Hail Florida Hail
Fansided

Is Florida in Contention for the #1 Player in 2023?

By Will Thomas

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 30: Arch Manning looks on during his recruiting visit to Clemson University before the game between the Clemson Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles at Clemson Memorial Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 30: Arch Manning looks on during his recruiting visit to Clemson University before the game between the Clemson Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles at Clemson Memorial Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

New head coach Billy Napier has already made some big time moves in the recruiting game at UF, most notably by grabbing 5 star Kamari Wilson from IMG last year. Now, he has a chance to make an even bigger splash in 2023, if he can go out and get Arch Manning.

Manning, son of Cooper Manning, is the #1 overall rated player in the 2023 class according to 247 Sports. The 6’4” QB out of New Orleans is one of the most sought after recruits in the past decade, and has the ability to transform whatever school he chooses.

I don’t want to write a piece about Manning’s ability and what he can do. There’s a million articles and videos documenting his skills. What I do want to talk about is what UF can do to become contenders for Manning, and how realistic their chances are.

The landscape of college recruiting has entirely changed with the introduction of NIL and booster collectives at universities. UF has the Gator Collective and the Gator Guard as their biggest NIL contributors.

These two have already changed how Billy Napier is able to recruit players, but the newly founded Gator Guard can be the real difference maker. The Gator Guard has already raised millions of dollars, and this money can be used to help create endorsement deals for players to lure them to the university.

In the past few years, UF has been behind on NIL opportunities, but that is no longer the case. There’s no reason why they can’t keep up with the other schools going after Arch.

It’s not just NIL that UF would have to provide Manning with to win his recruitment. They also have to beat out the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, and LSU. UGA and Texas seem to have the upper hand to this point.

Napier still needs to get Manning on campus for a visit before UF becomes serious contenders, but it’s a great sign that UF snuck into his top six without a visit. Manning’s interest in the Gators likely comes from the fact that Napier just got to Gainesville. Arch wants consistency where he goes, so knowing he’ll have the same head man during his career is a big help.

In the past few years, the Gators haven’t even sniffed the top players in recruiting classes. Napier has already broken the “IMG curse”, why can’t he break this trend too?

Scared money don’t make money. UF absolutely has the resources it takes to land Manning. If they commit to it, they can establish themselves as a recruiting powerhouse before Napier finishes his first year at the helm.

Keep up with Gator football here.

Home/Florida Gators News