As Billy Napier’s first National Signing Day at Florida came to a close, the head coach finalized his first recruitment class to join him in Gainesville. 23 players signed with the Gators this recruitment cycle, 17 signing this Wednesday on what has become a college football holiday.
Florida’s recruiting class now stands at No. 19 in the 247Sports Rankings, one place ahead of Florida State. Within the SEC, the Gators ranked as the ninth-best class. The average rating of UF’s 2022 recruits is 0.8860.
In just a few months since inheriting the roster from former coach Dan Mullen, a change that decimated the Gators’ recruitment standings at the time, Napier has managed to build a class comparable to last years. In 2021, UF’s recruitment class was 12th overall and fifth in conference. Last year’s class held a slightly better average rating of 0.9030.
Some of the bigger names in the class have already enrolled at Florida, having signed during Early Signing Day in December.
The four-star trio of Kamari Wilson, Chris McClellan and Devin Moore all have arrived on campus. Additionally, four-stars Jamari Lyons, Shemar James and Tony Livingston signed in December, but have not yet enrolled in classes. Former Louisiana-Lafayette commit David Conner and top-ten kicker Trey Smack also signed on ESD.
Jacksonville native Jack Pyburn opened up the NSD frenzy for UF. The four-star DL signed was the team’s first Wednesday after committing to the Gators the day before. Pyburn was one of two four-stars to sign on NSD, joined by Trevor Etienne, who may be the gem of the 2022 class. Brother of Jacksonville Jaguar Trevor Etienne, Napier landed the commitment despite the efforts of hometown Louisiana State and his brother’s alma mater Clemson.
Napier cited running backs as a critical need in the recruiting class during his press conference Wednesday, so the commitment of Etienne serves as a huge factor towards fulfilling that need. Unfortunately, the Gators missed out on extending their RB room after TreVonte’ Citizen signed with Miami in a somewhat shocking turn of events.
Speaking of misses, the Gators did just that on their biggest target in the ‘22 class. Five-star linebacker Harold Perkins chose LSU over Florida and Texas A&M Wednesday. The Cypress Park High School standout would’ve marked a huge shift in recruiting had Florida landed his signature.
Beyond the backfield, Florida brought in additions across the roster. Six three-star rated players inked the dotted line to become future Gators, including Quarterback Max Brown and defensive lineman Andrew Savaiinaea. Many of the more under-the-radar players in Florida’s class possess athletic ability and potential that fans should keep watch for.
In addition to high school recruits, Napier landed the signatures of six transfer players. Napier’s first transfer class at UF is headlined by former Ohio State QB Jack Miller and former Georgia defensive back Jalen Kimber. All of Napier’s new transfers will play a big role in what is widely considered a transition recruitment class.
Although the extent of the information available on the new recruiting class is numbers sans conext or limited film, there is plenty to be excited about ahead of Florida’s spring game on April 16.
Contact Jackson Castellano at jcastellano@alligator.org. Find him on Twitter @jaxacastellano.
Jackson Castellano is a third-year sports media journalism student and the Digital Managing Editor at The Alligator for Spring 2024. In the past, he's served as the Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and a Sports Reporter covering Football, Men's basketball and Baseball.
