Florida continues to gain traction in recruitment of 5-star DL target

The Jalen Brewster-to-Florida smoke seems to get a little thicker each day and the top-ranked prospect in the country is doing his best to fan those flames.

Brewster, who has become a viable flip target for the Gators over the past month, continues to entertain thoughts of an official visit and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman recently stopped by Cedar Hill High School in Texas to visit with the consensus five-star recruit.

At this moment, Brewster is still committed to Texas Tech and the Red Raiders have a lot in their favor. We already know about the deep pockets, which are to make sure that players like Brewster stay in the class. Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire also has deep ties to Cedar Hill, where he won four state championships as head coach.

But Jon Sumrall isn't backing down in this recruiting battle, and why should he? This is a win-win for Sumrall and Gators recruiting. If they can get Brewster back on campus for an official visit, it shows that this staff has the chops on the trail to go after the biggest recruits and sell them on his vision. Maybe Brewster will flip, maybe he won't, but for a coach four months into his first Power 4 job to have the success he's already having on the trail, who is going to doubt him?

Gerald Chatman needs to hit on a big-time DL recruit

Chatman was one of the few coaches that Sumrall retained from Billy Napier's staff, which means he's going to be the one that the Florida fans will likely be the most critical of because many of them want no reminders of Napier in any way, shape or form. So it would be in Chatman's best interest to nail one major recruit this cycle. On the opposite side of the line, offensive line coach Phil Trautwein came out the gate swinging the fences and landing five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller let everyone know that the Sumrall regime is about business when it comes to recruiting. The best situation for recruiting on the lines is when the offensive and defensive line coaches are a little competitive against each other. When it comes to line recruiting and building on the lines, the old saying that iron sharpens iron couldn't be more true.

The Gators have gotten commitments from some intriguing prospects on the defensive line. Cain Van Norden has a big 6-foot-6 frame and when time and development, he's a player that I believe has significant upside and could be an NFL type of guy. The other two commits, De'Voun Kendrick and Stive-Bentley Keumajou Yondui, are two in-state players that project out as defensive tackle/nose guards. They should give the Gators a capable rotation up front in time. But now it's time for Chatman to land a true centerpiece of the class, a commitment that will get fans buzzing. Jalen Brewster fits that bill and would be one of the players that could define the success that Sumrall hopes to have.

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