How Xavier Filsaime's de-commitment impacts Florida football's 2024 Class
Florida football suffered a blow to its 2024 recruiting class when five-star safety commitment Xavier Filsaime announced his decision to flip to Texas on Monday.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Filsaime, a McKinney (Texas) High standout and the consensus second-rated safety in the 2024 class, visited Texas over the weekend. He intimated that the decision by the Florida Gators to fire secondary coach Corey Raymond factored into his decision. Raymond was replaced last week by new UF secondary coach Will Harris.
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"Coach Raymond was fired and they brought in coach Will Harris," Filsaime told 247Sports.com. "I made the decision before I met Will Harris and while I had some second thoughts I wanted to stick to my word with Texas. I don't know the future that Florida is going to have.
"Texas has the advantage with a lot of things outside of football alone. I chose Texas because of the development. It's really close to home and I know I'm going to be surrounded by guys who want to win. That's no shot to Florida, but I know I'll have that at Texas. They are going to get all of the top guys in Texas. Kids in Texas want to go play for UT, and that's why I chose them."
Here's a look at how Filsaime's decision impacts Florida:
It drops UF football's recruiting class out of the top five
In losing one of the three five stars in the 2024 class, UF's team ranking dropped from 5th to 10th nationally, per 247Sports composite. Florida began the 2023 season in September with the No. 3 recruiting class nationally per 247Sports before stumbling to a 5-7 record. The remaining five-stars in UF's 2024 class are quarterback D.J. Lagway (fourth nationally) and defensive end L.J. McCray (sixth nationally). Florida could ill-afford to lose one of those two to another school before Wednesday.
It leaves UF football's 2024 class thinner in the secondary
The departure of Filsaime leaves just three commitments in the secondary for the 2023 class — three-star safety Josiah Davis (Berrien HS, Nashville, Ga.), three-star cornerback Teddy Foster (Cardinal Newman HS, Sarasota) and recent transfer pickup Trikweze Bridges from Oregon.
It makes another SEC school's class stronger
Texas jumped to No. 5 in the 247Sports composite rankings after Filsaime's decision. With the Longhorns and Oklahoma joining the SEC in 2024, UF dropped from the third best class in the SEC behind Alabama and Georgia to the fifth-best class in the SEC behind Georgia (1), Alabama (4), Texas (5) and Oklahoma (7). There's a chance Filsaime could see the field as a true freshman for the Longhorns host Florida on Nov. 9.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida Gators safety commitment Xavier Filsaime flips to Texas
