Here are all of Florida football’s 2022 recruits, ranked

In the summer months, It’s easy to keep track of the recruiting trail. There’s not much else going on in Gator Nation during the off-season, so it’s only natural to look to the future. On the other hand, mid-season emotions make many things that felt important in June feel like minutia today.

The Gators are almost certainly not done recruiting from the class off 2022. It would be reasonable to expect as many as six more additions to this group as the team hasn’t yet hit it’s target number of players. The position groups likely to see another incoming player include the offensive line, tight ends, defensive backs, running backs, wide receivers and possibly even the defensive line.

Nonetheless, with the Alabama game — expected to be the biggest factor for this team in mid-season recruiting — in the rearview mirror, it’s a as good a time as any to revisit the batch of high schoolers who have committed to UF.

LB Shemar James

There’s no consensus among scouting services about who is the Gators’ top commit, but my eye is drawn to 4-star middle linebacker Shemar James. The Alabama native narrowed down his finalist teams to Florida and his hometown Crimson Tide, but the good guys pulled out the win and he’s destined for Gainesville.

Fast and agile, he is also a wide receiver for his high school team and projects to be lethal in coverage at the next level. Rivals wrote that James is “so quick-twitch, physical and aggressive that he could be an instant star for the Gators.”

Further reading: Analysis of Shemar James — “We needed this one!” (The Athletic)

CB Julian Humphrey

With excellent speed, ball-hawking tendencies, and a physical attitude on the perimeter, Humphrey has the building blocks to eventually be a number one cornerback on an SEC roster someday. As a press man cornerback, he is a good fit with the defensive scheme that Todd Grantham brings to the team.

However, with his speed and ability to make plays on the ball, Humphrey is a scheme versatile player who could survive a personal change in the coaching staff. He intends to be an early enrollee and has been active in soliciting the Gators to other recruits.

Further reading: Scouting Report: Gators DB Commit Julian Humphrey (Sports Illustrated)

WR Isaiah Bond

There is perhaps no better pairing for what Bond does well than the coaching and scheming that Florida’s staff can offer. He’s nearly a perfect Dan Mullen wide receiver — fast, strong at the catch point, and shifty enough to get some work inside early on in his career while the veterans take on outside responsibilities.

The only reason he’s not at the top of this list is his size. At an even 6-foot height, he’s not going to be longer than many of the cornerbacks he takes on. However, with wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales in his ear and the gift of blazing speed, it may not make a difference.

Further reading: Isaiah Bond Scouting Report (Swamp247)

DL Jamari Lyons

The most recent commit on this list is Lyons, who is the model of a modern defensive lineman. Projecting as a 3-tech, he has the skills to be giving SEC guards trouble sooner than later. He’s a disruptive, ball-hungry agitator at the line of scrimmage. The film he puts up against high school competition is like a man among boys as he bullies opposing big men and terrorizes quarterbacks.

He has a shot to be useful in his freshman year and a starter along the Gators line as early as his sophomore year. However, he needs to add weight before he will be able to find consistent success in trench play at the college level. Those Georgia, Kentucky, or Alabama offensive lines are no joke and he’s probably not up for the task physically yet.

Despite that, he’s a major breakout candidate and badly underrated by the national media. The 247Sports Composite ranking places him as the 352nd ranked player in the class, which is criminally low. Don’t be surprised to see him leap up the board during senior season reranks.

Further reading: 247Sports experts sound off on UF’s newest commitment Jamari Lyons (247Sports)

WR CJ Smith

Like Bond, Smith is a near-perfect prototype for what Mullen looks for in a wideout. They share a number of similarities; both have stunning straight-line speed, a bulldog mentality when bodied up, and it’s easy to imagine him as a part of the Gators’ downfield packages deployed last season.

He’s a little taller than Bond, which gives him an advantage in jump ball situations, but he looks the part of a track star on the football field. Route running is far from his strong suit and the Gators’ coaches will have a project on their hands when he gets to campus.

True, this is an aggressive ranking compared to national services view Smith, but I’m genuinely excited for what he could become after working with Gonzales.

