DB Aaron Gates Signs with Florida Gators

Gators defensive back commit Aaron Gates signs with Florida as part of the 2023 recruiting class.

Florida’s longest-tenured class of 2023 commit is officially a Gator. Defensive back Aaron Gates signed his letter of intent this afternoon in a ceremony at Trinity Christian School in his hometown of Sharpsburg (Ga.). 

Be like Aaron.

Welcome to The Swamp, @aarongates00! #GoGators | #D23AMTEAM pic.twitter.com/MihsGPUMXq

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) December 21, 2022

Gates is a prospect that seemed to fly a bit under the radar throughout the 2023 cycle, but that didn’t stop him from being pursued by a number of other schools, including a College Football Playoff team in the Michigan Wolverines. He took some visits elsewhere as a Gators commit, but ultimately decided to shut things down with Florida and stick with his initial commitment after his December 2 official visit.

Gates missed his senior season due to an injury, but the Florida coaching staff remained by his side throughout the entire process. That ultimately paid dividends as UF was able to hold onto his commitment in the end. 

When healthy, Gates showed his ability to be an uber-athletic defensive back with great positional versatility. He also has significant experience as a wide receiver.

At the next level, Gators will likely begin as a safety and move around the secondary as viewed necessary. He could even see time in other phases of the game.

You can find a snippet of Gates’ All Gators scouting report below.

While he’s listed as a safety, he plays corner at the prep level and does a good job at it. He has impressive closing speed to break on the receiver and the ball resulting in numerous PBU’s. He shows the ability to flip his hips, run with opposing receivers, and stay in their hip pocket with his effortless speed. He shows the ability to play in both press and off-man coverage as well as in zone. He has great instincts, oftentimes coming off his man to make a play on the ball. And the closing speed that was discussed earlier leads to some big collisions initiated by Gates who finishes plays with bad intentions when it’s time to come downhill and make a tackle.

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