New Gator pledge immediately plummets in recruiting rankings

In a story as old as time during the summer months, the Florida Gators have seen one of their key commits for the class of 2026 see a huge drop in his recruiting ranking despite actual football not being played.

JaReylan McCoy has seen his ranking drop Rivals drop almost 100 spots, but that's not something Gator fans need to panic about.

JaReylan McCoy drops almost 100 spots in new rankings update

On Rivals, McCoy went from 197th overall to 289th. He is still a four-star, but he is hanging on by a thread.

McCoy committed to the Gators last month out of Mississippi. The 6'6" and 265-pound DL/EDGE was a needed addition to the class of 2026, especially after the winding road McCoy took with his commitment.

McCoy was a one-time top 20 composite player during his sophomore season, but his ranking has tanked. He was hurt during his junior year, and 247 has him all the way down as a three-star, while ESPN still has him as the 9th best player in the country.

What is silly about this rankings drop, and what is usually the case when a drop this dramatic happens this quickly, is that McCoy has been quiet on the camp circuit. He had been nursing an arm injury and apparently didn't look great at the camps he did attend.

And camp defenders will tell you that the value of a camp is to see someone in person, and that they can do drills against other top-ranked prospects.

But the problem is that these drills seldom involve pads, often encourage players to use poor technique to "win," and aren't realistic representations of what happens in an actual game.

So, to take a player who was considered a top 200 player six months ago to the verge of dropping out of the top 300 without a real down of football being played, seems extreme.

Because in case we forgot, as DJ Lagway once said, when those pads get on we gone see who REALLY liked that.