Gator Nation had its eyes on three members of the category of 2023 on Saturday however none of them ended up committing to the orange and blue when all was mentioned and finished. 4-star security Joenel Aguero picked Georgia over Florida within the morning and four-star linebacker Malik Bryant pushed again his dedication, leaving four-star offensive deal with Payton Kirkland to determine between his prime 5 of Florida, Alabama, Miami, Michigan State and Oklahoma.
Kirkland shocked everybody and selected Texas, a program that not solely didn’t make his prime 5 in March but additionally didn’t get him on campus through the recruiting course of. Florida hosted Kirkland for an official go to and loads of unofficials, however that didn’t matter a lot as soon as Steve Sarkisian’s employees swooped in on the final minute.
Andrew Ivins of 247Sports spoke with Kirkland as he made the announcement on the positioning’s YouTube web page. He mentioned that the choice wasn’t a straightforward one to achieve nevertheless it was in the end what he felt was finest for him. Arch Manning, the nation’s consensus prime recruit, committing earlier within the month couldn’t have hurt the Longhorns’ chances with Kirkland, both.
Florida was thought-about a serious participant in Kirkland’s recruitment given the frequency during which he turned up on campus. He would have been the Gators’ highest-rated offensive line commit and issues went their means. UF nonetheless has four-star inside offensive lineman Knijeah Harris and three-star offensive deal with Bryce Lovett to fall again on.
Kirkland is ranked No. 274 general on the 247Sports composite and is No. 25 amongst offensive tackles within the class of 2023. If Billy Napier plans on including one other deal with to the category, he’s operating out of blue-chip choices. Samson Okunlola, Monroe Freeling and Tyree Adams are the one recruits ranked larger than Kirkland that Florida has each supplied and had reported contact with.
Observe us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our web page on Fb to comply with ongoing protection of Florida Gators information, notes and opinions.
Tell us your ideas and touch upon this story beneath. Be a part of the dialog as we speak!