Florida football recruiting: Gators make top six for IMG wideout

Florida football is working hard to build a fence around the state of Florida and keep in-state talent at home.

They may be making some headway as they’re one of the finalists for an elite wideout from IMG.

Jerrae Hawkins Jr. released his top six schools yesterday, and the Gators made the cut.

Other schools on the list include West Virginia, Wisconsin, Penn State, and others.

247 Sports has Hawkins ranked as the 102nd-best player in the country, and the 21st-best receiver. He’s also a top 20 player in the state of Florida.

In his 2022 season, Jerrae caught 67 passes for 1,173 yards and 14 touchdowns. Worth noting that these stats came from his time playing in West Virginia’s AAA classification, and he’ll only have his senior year at IMG.

Regardless of where he was playing, those are ridiculous numbers.

Hawkins’ best attribute is probably his mobility. He’s a “verified burner” according to Andrew Ivins of 247, and has personal best times of 10.45 in the 100m and 21.48 in the 200m.

He also has a reported 40 time of 4.25 during a visit to Ohio State, but a laser timed 4.4 40 at IMG’s pro day. No matter which number you trust, that’s crazy speed for a junior in high school.

The one knock on Hawkins to this point is his size. He currently measures in at 5’9”-165. That hasn’t stopped him from producing numbers to this point, but he’ll have to add some size to his frame if he wants to be a regular contributor at the college level.

Jerrae is originally from West Virginia, so the Mountaineers may be the team to beat out in his recruitment. But I go back to the appeal of having DJ Lagway committed, and what that can do for the Gators on the trail in this cycle.

Adding Hawkins would be a huge addition to the class, and get the Gatros some more inroads at IMG.

Keep up with Florida football recruiting at Hail Florida Hail.