Florida Gators aim to revive the legendary Lakeland pipeline with key addition

There was once a time when the Florida Gators could just go down to Lakeland High School and get all the talent it needed to fuel up for a national title run. The famed "Lakeland 7" included players such as Chris Rainey, Ahmad Black, and the Pouncey twins. The 2008 squad also included Jason Watkins from down the road at Lake Gibson as the starting right tackle.

That Lakeland pipeline then dried up, and it seemed like Florida was a stranger that no one had heard of when it tried to pull talent from there.

However, with its latest commit, the Gators are hoping to reopen one of the hotbeds of talent in the state of Florida.

Florida Gators land Malik Morris out of Lakeland

The Gators got some good news on Monday when Malik Morris made a verbal commitment to Florida. The four-star prospect had 95 tackles during his 2024 campaign.

Morris will join Cormani McClain as a Lakeland High alumnus on the Gators once he arrives in Gainesville.

It also represents a symbolic pipeline Florida is trying to keep intact and restore.

The Dan Mullen Era did bring Lloyd Summerall III and Keon Zipperer from Lakeland High to Gainesville, but notably missed out on Demarkcus Bowman and Arian Smith from the class of 2020.

Bowman didn't work out in college, but Smith went on to be a 4th round draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Jim McElwain Era was even more sparse from Lakeland High, as the only player he ever had on the roster from the Dreadnaughts was James Robinson, who never actually played due to medical reasons.

Even during the Billy Napier Era, McClain didn't initially start out as a Gator as he took a side quest to Colorado before coming to Gainesville.

Morris is the first player to commit to Florida directly out of high school since 2020.

And if things go well moving forward, he won't be the last.