Coveted EDGE Jamonta Waller Commits to Florida Gators
Florida is keeping its recruiting momentum rolling.
After securing four consensus top 250 prospects on Saturday, Monday proved equally fruitful as the Gators anchored down trench-men Michai Boireau and Marcus Mascoll to begin the day.
Come evening, the highlighting piece of Florida's impressive surge arrived in the form of a borderline consensus five-star from Mississippi, as highly-coveted Picayune (Miss.) High edge rusher Jamonta Waller announced his surprise commitment to the Gators in the wake of his UF official visit.
He had originally been scheduled to make his college pledge on Aug. 26.
Waller chose the Gators over a long list of offers from Power 5 programs such as Alabama, Penn State, Ole Miss, Auburn and Texas A&M.
Like tight end Amir Jackson, defensive linemen Amaris Williams and Nasir Johnson and linebacker Aaron Chiles, Waller officially visited Gainesville from June 16-18, drawing the same conclusion as the others just two days later.
Measuring in at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Waller is undersized compared to the prototypical edge rusher, but what he lacks in size, he more than makes up for in athleticism, motor, and tenacity on the field.
He checks in as the No. 71 overall player and No. 7 EDGE in the 2024 class, according to 247 Sports Composite Rankings, following an 11.5-sack, 24-tackles-for-loss junior year.
With the Gators only landing one JACK rush end prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, TJ Searcy, it was a position of need for the 2024 cycle. EDGE coach Mike Peterson and defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong were at the forefront of this recruitment that seemed to pick up steam in the Gators' favor very quickly.
Armstrong, formerly the defensive coordinator at Southern Miss and temporarily Alabama inside linebackers coach this offseason, built upon a previous connection with Waller to best position the Gators in his recruitment.
“We have been locked in for a little minute now,” Waller told All Gators in February, regarding Armstrong.
Though Waller just completed back-to-back visits to Auburn and Penn State — the latter program being his perceived leader before the Gainesville trip — Florida knocked the visit out of the park and was able to beat out the plethora of other suitors for the talented prospect.
Florida now possesses 16 commitments in the 2024 class, including nine defenders following Waller, Boireau, Chiles, Johnson and Williams’ pledges in recent days.
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