Beginning this series, OL may be the most difficult to get a grasp of who may/will eventually ink with UF. The 2 OL coaches experiment seems to be going well. UF will get credit for a 1st round NFL OG, picked up arguably the best OG in the portal. In addition the staff has spoken highly of (believe it or not) having some guys running 2nd string they feel very good about. Size is certainly not a problem with the current players as has been talked about many times. It is apparent that CBN likes his OL tall and fairly heavy. Throw in the portal and if I had to guess today, I think 4 HS OL would be the target. The OL offers have included several OOS guys. Here is a very early guess of who I believe UF has a shot to sign for 24. Fletcher Westphal: Fletcher visited last week to watch practice. He has spoken highly of UF and likes the idea of 2 coaches. If I had a mock he would be in it. BTW, Fletcher came down from Virginia to visit. Marcus Mascall: The big guy from Atlanta will visit UF this month and the staff will push for him. Jordan Seaton: the consensus top interior OL this year, Seaton has a visit to UF, fsu, um and Colorado. We will know more after those visits. Eddy Pierre Louis: Big and powerful, UF will try and get Louis to campus early and often. Big Eddy is from Tampa. Ethan Calloway: Will be a hard pull from NC. Jonathan Daniels: from Pensacola Pine Forest. Not sure where he is in the pecking order but one of just a few OL from Florida that are on the board right now. Daniel Calhoun: out of Roswell Ga. Getting a visit will be key. Jake Guarnera: out of Ponte Vedra Kam Pringle: I put him in although most project him to SC. This is not an all encompassing list but some names to watch going forward.
Thanks for all of the info, Candy. Always an enjoyable read. Question, what is the philosophy behind going after lineman with this size, i.e. really tall? While I can see how possibly physically dominating they may be, is there a downside with respect to agility?
Depends on the recruit really. Footwork is certainly important also. Explosiveness, etc. It is why many say the hardest position to grade.
The philosophy is sound depending on what is emphasized in your offense because IF all things were equal, you choose the taller player who will normally have a longer wingspan. The increase in wingspan means winning the punch ,winning grabbing jersey, winning steering the edge away from the qb, reaching the edge when he fakes with misdirection. Just a couple inches extra could mean a few plays per year that are not blown up on offense and a lot more plays that are cleaner in the pocket. We will need a much cleaner pocket for Mertz this year.
This is one area where the emphasis on in-state recruiting goes out the window. There’s never enough OL talent in Florida high schools.
Out of this list who are your favorites, the best in your opinion. And who do you think are the OL that we are most likely to land... Two very different lists, I am sure.
Off the list, I like Pringle, Mascall, Louis, Seaton. Get two of those 4, add in Westphal and anyone else and i'm good
Gua Guarnera already been to Michigan twice so that’s one to watch. With Guarnera, Louis, and Daniels we’ve got really good prospects in the Footprint. That being said I see Daniels going to FSU. Get Guarnera and Louis and off to a great start.
I saw we recently offered Ellis Mcadoo I think out of CT. No real info out on him. Maybe someone the staff discovered.
By the looks of his twitter I am assuming St. Thomas More is like his prep school, and he has re-classified from '23 to '24, not '25 to '24. His follows of former teammates are in IL, which matches up with hudl for him from Oak Park, IL that has him as a '23. Maybe grades were a bigger issue than talent or something else was going on. His profile is strange that it shows interest from a few P5 and only our offer and a Kansas offer. Kind of peculiar, but I am assuming he is not an unknown.
Pringle and Westphal are the only two that I read much at all about. I need to check-out the others on that list.
I love where this staff is going with the O line. To hell with stars, give me height, length and weight. Load the line with O’Cyrus sized guys and let’s coach ‘em up! OL has always been known as the hardest unit to evaluate. But, height equals leverage and if that’s our modus operandi going forward, I think it’s a brilliant philosophy. Go Gators!