Further reading: Coaching makes CJ Smith an ideal fit for the Gators (Gators Wire)

QB Nick Evers

Seemingly destined to be a fan favorite, Evers has bubbling charisma and has been constantly chipping away at other talented players in the 2022 recruiting class — particularly Evan Stewart, a 5 star wide receiver who he was once teammates with — to join him in the Swamp.

Evers is more than just a good teammate, though, he’s a talented quarterback who can send bullets flying downfield with clean footwork and reasonable accuracy. He’s not projected as a Zach Wilson-esque platform talent in college, but he can make a defender miss. The mystery is whether he’ll be able to adapt to an SEC environment that tends to be much more hostile than he’s experienced.

He won’t have all day to let every play develop like he does in high school and will need to incorporate more of the short game into his playstyle.

Further reading: Nick Evers’ Performance at Elite 11 Bodes Well for Florida Gators Recruiting (Sports Illustrated)

RB Terrance Gibbs

Gibbs is a do it all back who would almost certainly be more well regarded if it weren’t for an ACL injury that took him off the field for his junior season. He can be utilized as a weapon in both the running and passing game.

Not a hammer at the line of scrimmage, Gibbs is nonetheless a threat to get to the second level on any of his touches because he’s exquisitely patient and has an impressive ability to wade through scrums. That ability to shake loose the first line of defense is also useful in RPO scheming and can make him a reasonably safe check-down option.

The positional value of running backs has steadily decreased over the last decade or so, but in a Mullen offense, Gibbs could be molded into a productive player.

Further reading: RB Terrence Gibbs breaks down commitment to Florida Gators

OL Tony Livingston

Livingston is a tough sell for me on paper, so this placement is a reflection of the fact that I’m relying on those who have seen him live. Both the Rivals and 247Sports scouting services have him listed as a 4-star prospect. As a tight end in high school, the Gators recruited him as an offensive tackle, a position where he’s never taken a snap.

The requisite physical tools are in place for him to make a transition to the trenches. Livingston is a massive person who moves pretty well for his size, but Florida will be looking to add weight to his frame before they toss him out against SEC edge rushers. One would imagine the biggest difficulty for this transition will be learning the technique to be a suitable blocker when he doesn’t have an obvious trump card against either speed or power rushers as he is now.

Further reading: Versatile four-star Florida commit enjoys visit to Gainesville

LB EJ Lightsey

Pulling commitments from Shemar James and Lightsey, the Gators have secured an exciting linebacker duo for the 2022 recruiting class. Being fast enough to gobble space quickly and possessing the ability to move smoothly between the sidelines and downhill, Lightsey features similar athletic traits as his counterpart.

He’s going to be useful on run defense right out of the box, but he needs to add strength to be an effective pass rusher and his technique in pass coverage could use refinement. If those things click, he will be circled in ink as a breakout candidate.

Further reading: LB EJ Lightsey locked in with the Gators, sets another visit to Gainesville (Rivals)

EDGE Francois Nolton

Committing to Florida early and shutting down his recruiting immediately afterward led Nolton to be one of the Gators’ least talked about recruits in this middle tier. He’s going to be the fun kind of project player for the coaching staff when he reaches campus.

As a pass rush specialist, he has been able to succeed at getting to the quarterback and inflicting damage on the merit of his technique rather than brutalizing the opposing line. He’s quite small for a lineman and will need to add a lot of good weight when he reaches the SEC level.

If he is able to do that without losing his edge (pardon the unintended pun) he could explode onto the college scene. However, as he is now, he is virtually unplayable against much larger collegiate tackles and it’s going to be a while before we see him sporting orange and blue.

Further reading:4-star DE Nolton excited to be a Gators commit (247Sports)

DB Jamarrien Burt

A legitimate prospect on both sides of the ball, Burt pulled in SEC offers as both a defensive back and wide receiver. Florida intends to deploy him on the defensive side of the ball, but exactly what role he will take on is not yet clear.

He plays hard and loves to try new things on the field, which probably appealed to Todd Grantham’s staff. There are rumors that he clocked very impressive speeds in private workouts for the Gators, but that doesn’t exactly show up on tape. What does show up on tape, though, is a nasty streak that will serve him well in the physical defensive scheme Grantham has long tried to establish.

