State of Florida Recruiting Notebook: Coaching Changes Shake up Final Decisions

A look at prep football prospects across the state of Florida making their decisions.

Brian Smith | Dec 14, 2021

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It’s going to be a busy next couple of days with the first National Signing Day set to begin Wednesday, Dec. 15. Here’s a recruiting notebook to help attempt to keep track of all the happenings within major college football.

**Winter Garden (West Orange) wide receiver Jayden Gibson had a parting of ways with Florida once newly hired Gators Head Coach Billy Napier came to Gainesville. The highly touted 6’5.5” wide receiver just finished his official visit to Oklahoma, and there’s strong speculation that will be his final choice. Do not discount Baylor here, nor any other school either. It’s been one of the wildest recruiting seasons on record and why would the finish be any different?

Gibson is expected to make his decision Tuesday, per multiple sources. Again, there’s no slam dunk here. Let’s see where Gibson signs and go from there.

**Another Central Florida prospect to remember is Sam McCall from Lakeland (Lake Gibson). He’s a two-way high school player but will likely end up in the secondary for the Seminoles. Well, that’s where he committed last. Just like with other prospects on this list, recruiting is fluid. It’s been quiet on the McCall front for quite some time but with an offer from Alabama anything is possible.

**For top cornerback/safety prospect Devin Moore, the previous commitment to Notre Dame appears to be trending strongly to Florida. The Naples High School player has been targeted by many programs, Alabama included, but look for the Gators to gain his signature on Wednesday.

**It’s been all quiet for defensive Gabriel Jacas from Fort Pierce (Central). He committed to Tulane, but then took subsequent official visits to Illinois (Nov. 27) and Tennessee (Dec. 10).

The Volunteers really want to flip Jacas but he’s in silent mode since the visit. Fort Pierce has long since been known to produce top talent and Jacas would be a steal for the Illini or Volunteers. The expectation is that he will sign on Wednesday.

**Another prospect originally from Fort Pierce would be Kamari Wilson. The linebacker/edge defender has been hard to track, especially with the coaching changes. He did officially visit Florida this past weekend, and according to his Twitter feed, Wilson will announce on live television this Wednesday at 3:30 EST.

If there’s one player in the state of Florida for gamblers not to project where he’s going, Wilson would be one of the best to stay away from. His recruitment has been hard to follow for the longest time.

**In Tampa, talented all-around athlete Xavier Townsend decommitted from Iowa State on Sunday night. He unofficially visited UCF during the regular season so there’s a good chance that will be Townsend’s landing spot.

With that stated, the Berkeley Prep prospect has also been quiet since backing off his pledge to Iowa State, so it’s just speculation that UCF will be the choice until he puts pen to paper.

**With Fort Lauderdale (Dillard) defensive lineman Nyjalik Kelly still trying to decide between a host of schools, he’s at least narrowed it down to a final few. The one-time Florida State commitment went to social media to announce his final list.

@Hayesfawcett3 top 5 pic.twitter.com/pTasEDdeBV
— masunni kelly❤️ (@nyjalikkelly) December 12, 2021

**With Oklahoma hiring Head Coach Brent Venables, it took away a centerpiece from Clemson’s coaching staff. One recruit that backed away from his pledge to the Tigers was IMG star defensive end Jihaad Campbell. Since then, Campbell has no doubt encountered a slew of schools contacting him.

The New Jersey transplant has a unique situation ahead of him with so many top schools that originally offered him, such as Alabama, a school Campbell visited last weekend.

The big question: how many defensive linemen could the Aggies take? They are in the midst of a historic haul and at some point the math does not make sense even with elite talent wanting to go to College Station, Texas and play for Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. Maybe it’s another school for Campbell, however, as his recruiting world was turned upside down with Venables grabbing his first head coaching position. That’s just a part of recruiting.

**Offensive lineman John Bock of Fort Lauderdale (Cardinal Gibbons) has selected local school Florida International for his college home. The offensive lineman played for one of the state of Florida’s best programs.

Staying home. #commited @CoachMikeMac @Redskins32 pic.twitter.com/YJHu5Y1CF3
— John Bock II (@JohnBockII) December 13, 2021

**Up in the Panhandle of Florida, Niceville High School safety Azareyeh Thomas was once a Florida lean, but with the new coaching staff in Gainesville that could be over with. Florida State has been after Thomas hard and there’s intel from that neck of the woods that believes Thomas will stay close to home and picks the Seminoles.

Florida State Head Coach Mike Norvell brought his staff for an in-home visit recently, and that impacted not only Thomas, but his mother as well. Let’s see how things play out, but the Seminoles are the likely leader in the clubhouse. He will sign on Wednesday.

**A former Florida commitment is also hard to gauge. Defensive back/wide receiver Jamarrien Burt from Ocala (Forest) quickly decommitted from Florida after Dan Mullen was let go in Gainesville. He is a really talented athlete and could sign with several schools, but it appears that two schools are most likely.

Miami hired new Head Coach Mario Cristobal and he’s certainly going after top prospects across the country and inside the Sunshine State. He recently offered Burt a scholarship. With that stated, Burt did visit Florida this past weekend. Perhaps Burt’s heart is in Gainesville with the Gators after all.

**There are still plenty of other signing day decisions to be made in the state of Florida. Plus, there will be the inevitable flips on National Signing Day that nobody expected. That’s recruiting.

As it winds down, there are still prospects like redhot wide receiver recruit Camden Brown from Fort Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) that is still deciding, as well as offensive lineman Trent Ramsey from Tampa (Carrollwood Day School), that must make their decisions amongst many top Florida recruits.

Look for more National Signing Day coverage around the state of Florida on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, right here at Inside The Knights.

For UCF coverage and recruiting information go to: The Daily Knight podcast. For more college football, UCF and recruiting information, go to Twitter: @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation, as well as my YouTube Channel and Instagram page. Like and Subscribe!