2021 Recruit Profile: Florida Gators Commit DE Tyreak Sapp

As the top-ranked player currently committed in the Gators' 2021 recruiting class, defensive end Tyreak Sapp has the tools for success as the next level.

Tyreak Sapp, Defensive End

School: St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 260 pounds

247Sports Composite Rating: Four stars, No. 8 SDE, No. 16 overall (Florida), No. 99 overall (national)

Recruitment History:

While his recruitment is still technically open, the 2021-commit realized his dream when offered by the Florida Gators in 2018, wasting little time in announcing his verbal commitment only just following his sophomore season of high school football. Sapp was originally recruited by defensive line coach David Turner, and now tight ends coach Tim Brewster has been looped in as well.

Since then, Sapp has been offered by multiple schools, including Alabama and Ohio State University, he has taken multiple visits, including to Clemson and Miami who is recruiting the defensive end aggressively at the moment.

However, Florida has always remained his perceived preferred choice, so much so that the now-rising-senior high school defensive end recruited his former high school teammate, linebacker Derek Wingo, who is a part of the Gators' 2020 recruiting class, signed during the early signing period in December of 2019.

“Florida has just been the long-time dream school,” Sapp said at the Under Armour Camp at North Broward Prep in 2019 via the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I always wanted to go there. It’s always been a winning-mentality school. It’s always been a school that prides itself on winning.”

Sapp, like many other recruits, has seen the resurgence of the Gators over the past two years under head coach Dan Mullen. The Gators have won at least 10 games in both seasons Mullen has been in charge, and the team ranked in the top-10 nationally after the conclusion of both years - impressive, to say the least.

Whether or not Sapp remains with the Gators through NSD later this year remains to be seen, however, it hasn't stopped the 2021 commit from participating in a group chat with his fellow classmates, that's gotta mean something.

“Hopefully, we all can stay together and keep the camaraderie that we have now. We even have a 2021 Florida commit group chat that we have so we can communicate with each other, let each other know our recruitment statuses and everything. We just keep in touch; we’re in touch right now, building that camaraderie.” 

Where He Fits:

Last season at St. Thomas Aquinas High, Sapp contributed mightly in all categories at defensive end, including tackles (28 solos, 29 total) and sacks (8.5), averaging 2.9 tackles per game for the undefeated Raiders, according to maxpreps.com. At 260 pounds, Sapp offers versatility along the Gators' defensive line, able to play at multiple positions, inside and out.

For the Gators, specifically, Sapp likely lines up as the team's strong-side defensive end position, a spot held down by former Gators defensive end Jabari Zuniga for years and is expected to go to rising redshirt junior Zach Carter, who nearly boasts the same measurables on Florida's roster at 6-foot-4, 263-pounds. 

Both Carter and Zuniga have played the team's five-technique, along with filling in inside at three-technique. The Gators have made a living of recruiting players to fill this role. Most recently the team signed defensive end Princely Umanmielen, who, while slighter at 249 pounds, is expected to play in the same role.

The Gators have one of the best defensive line coaches in the country in Turner, someone who has developed some of the best defensive linemen in the country, sending both Jonathan Greenard and Zuniga to the NFL last season.

Now, Sapp looks to get in on the fun, starting in 2021.