Florida Football Recruiting: Noel Portnjagin is now a ranked prospect

When he committed to Florida football a couple of weeks ago, Noel Portnjagin didn’t exactly move the needle for the Florida Gators. Even though he is considered one of Germany’s top players, it’s hard to gauge what that means compared to American players.

With their rating update today, 247 Sports officially made Portnjagin a ranked prospect across all four major recruiting services.

Florida Football: Deutschland

Portnjagin is a left tackle listed at 6’5″ and 334 pounds. We talk a lot here at Hail Florida Hail about how offensive linemen coming out of high school will need to add 30+ to catch up to the size needed in the SEC.

As it stands right now, there are only two other offensive linemen rated in the top 100 linemen by 247 Sports that are at least 330 pounds.

Translation, Portnjagin could walk on campus right now and would look like an SEC lineman even before hitting the weight room in Gainesville.

He is still “just” a three-star prospect, and 247 sneaks him into the top 100 linemen overall at 89th overall. The industry composite has him a little bit higher at 65th overall among linemen.

Portnjagin will be a bit of a mystery when he arrives to suit up for Florida football because the film on him is limited.

He certainly looks the part of an imposing lineman, but gauging the level of high school football in Germany is tough.

While on his Hudl film, he plays tackle, the website Europe’s Elite acknowledges his ability at guard:

"Noel is an absolute lock at the guard spot, he possesses elite explosiveness on the line of scrimmage that a very small percentage of players can compete with. The separation he creates with his first contact makes the pocket much bigger and freer for the run/pass game. The technique of his blocking is very solid, the hands are strong and engaged at the point of attack, the elbows allow him to be as explosive as he is, and he’s more than capable of pulling the line to effect outside the tackles"

Only time will tell if Billy Napier found himself a diamond in the rough from across the Atlantic Ocean.