Report: Elite QB Jaden Rashada Sets Florida Gators Official Visit
Elite 2023 Pittsburg (Calif.) quarterback Jaden Rashada has locked in an official visit with the Florida Gators, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. The visit is set for June 7-9, just before Rashada plans to announce his college commitment on June 18.
Rashada named the Gators among his top seven schools on May 17 alongside Oregon, Miami, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, California and LSU, despite not having visited UF by that time. He made his first trip to Florida, unofficially, late last week, which allowed him to meet Billy Napier and the Gators' new coaching staff.
Before the trip to Florida, Rashada will officially visit Texas A&M from June 3-5 and immediately head east to LSU for an official visit from June 5-7. He previously used an official visit at Ole Miss in April.
Rashada, 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, is considered the No. 7 quarterback and No. 58 overall prospect in the class of 2023, according to the On3 Sports consensus rankings.
Rashada completed 57 percent of his 256 passes for 2,220 yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions in his debut season as a starter in 2021, adding 25 rushing attempts for 193 yards and a score on the ground.
The Gators are in need of a quarterback of the future with Anthony Richardson, who is set to start this year, being eligible to declare for the NFL Draft in 2023 should he emerge as one of college football's better quarterbacks as he has been projected to.
Napier and Co. have been selective in pursuing quarterbacks in their first full recruiting cycle at UF. They've only hosted a handful of passers on visits, such as King's (Mich.) Dante Moore, Briarwood Christian's (Ala.) Christopher Vizzina, Brookwood's (Ga.) Dylan Lonergan and Zachary's (La.) Eli Holstein, but those prospects have either committed or are trending elsewhere.
Of course, the Gators can keep pushing for the prize of the 2023 cycle, Isidore Newman (La.) and NFL legacy quarterback Arch Manning, but he has yet to make his way to Gainesville for a visit. At this point, Rashada may be the Gators' last hope at landing a top quarterback in the class of 2023.
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