re: 2022 Recruiting and beyond. (Updated: 20/JUN/2021)

The Florida Gators are closing in on the Early Signing Period which runs from December 15 through December 17. Many prospects around the country will put pen to paper and sign their Letter of Intent, with some uncommitted prospects making their decisions made as well. With 7 verbal commitments to date, and many of those names in the Gators class signing in December, the staff has many spots remaining in 2022, which can be filled towards the February signing day. New head coach Billy Napier has gone a different direction with many of the former names in the Gators 2022 recruiting class, so there are plenty of spots left for him to add players he is high on. Swamp247 brings you some notes on a few of those remaining targets in the latest edition of the Florida Gators Recruiting War Room.

-- Florida hosted five-star safety Kamari Wilson on campus for his fifth and final official visit over the weekend. The Gators new coaching staff worked quickly to try and become a player in his recruitment as Napier continues to fill out his initial coaching staff. Georgia has been seen as the team in the best position of his recruitment for quite some time, and the school I am still leaning towards as we are only a few days out from the Early Signing Period, where he will make his decision known at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN. While I still think the longtime Georgia lean still picks the Bulldogs, I will say the Gators have made this closer than I thought they would coming out of the visit. Wilson was high on the Gators very early on in his recruitment, and a big part of that was the connections to staffer Jamar Chaney, who is now back in Gainesville on Napier's off field staff. Pair Chaney with new Florida cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, who was recruiting him at LSU, and you two names who Wilson has been high on. Florida will keep working him over the next few days by phone, but I just think the new staff needed more time to make up on Georgia's lead.

-- I like where Florida sits with four-star defensive back Devin Moore coming out of his official visit this past weekend. He had the option to visit Notre Dame again, where he was formally committed to, due to them having a head coaching change, but he chose to visit Florida this weekend instead. To me, it speaks volumes that he chose to come and hang around the new coaching staff in Florida rather, than going back to South Bend. Florida was the early leader in this recruitment, but a summer official visit to Notre Dame swung things in their direction. Florida has strong academics, which are something he's interested in as well as new cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, who has a strong coaching pedigree. A plus for Florida here is Moore has a good relationship with Florida off field staffer Corey Bell too. He's been important for UF as they have navigated through a coaching change. He's been a bit of a bridge between Moore and Raymond since he's taken over the job.

-- Three-star Georgia commit Shone Washington came out of his official visit to Florida this past weekend saying his recruitment was 50-50 between the two SEC East schools. This to me, bodes well for the Gators as they got the final say to host him over the weekend. Washington was high on the Gators before the coaching change, but he seemed to be down the board for the former coaching staff. That has changed with the new faces in Gainesville having strong Louisiana ties. Washington said he would go home after visiting Florida and weigh out his options on where he will pick on Wednesday. I like where Florida sits at this point, but will continue to monitor things over the coming days.

-- One of the first recruiting stops Coach Napier made since taking over Florida as their next head coach was by the home of four-star defensive lineman Quency Wiggins. The Top100 defender is down to Alabama, Florida, and LSU, but the Gators and Tigers have been the two schools he's long mentioned have been recruiting him hardest. He visited LSU this past weekend for an official visit and coming out of that trip the Tigers are looking like they have a strong shot of keeping the Baton Rouge native home.

-- Four-star defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly named the Gators among his top five this past week. While the Gators made the cut, it would be a surprise to see him end up anywhere other than Miami.

-- Florida extended an offer to three-star defensive lineman Kalvin Dinkins this past week, who has a good relationship with many of the Florida coaches who came over from ULL. While the Gators were trying to get hm to sign in February in order to take an official visit in January, he plans to sign this Wednesday. In-state Mississippi State is looking like the team to beat for him.

-- Three-star defensive lineman Zion Young is another name the Gators are trying to get to hold off signing until February after extending an offer to him last weekend. He has taken official visits this month to Michigan State and Missouri. He said those two schools along with Florida make up his top schools currently. Florida is trying to get him to take an official visit to campus in January, but he said he's unsure of whether or not he will sign this week or wait.


-- Florida got four-star defensive line commit Chris McClellan on campus this past Sunday for a condensed official visit to UF. That comes off him spending his Friday evening and Saturday morning on an official visit to Oklahoma. The new Sooners staff is pressing hard to flip the Top100 Gators commit, as the previous staff did not press for his services. Sources I have tapped into feel the visit on Sunday went great for McClellan, and he was able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Coach Napier. I am giving Florida a slight chance to hold onto McClellan as I write this, but will continue to tap into sources as the next few days go by. Oklahoma is the in-state school and have many of his friends in their commitment class. Not to mention they have already landed some of his former friends from UF's class like Nick Evers and are trending for four-star wide receiver Jayden Gibson. McClellan will sign this week and plans to enroll early.

-- Other Florida commits I expect to sign early this week are four-star defensive lineman Jamari Lyons, three-star offensive tackle David Conner, three-star offensive lineman Christian Williams, and three-star kicker Trey Smack. One name that I am still checking on signing plans is four-star Tony Livingston. He took an unofficial visit to Florida this past Saturday and we hear the new staff likes his frame. He's dropped some weight this fall, and we hear the new staff is no longer looking at him as an offensive lineman. Tight end could be the spot they look at him for. It seems up in the air on whether or not he will sign this week. We hope to get a clearer idea of Florida's plans there in the coming days. Three-star offensive line commit Jalen Farmer plans to sign in February. He took an official visit to Kentucky this past weekend and is expected to use an official visit to Auburn and Florida in January.