2024 Recruiting Class: Where Will Florida's Top 25 Recruits Go?
Article cover photo of Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader; photo credit to Brian Smith.
All three of the Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes want to turn their programs into annual College Football Playoff contenders. Plus, all of them want to start winning titles again, too. To do that, improving in-state recruiting needs to be a focal point. Here's one example prior to going into the discussion further.
With Charles Lester (picture directly above) set to announce his college decision on July 28, that will be another big-time prospect coming off the board.
Now playing for Venice (Fla.) High School, Lester is a microcosm of the battles that in-state programs are facing nowadays, as two of his final three hail from outside the state of Florida. More on Lester down below.
More kids want to spread their wings and leave the Sunshine State. It's just a fact based on the recruiting trends of at least the past decade, if not longer.
For any one of the programs that are located in the state of Florida, that simply must change if there are to be future national titles coming back to this state. There are several reasons why, including a really important one that’s discussed in this article.
Numbers are one thing. Losing the truly top recruits to out of state competition, that is another situation all to itself. Specifically discussing the class of 2024 and based on the 247 composite, five of the top 25 prospects within talent-rich Florida already pledged to in-state programs. Another 11 recruits, however, already made decisions for programs outside of Florida.
In fairness, from those 11, five of those players did not grow up in Florida. With IMG Academy and Clearwater Academy International, Florida has unique schools within its borders.
How many more from that top group end up staying in the state of Florida? This article is going to dive into that question, as well as going over more of a big-picture look at the state of recruiting here in the Sunshine State. It's also a subject that will be further brought to light after National Signing Day.
First, let’s list the current top 25 players in the 247 composite, and if they’re committed, it will be listed as well. Comments about those prospects are included for each prospect.
As of July 23, Miami has three commitments in the top 25, FSU has one, and Florida has one.
At the same time, Georgia has three, and surprisingly, Ohio State just one and Alabama none.
1) Jeremiah Smith, WR, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna - Ohio State commitment
This recruitment may not be done until National Signing Day. As of now, it’s still smart to expect the Buckeyes to be the final choice. Gators and Canes are next in line.
2) Ellis Robinson, CB, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy - Georgia commitment
The Dawgs are a fairly safe bet here, for now. Let’s see what he does in the fall as it relates to more trips. Miami could be the biggest threat.
3) David Stone, DT, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
Sooners are the team to beat until otherwise proven. He’s originally from the Sooner State, so that should not be a surprise.
4) Charles Lester, CB, Venice (Fla.) High School
Florida State has been the odds-on favorite for a while. Nick Saban and Alabama, as well as Deion Sanders and Colorado, round out the final three. Nobody should be shocked at anything with this final list of schools.
5) Joshisa Trader, WR, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna - Miami commitment
Canes fans should be happy about Trader’s commitment and what he can do in a Miami uniform. This commitment should stick, too.
6) Jordan Seaton, OT, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
Elite prospect with a wide-ranging list of schools. From this list, Seaton might be the one that’s most difficult to project where he will sign.
7) Jerrick Gibson, RB, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy - Texas commitment
Horns recruited Gibson quite well and he’s content with heading to Austin.
8) Adarius Hayes, DE, Largo (Fla.) High School - Florida commitment
Grew up a Florida fan and committed to the Gators. While he certainly did visit Miami, this will not be an easy flip for Mario Cristobal or any other college football program.
9) Zaquan Patterson, S, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna
He could end up at numerous schools, with Auburn, Michigan, Miami, Florida State and other programs involved.
10) Jaylen Heyward, S, Rockledge (Fla.) High School
Former Georgia commitment could find a new home at several places. UCF and Miami are the ones most often being discussed. Once the 2023 season starts, do not be surprised if other programs receive visits as well.
11) NiTareon Tuggle, WR, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy - Georgia commitment
He’s not going to be at IMG this fall, based on what’s been learned. Not sure where Tuggle will be.
12) Jonathan Daniels, OL, Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest - FSU commitment
Huge pickup for the Noles. They needed more offensive line help and Daniels plays in an area that FSU must dominate if it’s to get back to being a dominant program.
13) Jordan Pride, S, Blountstown (Fla.) High School - Texas A&M commitment
Just the opposite of Daniels, Pride is a former FSU commit that lives even closer to Tallahassee. This is the type of recruiting loss that’s been plaguing all of FSU, UF and UM. Cannot lose top recruits that live an hour from a Big 3 campus.
