Gators coaches are hitting the road to finish off the 2014 class strong with fewer than three weeks until National Signing Day.
Florida currently has 21 commits along with nine early enrollees, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Thursday at midnight marked the end of the recruiting “dead period,” which prohibits coaches from having in-person contact with recruits. However, phone conversations were allowed.
UF’s coaching staff was across the country Thursday visiting top prospects.
One was 2014 three-star offensive tackle Andrew Mike.
Mike is the No. 14 tackle in the state of Arizona, according to Rivals.com.
UF already has five offensive linemen in its current class, but the Gators need all the help they can get as they return just five offensive linemen with starting experience in 2014.
Florida defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, wide receivers coach Joker Phillips and defensive line coach Brad Lawing also visited four-star defensive end Lorenzo Carter out of Norcross, Ga., Thursday morning, according to ESPN.
Carter will visit LSU this weekend, Florida State the following weekend and Georgia on the last weekend before signing day.
New UGA defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, who held the same position at FSU last season, was hired Tuesday. Pruitt is an outstanding recruiter who could benefit from being familiar with Carter while he tried to recruit him to FSU. Carter visited UF in September.
Florida’s 2014 class is in dire need of an explosive playmaker at receiver. Kentucky commit Garrett Johnson could fill that void.
Johnson is a three-star receiver out of Orlando West Orange High. He has shown impressive elusiveness speed and good hands on film.
A member of UF’s coaching staff is expected to visit Johnson on Sunday, ESPN reported.
2014 dual-threat quarterback Deiondre Porter decommitted from USF on Thursday afternoon, per ESPN. He is scheduled to make an official visit to UF this weekend.
Porter would add depth to Florida’s quarterback corps, which has just Jeff Driskel and Skyler Mornhinweg returning with starting experience.
Five-star athlete Adoree’ Jackson and offensive tackle Damian Prince are a couple of top prospects to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. Will Muschamp, defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson and new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper visited Jackson on Thursday. Prince is scheduled to make an official visit to Gainesville on Jan. 31, but UF running backs coach Brian White also visited him Thursday in Forestville, Md.
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Will Muschamp speaks at a press conference in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Jan. 13. UF hosted Friday Night Lights on Friday for its top prospects.