His biggest area for improvement is making clean tackles. He tends to throw himself at the ball carrier rather than neatly wrapping him up.

Further reading: Scouting the film on 3-star ATH Jamarrien Burt (Gators Wire)

OT David Conner

It’s hard not to fall in love with Conner’s physical traits. Not only does he have unusually long arms to outreach edge rushers, he also has tons of power in his hands and upper body. Even better, he can move relatively freely for someone with a 6-foot-6-inch body. That combination of traits bodes well for his ability to get into pass sets and open up gaps in run blocking.

Despite all that, there’s very little out there on him, and the internet’s near-silence speaks volumes. His weight distribution is not ideal for an offensive lineman and he needs to add lower body strength. Furthermore, as pointed out by the scouting report linked below, his technique is simply bad. It’s not just inexperience, he’ll have to unlearn bad habits before he can be playable in the SEC.

Further reading: Scouting Report: Gators OL Commit David Conner

K Trey Smack

Lest Gators fans forget a competent kicker is a necessary, if unglamorous, part of a winning squad, the outcomes of the Alabama and Kentucky games put that fact into stark reality. In Smack, the team has a big boot that could feasibly take over kicking duties in his freshman season.

I’m hardly an expert on special teams play, but Kohl’s Kicking Camp, one of the premier outlets for special teams scouting info, gave him an excellent review after watching him play in both 2020 and 2021. Just look at the clip below and tell me you’re not nodding along as he kicks a 60-yard field goal like a chip shot. Admittedly, it’s not an in-game environment, but that’s still darn impressive.

Further reading: Gators have ‘heck of a kicker’ in Trey Smack, says mentor and former All-Pro Matt Stover (The Athletic)

G Jalen Farmer

Farmer has some good traits: he’s surprisingly mobile for an interior lineman and has the attitude you like to see out of your big men in the trenches. However, there are a lot of problems here, too. His lower half is disproportionately small, especially if the Gators intend to keep him on the interior.

It’s difficult to anchor against bull rushes and nose tackles without the bulky lower half that Farmer lacks. He’s not explosive off the line of scrimmage despite having lateral quickness, which is somewhat disappointing. Most concerning is his tendency to drift high with his hands at the point of attack. Things change, but I’m not sure I can see a regular role in his future.

Further reading: Scouting the film on Gators 3-star commit G Jalen Farmer (Gators Wire)

Final Thoughts

There’s a lot to love about this Gators recruiting class. Adding big-time talent and athleticism to the coverage unit is a huge win for this team that has struggled to defend the pass. They’ve also set themselves up with a number of players who could feasibly make a big jump once they grow into their man body and take the field carrying some real muscle. I also really love that Dan Mullen is continuing to put speedy jump-ball receivers on the Billy Gonzales production line. Why deviate from the plan we already know works?

There are also some obvious soft spots, and it may be too late to clean them up. With no big star in this group, Florida is pushing all the chips in on their development plan, which has a spotty track record if we’re honest. It’s also tough to believe that this is the best they can do along the offensive line and their recruiting at that position has drawn particular ire. This is an incomplete class, to be sure, but October is a bit late to be patching holes. There are still some quality recruits out there and we are also working on a review of the ones who are still in play for the Gators. Despite that, with these 15 players, you’re looking at the meat of this class. Frankly, I’m underwhelmed.

Let’s end on a positive note, shall we? One underrated aspect of this recruiting class is the fact that the Gators were able to beat out Alabama in the recruitment of both Isaiah Bond and Shemar James. It always feels good to get a recruiting win over the Crimson Tide, but these two instances feel especially meaningful. Too many times, Florida natives have opted to go red and white despite being a recruiting target of Dan mullen’s staff. With James, the Gators were able to give Nick Saban a dose of his own medicine, swiping a high-end recruitment in his backyard. Bond was intriguing enough that the Tide tried to flip him, with Coach Saban even taking him on a personal car ride. Nonetheless, both are destined to be Gators. Suck it, ‘Bama.

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