Great News: Gators officially adds another top-tier player

Florida adds an in-state athlete to their 2024 recruiting class

Riverview (Fla.) Sumner three-star athlete Gregory Smith III had been viewed as a lean to the Florida Gators for several months now, and officially joined the fold when he picked UF during the Early Signing Period. He becomes commitment No. 20 in the fold for the UF staff. The Gators extended an offer back in October, and immediately got Smith on campus the following day. He then proceeded to catch two more game this season, seeing both the Georgia game in Jacksonville and Florida State game in Gainesville.

Smith had plenty of offers to his name, but started to go on a roll after his midseason tape was released. That was when the Gators jumped into the race. This fall, Smith took official visits to Toledo, Virginia, Vanderbilt, and then Florida. Though he’s played mostly quarterback in high school, he started to put more focus on playing defensive back as well in later years at the prep level. The Gatos see him as a safety at the next level, and have been picking up their efforts with him since the offer was presented.

 

“They just see me being someone to fit in well if I came up there,” Smith previously told Swamp247. “They have DB’s, but they said I have good speed, and they think I read offenses good. I play QB also for my team, and I feel like playing that position has helped me know what offenses are doing when I am on defense. I have the brain of a QB sort of as a DB.”

Florida is now up to 19 commitments in their 2024 class after the addition of Smith. Among those names in Florida’s class, two are ranked as 247Sports’s five-star ranked prospects. The Gators 2024 consists of Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland five-star defensive lineman LJ McCray Willis (TX) five-star quarterback DJ Lagway, Gainesville (Fla.) Buchholz four-star linebacker Myles Graham, Leesburg (VA) Tuscarora four-star offensive lineman Fletcher Westphal, Olney (MD) Our Lady Good Counsel four-star linebacker Aaron Chiles, Portal (GA) four-star tight end Amir Jackson, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star wide receiver Jerrae Hawkins, Fort Myers (Fla.) Dunbar four-star wide receiver Tawaski Abrams, Tampa (Fla.) Carrollwood Day three-star wide receiver Izaiah Williams, Nashville (GA) Berrien three-star safety Josiah Davis, West Point (MS) three-star running back Kahnen Daniels, Blinn C.C. JUCO defensive lineman Brien Taylor, Decatur (GA) Columbia three-star athlete Jadan Baugh, Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney three-star cornerback Teddy Foster, Hampton (GA) Creekside three-star defensive lineman Michai Boireau, Snellville (GA) South Gwinnett three-star offensive lineman Marcus Mascoll, German interior offensive lineman Noel Portnjagin, and Upper Marlboro (MD) Charles Herbert Flowers three-star offensive lineman Mike Williams.

 

The 247Sports Composite, an industry generated average, currently ranks Smith as the No. 545 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and No. 41 ranked athlete in the 2024 recruiting class.