Florida Football Recruiting: National Signing Day Tracker

National Signing Day has officially arrived! Check back with Hail Florida Hail for updates on which players will be joining the Florida Football team in 2017.

The day that will help define the Jim McElwain era has officially arrived. After weeks of anticipation, the Florida football team and all of its peers have reached the crucial stage known to the masses as National Signing Day.

As the Gators look to improve upon the foundation that’s already been built in Gainesville, some of the top recruits on Florida’s board have chosen The Swamp.

Marco Wilson

One of the top targets on Coach Mac’s board was defensive back Marco Wilson. The younger brother of former Gators superstar and potential first-round draft pick Quincy Wilson, Florida has been hoping to solidify its promising young core of cornerbacks with his commitment.

Thankfully, Wilson has officially signed his letter of intent and will be playing for the Gators in 2017.

Wilson is a four-star cornerback and the No. 198 overall ranked recruit on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Shawn Davis

The Gators have earned the reputation of being DBU, which put a significant amount of pressure on Jim McElwain to continue to solidify his secondary. After announcing that Wilson had signed his letter of intent, McElwain revealed that Florida had secured another big commitment.

Shawn Davis, who had been deciding between the Gators and the rival Miami Hurricanes, will officially be coming to Gainesville!

Davis is a three-star recruit and the No. 391 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Jake Allen

It’s no secret that the Florida football team has been unsuccessful in its attempts to replace Tim Tebow at quarterback. Since Tebow was drafted in 2010, the Gators have struggled to generate offense from that vital position.

Thankfully for Florida, highly-touted quarterback Jake Allen has signed his letter of intent with the Gators.

Allen is a pro-style quarterback. He’s a three-star recruit and the No. 553 overall player in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Daquon Green

Aside from Jake Allen, no Florida commit has been as vocal in their recruitment of other players as Daquon Green. The Tampa native has been doing everything in his power to convince his fellow recruits to join him in Gainesville.

Thus, while it came as no surprise, it was still a pleasure to see that Green, a dynamic talent, had officially signed his letter of intent to play for the Gators.

In addition to being a recruiter, Green is a four-star recruit and the No. 234 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Tedarrell Slaton

Perhaps the biggest signing of the day was defensive lineman Tedarrell Slaton. Recruited by most programs as an offensive lineman, Slaton was targeted by Randy Shannon and Coach Mac due to his upside at defensive tackle.

Intrigued by the possibility of wreaking havoc in the SEC, Slaton has signed his official letter of intent with the Gators.

UF may be able to thank Marco Wilson for that.

Slaton is a four-star recruit and the No. 69 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Donovan Stiner

Earning the moniker of DBU is about more than just having elite cornerbacks. Said team must also have top-flight talent at safety, which is why Kerry Dixon and the Gators pushed to secure a commitment from Bellaire, Texas recruit Donovan Stiner.

Stiner was choosing between the Gators and the Houston Cougars, but ultimately chose the allure of The Swamp and the SEC.

Stiner is a three-star safety who stands at 6’2″ and 185 pounds. He’s the No. 770 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Ventrell Miller

No position group is without importance, but teams that win in the SEC tend to dominate at linebacker. The second line of defense against the run game and critical contributors against the pass, linebackers often determine the overall stability of a defense.

Thankfully, Torrian Gray and Jim McElwain have successfully convinced Lakleland, Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller to help solidify the Gators’ linebacker corps.

Miller is a three-star recruit and the No. 566 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He’s the No. 35 outside linebacker in this recruiting class, per 247Sports.

Zach Carter

The Florida football team entered National Signing Day as underdogs to the Clemson Tigers for four-star defensive end Zach Carter. That was troubling news when one considers how much talent the Gators lost along the defensive line to graduation and the NFL Draft.

In one of the most shocking revelations of the day, Chris Rumph’s recruiting efforts paid off when Carter blessed the Gators by signing his letter of intent with the University of Florida.

Carter is the No. 127 overall player and the No. 3 strong side defensive end on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Malik Davis

The Florida football team has an embarrassment of riches at running back. Already anchored by the likes of Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine, the Gators have added one of the more intriguing talents in the country.

Recruited by Chris Rumph, three-star recruit Malik Davis has officially become a member of the Florida football team.

