Gators OL Commit Knijeah Harris Wears Recruiting Cap During Official Visit

Florida Gators offensive line commit Knijeah Harris discusses his official visit to Gainesville and role as a player recruiter in 2023 class.

Photo: Knijeah Harris; Credit: Zach Goodall

Playing host to a bevy of illustrious visitors for the second straight weekend, the Florida Gators recruiting staff is in the midst of a hectic season as they attempt to win commitments from the nation’s top prospects.

While the dedication the new staff has shown suggests they’re fully capable to leave a lasting impression on the athletes, a little bit of help from the inside of the locker room never hurts.

IMG Academy (Fla.) offensive lineman and current Florida commit Knijeah Harris joined the festivities for his official visit to campus this weekend.

Already choosing UF as his future collegiate home, Harris slipped on his recruiting cap in an attempt to surround himself with elite talent at the next level during his multi-day stay in Gainesville.

“I mean, everybody,” Harris told AllGators when asked about the main recipients of his recruitment efforts. “Just being around all the players, regardless of position, wherever they're from, you know, just telling them this is the place to be.

“That's something I wanted to do personally, that's why I committed early, to get guys to jump in the boat. You know, because having a great recruiting class benefits me as well gets more eyes on me on the field. If I have a good quarterback, you know, stuff like that. So it helps out the team and myself.”

Sitting in the summer months — where the focus is on building a nucleus for the future of the class as it works toward December — the main priority for most teams around the nation is to acquire the college equivalent of a franchise quarterback.

That reigns true for the Gators.

At the top of the board, Pittsburg (Calif.) quarterback Jaden Rashada is looking like he is the best bet for Florida to land an elite-tier passer.

“[I’m] really just pushing Jaden right now as he’s committing soon,” Harris said as Rashada’s imminent decision on June 18 rapidly approaches.

He also mentioned his contact with highly regarded prospect Arch Manning, who he said would be unofficially visiting Gainesville “later this month.”

Seeing the need for an offensive lineman to protect the talented signal-callers himself during his experiences at practice and the constant sales pitch from the coaches, Harris is in a position to see early playing time at guard or center in his career, depending on where the Gators need him most.

He said that fact weighed heavily into his commitment decision, in top of the feeling of comfort he had during his unofficial visits back in March.

“I really wanted to go somewhere that felt like home and this feels like home for me.”

Showing that the potential for early playing time is a highly intriguing appeal for recruits, Harris continued to highlight the staff’s propensity to showcase offensive lineman as more than a want. They’re a need.

That is evident in the fact that two of the five total commitments— Harris and Rockledge right tackle Bryce Lovett — in 2023 align on the offensive front and present valuable positional versatility.

Despite the constant search for others to join him in orange and blue, Harris still got to enjoy his official visit to his future outside of the recruiting realm.

“Having a chance to spend more time with the players and get their perspective on things more definitely was good,” he said. “Just continuing to build a relationship. You know, really looking more towards, instead of the recruiting pitches, more of getting me ready for when I get here.”

His host, starting center Kingsley Eguakun, and others, were in Harris’ ear about how he how made the right decision to commit to Florida.

“They were just telling me a lot of things that I already heard. Telling me how much they love to the coaches, especially compared to the last staff, how things have changed and how I'm gonna love it here.”

The next time Harris is in town could be sooner than many would expect as IMG Academy teammate and offensive line target Francis Mauigoa is slated to official visit the Gators starting on Tuesday.

Harris could tag along in an effort to recruit his current to remain united with him up front at the next level.

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