14) Cai Bates, CB, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater
Making his decision on July 26. LSU, Bama, Tennessee, Ohio State, and FSU, among others, are in his final group. Another important recruitment for the Noles as they’ve been considered one of the frontrunners and placed considerable time into the Bates recruitment.
15) Jamari Howard, CB, Miami (Fla.) Central
Expect a late decision for one of Florida’s most physically gifted cornerbacks. He originally committed to Michigan State prior to opening his recruitment again.
16) Jonathan Echols, TE, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy - Tennessee commitment
Originally from the west border of Georgia and far away from Atlanta, Echols is an easy going young man from a smaller community. He does possess a recruiting plan that’s playing out now. He wants to play flex tight end instead of defensive end, and he believes the UT offense is a great fit for him. Hard to argue with wanting to play in that offense.
17) Jason Zandamela, C, Clearwater (Fla.) Clearwater Academy International - Southern California commitment
Once a heavy FSU lean, the offensive philosophy, and official visit to Los Angeles, set in motion a shift in Zandemela’s recruitment towards the Trojans. He’s originally from Africa and his attitude represents the type of mental fortitude needed to be successful. Great young man.
18) Chauncey Bowens, RB, North Palm Beach (Fla.) The Benjamin School
Originally committed to the Gators, Bowens flipped to UGA after Kirby Smart and his staff made him a priority. Again, this just cannot continue to happen to members of in-state programs. More on this specific topic after the top 25 list.
19) Zavier Mincey, S/CB, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland
All the buzz centers around a traditional UF versus FSU battle.
20 ) LJ McCray, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland
Maybe a little wider group of schools, but like McCray’s teammate Mincey, Gators and Noles are certainly two schools to watch here.
21) TJ Moore, WR, Tampa (Fla.) Catholic - Clemson commitment
Moore has offers from programs across the country – programs one would expect inside the state of Florida included – and his June 2 Clemson visit still led him out of state.
22) Jordan Johnson-Rubell, S, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy - Texas commitment
He’s from the state of Texas. Not really that surprising that Johnson-Rubell is committed there.
23) Chance Robinson, WR, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Saint Thomas Aquinas - Miami commitment
Canes kept a local talent home. That’s how Miami built its program from the ground up under Howard Schnellenberger and all the way through the fifth national title in 2001. Good to see the Hurricanes land Robinson’s commitment.
24) Brandon Jacob, S, Orlando (Fla.) Edgewater - Maryland commitment
No clue how a player of Jacob’s caliber, from Orlando, ends up at Maryland. It’s a fact though.
25) Artavius Jones, DT, Blountstown (Fla.) High School - Miami commitment
UCF went after Jones hard first, Miami was soon to follow. Eventually, Jones was looking at numerous offers. Miami did a tremendous job of building a relationship with him and he comes to The U from just outside of Tallahassee.
Now for some general thoughts. Are the Big 3 truly gaining ground on the likes of Georgia and Alabama? That’s iffy, at best. Too many of the truly elite players are still leaving the Sunshine State, looking at the overall landscape of recruiting.
You can possess all the coaching in the world, but winning takes elite talent to reach the College Football Playoff and win championships. Right now an incredible amount of it continues to head to programs further away from home.
Now, all three of UF, FSU, and UM are improving. That’s not in debate here as each of them have the foundations of quality 2024 recruiting classes (especially Billy Napier and the Gators). It’s just that an additional level of recruiting wins will be needed to legitimately say any one of UF, FSU and UM are on the same level as programs like UGA, or Bama, or the Buckeyes even.
Looking into more detail, all of UF, FSU and UM need to win more battles for players at the most impactful positions – quarterback, wide receiver, offensive tackle, defensive end, defensive tackle and cornerback – if they want to level the playing field. More on that in an upcoming article. The number of elite recruits that the usual recruiting suspects are signing from those positions groups, on a yearly basis, is incredible and helping themselves to separate into a group that dominates the College Football Playoff.
Further, the Gators, Noles and Canes must win more head-to-head battles for those same recruits so that they not only land the talented recruits, but also keep them away from the likes of the Dawgs and Crimson Tide.
How this 2024 cycle finishes out is going to be critical to the future of all the programs inside the state of Florida. There's no shortcut if each of them wants to consistently compete for the College Football Playoff.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.