A lot happened in the month of June for Florida football fans that follow recruiting closely.
Billy Napier and Co. added nine commitments to the recruiting class of 2024, moving Florida into the top 3 on the 247Sports’ team rankings for the class of 2024. Yes, four-star running back Chauncey Bowens flipped to Georgia, but the gains outweigh the losses overall.
Manny Navarro of The Athletic recently took a look at the four Sunshine State Power Five programs and concluded that the Gators are still the team to beat. When looking at each team’s commitments, Florida not only had the most overall (17) but also the highest average rating (92.22).
“Nobody in college football had a better June than the Gators, who reeled in nine commitments after hosting five five-star recruits, 11 top-100 players and 33 blue-chippers on an official visit,” Navarro wrote. “Defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong and linebackers coach Jay Bateman have teamed up to assemble one of the best defensive classes in the country…
“… Kudos to coach Billy Napier for elevating Florida’s recruiting from very good to elite.”
One interesting stat pointed out by Navarro is the rate at which Florida’s P5 teams host players on official visits over the summer. Miami actually hosted one more (45) player than Florida (44) did, while Florida State brought in just 27 official visitors. UCF had 34.
Florida’s recruiting staff grinds over the offseason and the allure of the SEC still seems to reign supreme in the Sunshine State. Miami has put in similar efforts but an average player rating of 87.99 is closer to UCF’s 86.93 than Florida State’s 90.60.
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