Florida Football Recruiting: Andrew Maddox has an elite burst off the line

One of the sore sports of the 2024 recruiting class for Florida Football was along the defensive line. The Gators did sign five-star prospect LJ McCray, but a number of other decommitments took away from what could have been a truly elite unit.

The Gators are currently in pursuit of a four-star prospect out of Mississippi, but will have work to do if they hope to land him.

Florida Football: The Mad Hatter

Andrew Maddox is a defensive tackle out of Hattiesburg, MS. Listed at 6'3" and 270 pounds, he is considered a consensus four-star prospect by all four services, with Rivals grading him 29th and 247 Sports having him outside their top 250.

Based on his film, we would probably lean closest to the ESPN grade of 108th, but even we would still place him in the top 100 overall because his burst off the line is an immediate "wow" that not every ranked prospect has.

Maddox is frequently in the backfield before one has time to blink because he gets off the line so fast it almost seems like he has the snap counts timed up perfect. And even when he isn't splitting a double team and takes on a guard or center head on, he has the power to shove opposing lineman into their own backfield.

Florida is in the top 12 for Maddox, though it will require an upset to land him. 247 has a crystal ball that keeps Maddox in state to Ole Miss, and On3 also has Auburn with traction.

Maddox is slated to make a visit to Florida in April. He is the type of prospect that Gators fans should monitor, but also should not hold their breath with anticipation that he will wind up enrolling in Gainesville as Florida still has a lot of work to do.