Five Florida Gators Recruitments to Watch Following Stellar End of July

Five recruitments to keep tabs on following the Florida Gators' commitment surge at the end of July.

The Florida Gators picked up much-needed momentum on the trail around their annual Friday Night Lights camp and Saturday's recruit cookout, with four prospects from the class of 2023 pledging to UF in cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson, wide receivers Aidan Mizell and Andy Jean and safety Jordan Castell between Thursday and Saturday.

Is Florida done compiling talent for this cycle, though? Not whatsoever. The Gators' class of commits currently stands at 16 players, and paired with several needs that still must be addressed, the team is aiming to continue stockpiling blue-chip talent across the board, regardless of needs.

The weekend of recruiting events certainly helped the Gators' case with these five recruits, each of which visited Gainesville on Friday and/or Saturday.

CB Dijon Johnson

The Gators' have been pushing to flip the commitment of Tampa (Fla.) Wharton cornerback Dijon Johnson from Ohio State for several weeks, and made significant progress in their attempt to do so by getting Johnson on campus for Friday and Saturday's events. 

Ohio State commit Dijon Johnson is, indeed, at Florida for FNL. Won’t be working out by the looks of it. pic.twitter.com/DR5RflOmAG

— Zach Goodall (@zach_goodall) July 29, 2022

Despite some reports suggesting otherwise, Johnson did not pay Miami a visit and didn't have plans to make such a trip over the weekend, instead putting his focus on Florida and his time with defensive backs coaches Corey Raymond and Patrick Toney. All signs point to Johnson coming away impressed by the trip, as he backed off of his pledge to the Buckeyes within hours of leaving UF on Saturday. 

Now, the ball is in Johnson's court as he has emerged as one of Florida's top remaining targets. If he wants to be a Gator, the offer is on the table for him to accept.

QB DJ Lagway

Florida has moved on from recruiting 2023 quarterbacks with Marcus Stokes already in the class, and has set its sights on next year's group of signal-callers in hopes of landing an elite talent at the position.

That led UF to host Willis (Texas) High dual-threat DJ Lagway from Friday through Sunday, marking the Lone Star State's second trip to Gainesville this year. It's safe to say Lagway enjoyed himself, as he's shared plenty of positive thoughts on the visit via social media.

I ain’t gone lie I’m kinda feeling this Florida vibe😎🐊

— LAG ✞ (@DerekLagway) July 30, 2022

Lagway continues to receive interest from other major programs like Alabama, Texas A&M and other schools, so he could take some more time before reaching a decision, especially as a 2024 prospect. But certainly, Florida has cemented itself as a legitimate contender for Lagway's services after his latest trip to campus.

DL Kelby Collins

Florida remains on the prowl for defensive line talent, with just one commit along the three-man front in Gavin Hill so far this cycle. TJ Searcy has the size to play defensive end but currently projects as an edge rusher.

As such, Gardendale (Ala.) High's Kelby Collins was one of several priority interior lineman in town for Frirday Night Lights and the cookout, along with the likes of Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett's Kayden McDonald, Orlando (Fla.) Olympia's Kamran James and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Will Norman. 

Of the group, Collins is the highest-rated lineman, considered the No. 7 player at his position in the class by the On3 Sports consensus. He took an official visit to Florida in June and also made his way to Gainesville several times under the previous coaching staff in 2021.

Collins has been most coveted by in-state Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma as of late and he elected to visit UF for two days over the other contending schools during the one-week window, making the Gators a serious team to watch in his recruitment moving forward.

LB Jaden Robinson

Despite his early July pledge to South Carolina, Lake City (Fla.) Columbia's Jaden Robinson made several treks to UF over the last week, once at midweek and again for the weekend's events. With that in mind, it would seem as though the 6-foot-1, 215-pound linebacker remains interested in what the Gators have to offer. 

One of the Gators' biggest remaining needs is at off-ball linebacker where Robinson aligns, as UF has missed on top targets at the position such as Malik Bryant, Jordan Hall, Grayson Howard, Lewis Carter and so on. It would be wise for Florida to put an emphasis on the spot with most of its other pressing needs addressed, and Robinson's recruitment appears to have the most orange and blue momentum of any linebacker prospect in the class.

OT Caden Jones

Like linebacker, landing a blue-chip offensive tackle remains a priority for Florida this cycle, ideally pairing such a prospect with a tackle UF already has in the class in Byrce Lovett.

The most notable tackle on campus this weekend was New Orleans' (La.) De La Salle's Caden Jones, a recruit with long-standing ties to Florida's coaching staff as he was offered by Louisiana in June 2021, when Gators' head coach Billy Napier was still in charge of the Ragin' Cajuns.

Gators OT target Caden Jones / Zach Goodall

Jones was one of the few priority 2023 recruits to participate in the Friday Night Lights camp, where he worke directly with offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton. His 6-foot-7 frame, paired with great arm length, was noticeable and perfecty meets the size thresholds that the duo of assistant coaches require for tackle prospects.

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