Florida football recruiting: Gators among favorites to land massive 4-star
Florida football recruiting is planting its roots in the 2025 cycle in an attempt to secure one of the best classes in the country.
The only commitment in the ’25 cycle that Napier has so far is 4-star RB Waltez Clark, but he is making good progress with some other priority recruits.
One player who has an interest in the Gators is Tavaris Dice, a 4-star OT out of Fairburn, Georgia, who announced his top eight schools today.
Florida made the cut, along with Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and others.
Florida football recruiting: A bully in the trenches
Dice stands at 6’6”-275 and has a strong size advantage over most of the guys he’s tasked with blocking. His pad level is advanced for his age, and he’s able to drive his legs to power through the defender.
Tavaris also has very good range for a guy his size. He’s able to pull and block on the outside, as well as level defenders downfield when the play extends.
When you watch his film, the biggest and most obvious takeaway is that Dice is flat-out stronger than the guys across from him. If you don’t beat him with your first step, you aren’t getting past him.
Auburn currently has a big lead for Tavaris per On3’s RPM, with a 94.6% chance to land his commitment. The Gators are in second with 2.8%, followed by Georgia at 1.2%.
Dice has taken two trips to Gainesville, both for unofficial visits earlier this season, so he does have some familiarity with Napier and the Gators.
Florida is going to have to beat out a handful of fellow SEC schools if they want to land Dice when all is set and done.
Florida football: Gators freshmen played the fifth most snaps in the country
Florida football was a disappointing 5-7 on the season, and there are lots of problems on the field that the coaches need to address before next fall.
One silver lining in the struggles, however, is how young the team was that the Gators were putting out between the hashes.
Florida had a handful of freshmen who made a name for themself early in the season and were consistent contributors all year.
The Gators had the fifth most snaps played by freshmen in the country this season per PFF.
Florida football: Growing pains
The only teams that got more snaps out of freshmen this year were Texas A&M, Miami, South Carolina, and Clemson.
Guys like Eugene Wilson and Jordan Castell headlined the freshmen class this season for the Gators with their production on the field.
Wilson caught 61 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns, and Castell totaled 59 tackles with an interception and three pass deflections.
Elsewhere on the offense players like Treyaun Webb and Aidan Mizell gave us a glimpse of their potential. But on defense is where we saw the most young guys shine.
Ja’Keem Jackson, Sharif Denson, and Bryce Thornton were all key members of the Gators’ secondary, while guys like Kelby Collins and TJ Searcy wreaked havoc on opposing offensive lines.
Sure, all of the youth in key positions showed itself at times during the season in negative ways, with unforced errors and mental mistakes.
But the coaches’ willingness to play younger, better talent instead of older guys is encouraging to see, especially after what the last coaching staff did in that regard.
The transfer portal is taking away some of these young guys that Gator fans were hopeful to see again next season, but there is still plenty of young talent on the roster.
If Napier can tighten up the program, the future can be bright.
