Florida football recruiting: Gators in final five for top-five TE

Florida football recruiting is staring down another chance to add an elite player to their great 2024 recruiting class.

The Gators added Jerrae Hawkins a few days ago, and are waiting on another priority target to make their decision on July 1st.

While all of that is happening, another recruit has set his top five schools and has set a commitment date.

The Gators have made the final five for Caleb Odom, a 4-star tight end out of Carrollton, Georgia.

Florida football recruiting: Going for an elite talent

Odom’s top five consists of Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, Miami, and Texas A&M. He also has his commitment date set for July 15th.

Caleb is ranked as the 65th-best player in the country on On3’s Industry Rankings, and the 4th-best tight end in the 2024 class.

When I first wrote about him and evaluated him, I used the phrase, “This guy is Kyle Pitts.”

As a Gator fan, I don’t think there’s any tight end who currently stacks up to what Pitts did at UF. But Caleb seems like he could be almost as good.

His size and route-running ability separate him from most of the other pass catchers in his cycle, and his willingness to be a blocker make him appealing to Billy Napier and his staff.

Odom has been to Gainesville three times, including an official visit on June 9th.

He’s also taken OVs to Auburn, Miami, and Alabama.

Alabama is currently the heavy favorite to land Odom with an 88.2% chance to secure his signature, per On3’s RPM.

But as I’ve said many times, it’s hard to count out the Gators in anybody’s recruitment given how hot they’ve been on the trail.

With a little over two weeks left until he makes his decision, it’s unlikely we see Caleb take any more visits.

So the Gators will have to hope that they’ve done enough to land the elite tight end.