Florida football recruiting: 5-star Jerrick Gibson visiting the Gators today

Florida football recruiting is in the running for many top players in the 2024 recruiting class, including the top running back in the country.

5-star running back Jerrick Gibson out of IMG Academy is making a trip to Gainesville today, per Blake Alderman.

247 Sports Composite Rankings had Gibson as the 23rd-best player in the country, the top running back in his class, and the 6th-best player coming out of Florida.

This will be Gibson’s fourth visit to The Swamp since he de-committed from the Gators in February of 2022 amidst coaching changes.

Gibson, as Andrew Ivins of 247 Sports says, is “the real deal.” He’s explosive with the ball in his hands and “can stack cut after cut once he gets past the initial wave of defenders”.

He’s got pretty good speed out in open space, with an 11.33 second 100m dash as a freshman, and a laser timed 4.5 40-yard dash.

Along with his speed, he’s a wrecking ball for defenders. It’s hard to find a play on his film where the first defender got him down.

Something that stuck out to me while watching his film was his ability and willingness to block. One play on the tape showed him going out wide to block for a running play and demolishing a defender on the edge.

That physicality is attractive to college coaches, but Ivins says that there is still room for him to improve there, mainly in picking up late blitzes.

Jerrick has official visits scheduled to Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas over the summer. With one OV left to schedule, the Gators need to make a push for that spot if they want a chance to land the 5-star.

All the big dogs on the trail are in on Gibson. His recruitment is a chance for Napier and the Gators to show that they’re a threat in recruiting again and that they’re back on the rise.

We’ll see if they can pull it off.

Keep up with Florida football recruiting at Hail Florida Hail.