Florida Gators Recruiting Notebook: Under Armour Atlanta Camp 2022
Photo: Zavion Hardy; Credit: Zach Goodall
Under Armour's Atlanta camp on Sunday was action-packed, filled with talented prospects from the state of Georgia and some other states in the southeast region.
Plenty of those prospects, primarily ones in the class of 2023, have been in contact with the Florida Gators' new coaching staff and have been impressed by the foundation that has been laid by head coach Billy Napier.
Below, AllGators has compiled a notebook of updates from recruits at the camp who have either been in contact with the Gators in recent months or have an interest in the program but have yet to receive a scholarship offer.
AllGators will expand upon select recruits and their Gators' recruitment throughout the week.
Gators recruiting notes from Under Armour's Atlanta camp
2023 DB Aaron Gates — Florida commit
Gates, the Gators' lone commit in the 2023 class, stuck with UF through its coaching change and admits that he is "locked in" with the program after meeting Napier and Florida's new staff. The Trinity Christian (Ga.) product had committed to the school under previous head coach Dan Mullen in August 2021.
"It's been pretty smooth," Gates said about the coaching transition and how it has affected his status with Florida. "When I went down there and visited [in January], I really loved the coaching staff, love the culture they're building and just loved everything that they have going on. So, I decided to stay committed, and I consider myself locked in right now."
Gates, who is expected to play cornerback and perhaps nickel corner at UF, intends to visit the campus again during spring practices or for the Gators' spring game.
2023 OT Shamurad Umarov
Umarov was re-offered by Florida's new coaching staff on Friday and was targeted by the previous staff as well after he performed at a UF recruiting camp last summer. Offensive line coach Rob Sale has spoken with Umarov the most and some other assistants have reached out since the re-offer was made official.
"Overall, he's a great coach," Umarov said of Sale. "Getting to know the coach's personal side and then going over there to the campus and getting to know how he coaches, like, if I were able to go during the spring practices, I'd be able to see how he coaches. So, that would be a big thing for me to go over there because I really like him."
Napier also recently shared his contact information with Umarov and the two should hold a conversation over the phone in the near future.
The 6-foot-6, 299-pound Denmark (Ga.) tackle will visit Georgia on March 19 and Michigan State from April 1-3. He's been in regular contact with several members of Clemson's staff and is excited about the possibility of an offer from the Tigers, although it has yet to come.
2023 DL Zavion Hardy
The new Florida Gators coaching staff has been selective when it comes to their pursuit of prospects in the early portion of the 2023 cycle. However, an area they have prioritized early has been the trenches on each side of the football. The Tattnall Square Academy (Ga.) defensive lineman is a prime example.
Recently releasing a top teams lists compiled of the Gators alongside Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, South Carolina, UCF and Jackson State, Hardy is looking to stay in the south for his collegiate career. His near-immediate bond with Jamar Chaney and defensive line coach Sean Spencer made a strong impression on him in the early portion of his recruiting cycle, saying they're "two of the coolest coaches I've got recruiting me." They will continue to be as he begins to take visits, trim his list down further and ultimately commit.
"We just been keeping in contact since the jump," Hardy said. "They grabbed my attention off [the] rip. It's unexplainable. If I ever drop my last final [schools list], they'll for sure be in it."
2023 OT Monroe Freeling
Similar to Hardy and Umarov, Freeling is a player that falls into the mold of trench monsters the Florida Gators are desperately in search of. But, unlike Hardy, the Oceanside Collegiate Academy (S.C.) standout hasn't heard from the Gators staff since they took over.
While there is nothing tangible for Freeling to grasp onto from UF, his interest in the direction of the program under Billy Napier and Co., as well as the respect for its past, pits the Gators in a favorable position for the offensive tackle if they choose to pursue him.
"I'm just kind of interested in there," he said. "It's in Florida and they had a really good reputation [with] offensive lineman. I think with the new coach, they're going to turn the culture around."
Standing at 6'7", 283 pounds, the interest from offensive line coaches Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton is slated to come sometime in the future for a prospect that will have an array of options for where he wants to continue his football career.
2023 LB C.J. Allen
When Florida went on their offer spree just over 10 days ago, a beneficiary of Florida’s first significant wave of offers was CJ Allen.
The Lamar County Comprehensive (Ga.) linebacker, unlike Florida’s efforts to recruit the position in the past, presents a well-built frame that slates him to operate as a traditional inside linebacker in a scheme that will only incorporate two on the field at the same time. He pairs that with the speed needed to track down ball carriers from sideline to sideline.
His consistent connection with Gators inside linebackers coach Jay Bateman has earned Florida a favorable spot atop his recruitment rankings since their offer on Feb. 16.
