National Signing Day: Gators out of Duce Robinson stakes shows recruiting gap
By Will Thomas
Today is National Signing Day, but for Florida football fans, there isn’t very much to look forward to today. The Gator class is pretty much all done and enrolled, with no new major targets making their commitment today.
While it’s a good feeling to head into National Signing Day stress free, and having no fear of watching a “lock” throw your hat away, the lack of Gator targets this afternoon shows that there is still a gap between Gator recruiting and the big dogs on the trail.
One of the best uncommitted prospects is Duce Robinson, a 5-star tight end out of Phoenix, Arizona. Teams like Georgia and Alabama are in on him, despite being across the country from his hometown.
The Gators did extend an offer to Duce, but he never visited campus and UF was never a real threat in his recruitment.
One of the biggest recruiting failures from Florida over the past few years was not being able to use Kyle Pitts’ success and draft profile to land elite tight ends on the trail. I don’t care how far away he is from Florida.
Your rivals in your backyard are making a push, and UGA is the favorite to land him. You have to at least be a factor in the recruitment of these guys if you want to be effective on the trail.
Closer to home, a pair of brothers out of Altamonte Springs, Florida, are favored to go to either Maryland or UCF today.
Andrew and Michael Harris are both 4-star linebackers that the Gators didn’t even offer, and are letting go elsewhere.
If they didn’t love what they saw on film, that’s fine. But linebacker is not a position of strength for Florida. At all.
Given the schools that the Harris brothers are choosing between, if the Gators had made a push, we’re probably seeing these two guys put on Florida hats this afternoon. Instead, UF is staying put and letting them go.
What makes Florida’s absence in these recruitments more confusing is that both tight end and linebacker are positions of need for the Gators. In the 2023 class, the Gators have zero tight ends signed, and just one linebacker.
They have a few LB transfers coming in from the Big Ten, but why would you not push for more depth and youth at that position? When Ventrell Miller got hurt this year, there was nobody there. You need more depth.
For a tight end, the Gators want to run the ball a lot and execute short quick passes. Go get a big tight end that can block and leak out to catch 7-10 yard passes. Or, don’t sign one and don’t take one out of the portal.
I do feel that Napier has Florida recruiting moving in the right direction, and the 2024 class can be special. But the Gators’ absence on National Signing Day show that there is still a big gap on the trail.
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