visit to be in Gainesville just before National Signing Day.

Florida trending up for a pair of Miami tackles? That seems to be the case with Kadeem Telfort and NaVaughn Donaldson. Telfort has been a Gator pledge for a few months now, but the worries of the Hurricanes flipping him have now cut down to almost none. It appears the Gators have secured the four-star’s talents.

As far as Donaldson, another four-star, thinks are looking solid. Head coach Jim McElwain and staff visited the tackle at his home earlier this week. His mother also seems to like the atmosphere the Gators bring to the table.

The Gators are trending upwards rapidly with four-star defensive end LaBryan Ray. Read below:

Checking In

A couple of Gator commits will have more than just their talent to bring to The Swamp, but a winning attitude. A number of Gator commits won their state championship this season, including Marco Wilson, Jake Allen, James Houston, Kemore Gamble, and Shawn Davis.

As far as how some of the future Gators did, one definitely stood out: quarterback commit Jake Allen.

A lot of news was garnered around Allen who lost a whole star this past week on his recruitment profile. After being what appeared to be a coveted pro-style quarterback, he was now been ranked in the middle of the pack.

How did he respond? He came out and threw for over 300 yards and five touchdowns against a 13-1 Plant team.

Gators wide receiver target Henry Ruggs, a four-star recruit, also had a solid performance in his bowl game. Ruggs hasn’t been playing football for very long, but he’s been one of the most coveted wide receiver recruits despite being ranked lower than some.

The Gators had an in-home visit with him earlier this week and then he went out to return the kickoff seen below. Jake Allen was also lobbying for his commitment.

Class Of 2017 Prediction –

Quarterback (1) –

3-Star Jake Allen

It’s very unlikely that the Gators will take another quarterback with three in the system next year and one already committed. Allen lost a star, but the talent is there.

Running Back (2) –

3-Star Malik Davis

3-Star Adarius Lemons (Pending Grades)

Notes: Malik Davis is pretty much a lock, and if Adarius Lemons can’t qualify, he will be the only back taken is what it seems. Yesterday was the last possible date for Lemons to take the ACT to take it before National Signing Day.

Wide Receiver (2) –

4- Star Daquon Green

4-Star James Robinson

Notes: Both are pretty much locks to The Swamp. I can’t see it going any other way, even if Clemson and Alabama make a late push for Robinson.

Tight End (2) –

3-Star Zech Byrd

4-Star Kemore Gamble

Notes: Nothing to really see or talk about here. Both will be in The Swamp come next summer. Doubt the Gators add another tight end, as it hasn’t even seemed liked they have pushed for one.

Offensive Line (2) –

4-Star Kadeem Telfort

4-Star NaVaughn Donaldson

Notes: Telfort is a lock. If you are following me on Twitter, you know I’m relatively optimistic the Gators can flip Donaldson. The in-home visit seemed to have gone great and he will have a shot at immediate playtime here in the swamp.

Defensive Line (4)

5- Star Aubrey Solomon

4-Star Zachary Carter

3-Star Tyrone Truesdell

3-Star Kyree Campbell

Notes: Go big or home. Three of the four on the list are potentially locks, Solomon is the only one in doubt. He had to schedule the Gators as his last visit for a reason. In my eyes, it means he would like to come here, but he needs one last “woo.”

Linebackers (3) –

4-Star Rahyme Johnson (ATH, but will play LB in college)

3-Star Ventrell Miller

3-Star James Houston

Notes: The linebacker class is lackluster on paper, but the film checks out for all three of these guys.

Defensive Backs (4)

4-Star Elijah Blades

4-Star Marco Wilson

4-Star Brad Stewart

3-Star Shawn Davis

Notes: This cornerback class is loaded. Stewart is more of a prototypical safety, which is where he’ll most likely play at the next level. The Gators appear to be trending upwards for four-star Tray Bishop and four-star Devon Hunter, but I’m not as confident in those two to put them on my prediction board. Even without them, this is one heck of a DB class.

Athletes (1) –

3-Star Kadarius Toney

Notes: Filthy athletic ability. Zero ideas where he will play, but I can assure it will not be quarterback.

Must Read: Markaviest Bryant recruiting update

Until next week.

*All reports, rumors, news and everything in this column was written on 12/11/16 as of 12PM EST*