“It’s a good relationship,” he said about his connection with Bateman. “I talk to him about every other day. He's a great guy. I also talk to [co-defensive coordinator/safeties] coach [Patrick] Toney, too."
Other schools to have offered the linebacker prospect include Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and USC, among others. He will unofficially visit Florida on March 19.
2023 EDGE T.J. Searcy
Relationships for the new staff’s past ventures have proven paramount in Florida’s recruitment efforts to begin Billy Napier’s reign as the head of the program. That fact will remain in the 2023 cycle as the Gators look to piece together a top-tier class in their quest for a return to prominence.
The Upson-Lee (Ga.) High School prospect’s relationship with outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson during his time at South Carolina has quickly shot the Gators up the board for Searcy’s services following the Feb. 17 offer.
“Coach Peterson, I’d say he’s probably one of the first college coaches who started texting me consistently, so we got a good relationship,” he said.
Although equipped with a relatively small offer sheet thus far, the list of six schools looking in his direction included three schools from the SEC (Florida, South Carolina and Georgia), one from the Big 10 (Michigan) and one from the ACC (Florida State). An explosion in the 6’5”, 250-pound defensive lineman's recruitment is on the horizon, as he continues to receive attention from Auburn, Tennessee and Clemson.
2023 DL Jamaal Jarrett
A product of Grimsley (N.C.) and the Big Man Challenge MVP of Sunday's camp., Jarrett was previously recruited to UNC by former Tar Heels defensive coordinator Jay Bateman. Now, Bateman serves as Florida's linebackers coach and has continued to pursue Jarrett's services, only now to show off his talent in orange and blue instead of Carolina blue and white.
"[Bateman is] a real family guy. He opens up with me to his family, and he really loves the recruits and wants to build that family relationship with the recruit," Jarrett told AllGators. "We already know each other, so he was like, 'Come be a Gator!'
Florida re-offered Jarrett in mid-February and he will "most likely" visit the school unofficially in the near future. Georgia, Auburn Clemson, Alabama, UNC, NC State and Vanderbilt also stand out to the defensive lineman at this time.
2023 OT Wilkin Formby
Although Formby has yet to receive an offer from Florida — from either the new coaching staff or the former one — that could change in the very near future.
"They reached out recently. My birthday was Friday, so they sent me a lot of mail and it's been picking up with Florida a little bit," Formby said. "I want to say their O-line coach hit me up and said that we could talk on the phone this week."
The 6-foot-7, 295-pound offensive tackle from Northridge (Ala.) is being coveted by Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss, Auburn, Oklahoma, and Tennessee among other top programs. He intends to visit most of if not all of these schools in the coming months and plans to take official visits in the summer, as he will graduate and enroll early at his college of choice.
Formby is interested in visiting UF as well, so long as he receives an offer.
Other notes via Sports Illustrated All-American
2023 DB Avieon Terrell
The Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake High School cornerback prospect and younger brother of Atlanta Falcons defensive back standout A.J. Terrell has received considerable interest from Clemson and a bevy of schools around the nation. However, the teams at the top has shifted drastically following a hectic cycle of coaching changes in college football. Previously regarding Florida and LSU highly as potential destinations in the summer of 2020, the turnover on each staff in Gainesville and Baton Rouge has led to sparse communication. Auburn, Michigan State and Cincinnati are schools that have catapulted themselves into contention alongside the Clemson Tigers, of course where A.J. starred, for the talented coverage man with strong and consistent pushes as of late.
However, despite the unique circumstances, Terrell said that he would be receptive if Raymond and the Gators rekindle their interest in him. “I would love for them to reach back out. My brother used to love Florida so we used to watch Florida together. And, Vernon Hargreaves and them all used to be my favorite DBs so I would love to go to Florida.”
2023 OT Bo Hughley
The massive Georgia commitment, who has been committed to the national champions since September, remains locked in on the Bulldogs despite the advances of other programs. UGA will get the Langston Hughes (Ga.) product back on campus Tuesday for an in-state visit, in a town that "feels like home," but others still courting him will also get a March visit. Hughley says Auburn, Florida and LSU are still consistent with him and both the Tigers (March 19 visit planned) and Gators will get a trip out of him soon. The trip to Gainesville, set for March 5, will be a first impression for 6-foot-7 tackle talent.
2024 DL T.A. Cunningham
Regarded as one of the most talented prospects in the 2024 recruiting class as a whole, the Alpharetta (Ga.) High School defensive lineman has received remarkable attention from nearly 60 programs across the nation. Without a decision imminent — given the fact the high-interest levels of the nation’s top schools with two years remaining in his recruitment — Cunningham intends to go with the flow before narrowing down his options and committing. He looks to take trips to Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State and others during the spring and summer before his junior year commences.
Stay tuned to AllGators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @SI_AllGators on Twitter and Florida Gators on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.