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Florida commits in action during Week 2 of high school football

Week one of college football was plenty exciting, but there was still high school football action as well, and Florida’s commits put up some highlights.

Two players were on a bye, four-star receiver Eugene Wilson III and four-star defensive lineman Will Norman. The latter has had an interesting high school journey that took another turn over the weekend.

A good chunk of the class was in attendance for Florida’s upset win over the Utah Utes on Saturday as well. Seeing the Swamp over capacity and experiencing Billy Napier’s first game day as the head coach of the Gators sat well with them.

Here’s a look at what Florida’s recruiting class of 2023 did over the weekend.

4-star QB Marcus Stokes - Nease (Ponte Verde)

[autotag]Marcus Stokes[/autotag] threw for 309 passing yards and totaled three touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) against Creekside, but the Panthers fell, 62-41, on Friday. He ran for 59 more yards but threw two interceptions before leaving the game early with a cramp, according to News4Jax.

4-star RB Tryaun Webb - Trinity Christian (Jacksonville)

[autotag]Treyaun Webb[/autotag] led Trinity Christian to its second victory in as many weeks and broke the 100-yard threshold once again. The Florida Times-Union has Webb at 105 yards and two touchdowns, but MaxPreps has him with 110 yards. We’ll go with the higher number, raising his season totals to 301 yards and five touchdowns.

4-star WR Aidan Mizell - Boone (Orlando)

[autotag]Aidan Mizell[/autotag], Florida’s top-ranked offensive commit, didn’t play after leaving last week’s game early. Boone still beat Evans, but we’ve seen little from Mizell as he wisely prioritizes his health.

He did chime on Florida’s big win over No. 7 Utah, though.

4-star WR Andy Jean - Northwestern (Miami)

[autotag]Andy Jean[/autotag]’s stats are hard to find, but his highlight reel from Northwestern’s 44-0 win over rival Jackson in the Soul Bowl is up on Hudl (watch here). The Miami Herald noted his 34-yard grab in the Bulls’ third drive of the game, which is likely the first clip in this reel. He brought in at least two more catches, one for 15-20 yards with plenty of YAC and another for a short gain. He also made a tackle on special teams.

4-star WR Creed Whittemore - Buchholz (Gainesville)

[autotag]Creed Whittemore[/autotag] threw for four touchdowns in Buchholz’s 45-6 beat down of Riverview Sarasota, according to the Gainesville Sun. Things didn’t go as smoothly as last week, but Riverview does feature a five-star from the class of 2024, [autotag]Charles Lester III[/autotag], who was in attendance for Florida’s season opener along with Whittemore.

3-star WR Tyree Patterson - Eustis (Florida)

[autotag]Tyree Patterson[/autotag] had a 100-yard game in Eustis’ week one loss to Harmony, but the Panthers were shut out in week two so the numbers were down. We know he had at least one catch near the end of the first half. Next week’s opponent, Tavares, surrendered 51 points in week one and was on a bye this week. Eustis and Patterson could see their first win of the season soon.

3-star OT Bryce Lovett - Rockledge (Florida)

The Rockledge offense continued to roll in week two as the Raiders cruised to a 45-7 win over the Doral Academy Firebirds. Offensive tackles don’t always get their due, but the Raiders don’t make nearly as many big plays without a sturdy offensive line. [autotag]Bryce Lovett[/autotag] anchors that line and has his team off to a strong 2-0 start.

4-star IOL Knijeah Harris - IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)

[autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] was in action Saturday for IMG Academy. He helped the team to a 50-6 victory over De Smet Jesuit on the road in Missouri and then watched the Gators game from the hotel. IMG’s passing attack looked dangerous, but the ground game looked good too.

4-star DL Kelby Collins - Gardendale (Alabama)

[autotag]Kelby Collins[/autotag] had at least one tackle for loss in Gardendale’s 63-21 blowout of Mortimer Jordan, another Alabama high school. The Rockets are now 2-1 on the season, and Collins is one of the team leaders. They are on bye next week.

DL Will Norman - Eastside (New Jersey)

Norman started his high school career at Philadelphia Roman Catholic playing basketball but quickly made plans to transfer to Woodrow Wilson in New Jersey for football. Before he could even enroll there, Norman opted to go to Woodbury, another New Jersey school. He then transferred to IMG Academy for his junior year, and was set to play at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore for his senior season.

247Sports now says he’ll be playing for Eastside in the Garden State to finish out high school. He visited Syracuse for the season opener, but that shouldn’t worry Gators fans.

It’s unclear if he played in the Tigers’ season-opening loss, but the defense could use him as they fell 48-14.

4-star DL TJ Searcy - Upson Lee (Thomaston, Georgia)

The Upson-Lee Knights lost 56-33 against Worth County on Friday night. Searcy’s. The Knights have yet to enter their stats for the game, but Worth County rushed for 153 yards on 29 carries (5.3 average) against a defense that featured Gators commit [autotag]TJ Searcy[/auto tag].

Upson-Lee is now 0-3 on the year. Searcy did not play in week one.

4-star DL Kamran James - Olympia (Orlando)

[autotag]Kamran James[/autotag] helped Olympia’s defense hold Oak Ridge to just seven points in a 34-point blowout victory. After falling to Wekiva in week one on the road, Olympia and James will look for their first away win next week at Lake Nona (1-1).

4-star DL Gavin Hill - Buchholz (Gainesville)

[autotag]Gavin Hill[/autotag] was also in action for Buchholz. He put up three tackles in the win and correctly predicted a Gators win over Utah. He’s locked in with Florida and attempting to get things in place for early enrollment.

4-star EDGE Isaiah Nixon - Lakewood (St. Petersburg)

[autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag] and the Lakewood Spartans fell at home against Palm Beach Central on Friday, 27-7. Defensive stats aren’t posted for the game unlike last week, but Nixon enjoyed himself at the Swamp on Saturday.

4-star LB Jaden Robinson - Columbia (Lake City)

[autotag]Jaden Robinson[/autotag] and the Columbia Tigers fell to 0-2 on the season with a 31-27 loss to Union County. The defense forced seven sacks, three fumbles and an interception, but it’s unclear what Robinson’s contribution was.

4-star CB Ja'Keem Jackson - Osceola (Kissimmee)

[autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] had a tough night against Seminole’s Michael Key, an unrated junior who brought in 10 receptions for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Osceola still came away with the victory by a point, though.

4-star CB Sharif Denson - Bartram Trail (St. John's, Florida)

[autotag]Sharif Denson[/autotag] had two solo tackles in Bartram Trail’s 38-27 win over Seabreeze. In the video above, Denson (No. 7 in white) is man press coverage as Seabreeze attempts a two-point conversion. Not much action on his side, but that’s a good sign in an important moment.

4-star ATH Aaron Gates - Trinity Christian (Sharpsburg, Georgia)

[autotag]Aaron Gates[/autotag] had six receptions for 68 yards against Mary Persons in Trinity Christian’s 31-20 victory on Friday. He added 16 rushing yards to his total on one carry and had a 29-yard punt return. He also recorded three tackles on defense.

4-star S Jordan Castell - West Orange (Winter Garden, Florida)

[autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] collected five tackles (four solo) on Friday during the West Orange Warriors’ 13-6 victory over Apopka. He was also in on two punt returns but he fair caught one and let the other go for a touchback.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire