OL Roderick Kearney Signs With Florida Gators

Gators' prized offensive line commitment Roderick Kearney has officially signed with Florida.

The highest-rated offensive lineman in the Gators' 2023 class of commitments, Orange Park (Fla.) High's Roderick Kearney signed his National Letter of Intent to play college football for Florida on Wednesday.

Be like Rod.

Welcome to The Swamp, @Roderickkearne7! #GoGators | #D23AMTEAM pic.twitter.com/IfEaEofKZk

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

Kearney, a former Florida State pledge, flipped his commitment to Florida in October just before quarterback Jaden Rashada did the same from Miami. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Jacksonville native possesses positional flexibility and was sold on the potential to play all five positions at UF.

"[Florida coaches] really said center because I can move, I got great hips. But they really said I really can play all five," Kearney told All Gators after his visit to campus in March. "I just wanna play O-line. I just love playing football, I just wanna hit somebody. Put me anywhere on that O-line now to produce for you." 

Kearney is considered the No. 9 offensive tackle and No. 96 overall prospect in the class of 2023 by the SI99. 

You can find a snippet of Kearney's All Gators scouting report below.

While Kearney has typically aligned tackle at the prep level and could very well play the position when he gets to college, many analysts including myself believe he is best suited to play along the interior of the line and could fill either guard spot or potentially center. He has experience on the inside from his high school career, as well.

The first thing that stands out on tape is his athletic ability. Kearney moves extremely well for someone that is listed at 6-foot-4, 300 pounds. He's consistently shown the ability to get down the field and make blocks in space, and does a great job of using that athletic ability to pull and become a lead blocker on running plays, which the Orange Park offense asks him to do often.

In pass sets, he displays solid technique by maintaining good knee bend and keeping a straight back. Often times you will see a high school lineman bending at the waist when they get tired and relying too much on their size and strength, but you don’t see that from Kearney. He also does a solid job of using his initial kick step to create depth and get himself in position to block, and has a great initial punch to stonewall opposing pass rushers.

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