Florida Gators recruiting overview: February national signing day edition
National Signing Day in February used to be the thing. But these days most — and sometimes all — of the hay already is in the barn by the time it arrives.
We can thank the December early signing period for that.
The February version of signing day is Wednesday but barring any last-minute surprises it’s expected to be a quiet day for coach Billy Napier and the Florida Gators. Of course, as everyone knows recruiting sometimes is unpredictable, so should we hear of any new developments we’ll let you know.
In the meantime, here’s an overview of Florida’s 2024 class.
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ON3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings: No. 10 (entering the day)
Average UF player rating: 91.33 (6th best)
Total signees: 19
High school signees: 18
Junior college signees: 1
Current unsigned commits: 0
Total transfer additions: 11
Short-term signee additions: 1 (Jameer Grimsley)
High school/junior college January enrollees: 16
5-star high school/ junior college signees: 2
4-star high school/ junior college signees: 11
3-star high school/ junior college signees: 6
5-star transfers: 0
4-star transfers: 2
*You can see the FULL CLASS HERE (this does not include preferred walk-ons)
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These are the Florida Gators’ 5 highest-ranked high school/junior college signees in the On3 Industry Rankings
NO. 3 OVERALL: DJ Lagway, QB, Willis (Texas)
Postion ranking: No. 1 QB
Rating: 99.23
411: Lagway passed for 4,631 yards, 58 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while completing 72.1 percent of his attempts as a senior. And, he added 975 rushing yards as his team went 12-1. He won many awards, including Gatorade National Player of the Year. Lagway enrolled at Florida in January. All four sites used for the On3 Industry Rankings named Lagway a 5-star. On3 ranked him highest at No. 2.
NO. 10 OVERALL: LJ McCray, DL-DE-Edge Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland
Postion ranking: No. 2 DL
Rating: 98.44
411: On3, 247Sports and ESPN all have McCray in the top 10 overall. McCray, a January enrollee, recorded 77 tackles (48 solo), 37 tackles for loss and 13 sacks as a senior. He also had three forced fumbles, two pass deflections and one fumble recovery.
NO. 57 OVERALL: Myles Graham, LB, Gainesville (Fla.) Buchholz
Postion ranking: No. 5 LB
Rating: 95.91
411: As a senior, Graham recorded 59 tackles (27 solo) and 6 tackles for loss — and was the leading rusher for his team, which reached the state semifinals. Every recruiting site has him in the top 60 nationally (with Rivals leading the way, at No. 29) except 247Sports, which ranked him outside the top 100 (No. 114). Graham enrolled in January.
NO. 73 OVERALL: Aaron Chiles, LB, Olney (Md.) Good Counsel
Postion ranking: No. 7 LB
Rating: 95.15
411: Was an Under Armour All-American (and scored a defensive touchdown in the game). Had 76 tackles (29 solo), 7 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 2023. Three sites had him in the final top 100; On3 ranked Chiles at No. 124. Chiles is a summer enrollee.
NO. 95 OVERALL: Amir Jackson, TE, Portal (Ga.)
Postion ranking: No. 7 TE
Rating: 94.34
411: ESPN and On3 have ranked Jackson the highest, at Nos. 82 and 94, respectively. Jackson had a big senior season and finished his high school career with 86 catches for 1,437 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s also a standout basketball player. Jackson will enroll at Florida this summer.
These are the Gators’ five highest-ranked transfer additions
NO. 35 OVERALL: Joey Slackman, DL, Penn
411: At Penn, he recorded 113 tackles, 10.5 sacks, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble. And his best work came in 2023 when Slackman had 50 tackles, including 12 behind the line of scrimmage and 4 sacks, with 1 pass breakup. His 90.1 overall Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade led all FCS defensive tackles, as did his 92.8 run-defense rating.
ON3 transfer ranking: No. 2 DL
NO. 58 OVERALL: Jameer Grimsley, CB, Alabama (Short-term signee)
411: Although the Tampa Catholic (Fla.) product is a true freshman, he technically is a transfer; he was in class at Alabama earlier this year and entered the portal. This was a massive pickup for the Gators as Grimsley is believed to have a huge upside. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, he has height, great arm length and is fast, which is what you need in the secondary these days. He’s coming off a dislocated ankle but should be fine when spring practice arrives.
ON3 transfer ranking: No. 9 CB
NO. 130 OVERALL: Asa Turner, S, Washington
411: Turner was with the Huskies for five seasons and played in 43 games. He started the first two games in 2023 before missing the next three with an injury. Per his official Washington Huskies bio, Turner “played in just four games in the regular season, thus preserving one year of eligibility.” He was a Pro Football Focus third-team Preseason All-Pac-12 selection. Turner’s most productive season came in 2022 when he recorded a career-best 52 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 pass breakups.
ON3 transfer ranking: No. 5 S
NO. 134 OVERALL: Grayson “Pup” Howard, LB, South Carolina
411: As a true freshman this season, Howard played in 11 games for South Carolina and registered 19 tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Howard played a total of 221 snaps. He did not miss a tackle during the entire season.
ON3 transfer ranking: No. 12 LB
NO. 204 OVERALL: Trikweze Bridges, S, Oregon
411: Bridges started 13 games at cornerback in 2022, recording a career-high 49 tackles with three interceptions, five pass breakups and a forced fumble. Last season, he played in a backup role and had 16 tackles and three pass breakups. He will move to safety at Florida.
ON3 transfer ranking: No. 12 Safety
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Here are some more Florida Gators recruiting notes …
*The Florida class has jumped from No. 16 all the way to No. 10 since the first national signing day in December. A handful or signees got ranking bumps. But also the Gators flipped 4-star defensive tackle D’Antre Robinson last month from Texas and then added Grimsley, who enrolled at Alabama in January but quickly entered the transfer portal after Tide coach Nick Saban retired.
*Florida, Georgia and Ohio State are the only programs with two signees in the top 10 of the national player rankings.
*Graham is the son of Gators running back great Earnest Graham. Before playing his senior season at Gainesville (Fla.) Buchholz, he attended Atlanta’s Woodward Academy. Former Florida offensive lineman John Hunt was his coach with that program.
*Florida currently is ahead of programs such as Notre Dame (11), Florida State (12), Clemson (14) and national champion Michigan (15) in the team rankings.
*Lagway, Chiles and Graham competed in the Under Armour All-America game. McCray played in the All-American Bowl.
