Social media reactions to Florida building a top-10 recruiting class
This was the wrong weekend to go on vacation if you’re a fan of the Florida Gators. Billy Napier and his army of a recruiting staff put together another huge weekend and landed commitments from a quartet of four-star recruits.
Three of those commits come from the class of 2023 and have propelled UF into the top 10, according to both 247Sports’ team rankings and On3’s. Defensive linemen Kelby Collins and Will Norman made their announcements on Saturday, and defensive lineman Kamran James joined the class on Sunday. Linebacker Myles Graham, a legacy commitment in the class of 2024, made his decision shortly after James announced.
It all happened pretty quickly and the excitement from Gator fans, coaches and players was hard to contain. Fortunately, we live in the age of social media where dishing out reactions to the masses is but a click away. Here are some of the best social media reactions to a very busy weekend from the Orange and Blue.
4-star DL Kelby Collins
Let’s goooooo pic.twitter.com/MOCW3eeBmK
— Kelby Collins (@kelby_collins) August 13, 2022
Kelby Collins started the day off with a surprising commitment to Florida over Alabama and Georgia. Collins is an Alabama kid that the Tide wanted, so beating Saban is a nice feather in the cap of Billy Napier during his first full year recruiting in the SEC.
Technical difficulties slowed things down, but social media captured the moment.
BREAKING: 2023 4⭐️ DL Kelby Collins commits to #Florida over Alabama and others. Here’s the moment where Collins made his commitment. pic.twitter.com/jizLFqnAqp
— Alex Boothe (@AlexBootheTV) August 13, 2022
Naturally, Napier threw up the signal.
😎
— COACH BILLY NAPIER (@coach_bnapier) August 13, 2022
Assistant AD of Recruiting Strategy Katie Turner and Director of On-Campus Recruiting Bri Wade celebrated the newest addition.
GREAT DAY TO HAVE A GREAT FREAKING DAY!!!!!! Go Gators!!!! #D23AMTEAM
— Katie Turner (@katieturner0087) August 13, 2022
Happy Saturday! #D23AMTEAM | #GoGators 🐊 pic.twitter.com/EbAHgHynlz
— Bri Wade (@briazjawade) August 13, 2022
And some of the other commits previewed the news to come.
Y’all aren’t ready for our class 😎 https://t.co/X6stUCMpbk
— Aidan “Early” Mizell (@AidanMizell) August 13, 2022
Chess Not Checkers ♟, It’s About The Right Pieces 💯🐊
— Treyaun Webb (@w_treyaun) August 13, 2022
4-star DL Will Norman
Will Norman made his announcement later on in the evening and became the second blue-chip defensive lineman of the day to join the class.
My Home Away From Home… 1000% COMMITTED! pic.twitter.com/jM0laAp7E8
— WILL NORMAN (@WThrill3) August 14, 2022
Defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator Sean “Chaos” Spencer was pumped about the back-to-back additions to his position room.
😤😤🐊
— Sean Spencer (@SpenceChaos) August 14, 2022
Here we go again… @SpenceChaos said it’s game time! #D23AMTEAM #GoGators pic.twitter.com/avTxvEtDkU
— Joshua Thompson (@JThompsonFB) August 14, 2022
It wouldn’t be a UF commitment without the sunglasses.
😎😎
— COACH BILLY NAPIER (@coach_bnapier) August 14, 2022
Turner and Wade also chimed in once again.
It just keeps getting better! 🔥
#D23AMTEAM 🐊 pic.twitter.com/KxVuUOXIik— Bri Wade (@briazjawade) August 14, 2022
Like I said, GREAT DAY TO HAVE A GREAT FREAKING DAY!!! #GoGators 🐊🐊🐊🐊
— Katie Turner (@katieturner0087) August 14, 2022
Norman’s teammate and fellow UF commit [autotag]Knijeah Harris[/autotag] welcomed him to the class. Napier has now brought in three IMG Academy recruits after a decade-long drought.
IMGATORS
— Knijeah Harris⁷⁷ (@knijeah) August 14, 2022
The Gators currently have two commits out of IMG Academy, four-star OL Knijeah Harris and four-star DL Will Norman. Providing they sign with the Gators, it would mark the first time Florida has signed multiple IMG prospects since IMG first fielded a football team in 2013.
— Jacob Rudner (@JacobRudner) August 14, 2022
Once again, Treyaun Webb teased the news to come.
Forgot to mention that 3 is my favorite number 😎
— Treyaun Webb (@w_treyaun) August 14, 2022
4-star DL Kamran James
The Gators continued a huge weekend in defensive line recruiting with the commitment of Kamran James, UF’s sixth four-star commit on the defensive line counting edge rusher [autotag]Isaiah Nixon[/autotag].
4-star DL Kamran James commits to #UF pic.twitter.com/CjyclAAiCq
— Blake Alderman (@Blake_Alderman) August 14, 2022
😤😤🐊 let’s gooooooo!!
— Sean Spencer (@SpenceChaos) August 14, 2022
You can trust that another sunglasses emoji from Billy Napier hit the Twitter timeline shortly after the announcement. Frankly, that gimmick seemed lame when it started, but there’s a smugness to it that I now love. It’s as if Napier is smiling at all the folks who called him “three-star Billy” coming into the season. 18 of UF’s 20 commitments in the class of 2023 are rated four stars by 247Sports.
😎
— COACH BILLY NAPIER (@coach_bnapier) August 14, 2022
Gators from the past and future chimed in on the trio of D-line commitments over the weekend.
Things looking real scary in the Ville‼️🐊🐊🔥🔥
— Zach Carter (@_Zachattacks) August 14, 2022
We not playing no games 🐊🐊
— Jordan Castell (@Jordan_castell) August 14, 2022
Got em😁 pic.twitter.com/p7ncUwHoqd
— Kelby Collins (@kelby_collins) August 14, 2022
Might retire from football and become a recruiter 😂😂 #GoGators
— Aidan “Early” Mizell (@AidanMizell) August 14, 2022
And…. it had to be said but we’ll let someone else say it for us:
Kirby got stuffed 2x by Billy in 2 days? Hmmm
— JB ➐ (@CajunCowboi) August 14, 2022
But the Gators weren’t done yet.
4-star LB Myles Graham
GO GATORS🐊 pic.twitter.com/hQMiQnR9xa
— Myles Graham (@MylesGraham2_) August 14, 2022
Myles Graham pushed up his commitment and became the first to join the Gators’ class of 2024 on Sunday. He was long considered a Florida lean because of his legacy status at the university. His father, Earnest Graham, played running back for the Gators before heading to the NFL.
Any words would fall short of how proud we are of our children in choosing their own paths and valuing continuity and furthering a legacy in Gainesville. My daughter Aiyana is a sophomore at UF and now Myles chooses to be a gator. Congrats son!!! Weare immensely proud! 🧡💙🐊 https://t.co/eM4Q0UjwJT
— Earnest Graham (@EarnestGraham) August 14, 2022
With 20 recruits already committed in the class of 2023, the focus is shifting to the class of 2024.
..And the 2024 Class is officially in motion 🛫. It’s only right that we start it off this way. #Legendary #UFuture | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/P0z7B04f2p
— Joe Hamilton (@JoeHamilton__) August 14, 2022
2024 class loading…. ⏳ #GoGators 🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊
— Katie Turner (@katieturner0087) August 14, 2022
Graham says he’s out to help the recruiting staff put together the best group of recruits they can find, and a top-five class feels realistic after what Billy Napier and Co. have done in year one at Florida.
That’s it for now, but stay on your toes because this recruiting staff is ready to strike at any moment.
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