Davis is the No. 431 overall player and No. 25 running back on the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He chose Florida over the likes of Louisville and Virginia Tech.

Brad Stewart

A deep class of defensive backs is only getting deeper with one of the top cornerbacks in the country. Recruited by Tim Skipper, four-star New Orleans native Brad Stewart was reportedly choosing between Florida, LSU, and Mississippi State.

Gators head coach Jim McElwain proudly announced that the Florida football team has successfully secured Stewart’s letter of intent.

Stewart is the No. 153 overall player and No. 20 cornerback on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

T.J. Moore

The Florida football team is in dire need of an upgrade along the offensive line. Mike Summers set out to find the perfect complement to Martez Ivey and Jawaan Taylor, and he may have found his guy in T.J. Moore.

Standing at just under 6’6″ and 290 pounds, Moore shocked the masses and signed his letter of intent with the Gators.

Moore is a four-star recruit and the No. 252 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings. Many believed he would sign with either Tennessee or South Carolina, but he’ll be coming to Gainesville!

Lacedrick Brunson

The Florida football team has made a concerted effort to improve its depth on defense. It lost a great deal of talent to the NFL Draft and graduation, but it hasn’t been deterred in its attempts to rebuild that unit.

The latest addition to that promising crop of talent is outside linebacker Lacedrick Brunson of Miami Jackson.

Brunson is a two-star recruit on the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but 247Sports has him listed as a three-star recruit on its site-specific player rankings.

Elijah Conliffe

The Gators continue to bolster the defensive line with high-quality talent. Needing to replace multiple starters and solidify the depth at defensive tackle and end, Chris Rumph made a concerted effort to recruit Elijah Conliffe.

The versatile defensive lineman has officially announced his decision and will be playing for the Gators in 2017!

Conliffe is a four-star recruit and the No. 308 overall player on the 247Sports Composite Rankings. At 6’4″ and 307 pounds, he’s believed to be capable of playing both inside and at the strong side defensive end position.

Chris Henderson

This ranks amongst the biggest signings of the day for Jim McElwain and the Florida Gators. Chris Henderson, a four-star athlete, was deciding between Florida and the Miami Hurricanes, and no one seemed to know which school he would choose.

Coach Mac announced via Twitter that the Gators have won the war with the Hurricanes and received a signed letter of intent from Henderson.

Henderson, who stands at 6’1″ and 175 pounds, will play cornerback for the Gators. He’s the No. 135 overall recruit and the No. 15 corner on the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Nick Smith

The Gators continue to solidify the linebacker corps. Randy Shannon led the recruitment of Dr. Phillips three-star Nick Smith, who currently lines up at outside linebacker and could potentially shift inside.

Head coach Jim McElwain announced that the Gators have successfully recruited Smith to the Florida football family.

Smith also received scholarship offers from the LSU Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, and North Carolina Tar Heels, but ultimately chose Florida.

Brian Edwards

If you didn’t know why the Florida Gators are referred to as DBU, then you should know now. Randy Shannon and the Gators were in fierce competition with the Miami Hurricanes for defensive back Brian Edwards, but Florida’s DBU status was solidified with yet another recruiting win.

Edwards, who stands at 6’3″ and 195 pounds, will make the move from Miramar to Gainesville.

Edwards is a three-star recruit and the No. 574 overall recruit on the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He’s regarded as a positionally versatile player who could play cornerback or safety.

Edwards is a four-star recruit on Rivals.

James Robinson

The most heartbreaking development of the recruiting cycle was news that the Florida football program wouldn’t be signing wide receiver James Robinson. That was the result of Robinson being charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana during his visit to Ohio State.

In what was easily the most shocking development of the day, Coach Mac announced that he and the Gators were going to give Robinson a second chance.

Robinson is a four-star wide receiver and the No. 114 overall player on the 247Sports Composite rankings. More importantly, he’s a good kid who deserves a second chance.

Adarius Lemons

Coach Mac has effectively answered the call in terms of addressing the Florida football team’s offensive inconsistencies. He bolstered the wide receiver corps and has added another promising player to his depth chart at running back.

Florida was in competition with the Kentucky Wildcats, but ultimately prevailed to secure a commitment from running back Adarius Lemons.

Lemons is a three-star recruit who ranks No. 439 overall on the 247Sports Composite Rankings and No. 27 at his position.