Florida Gators top target has set a commitment date, and they face an uphill battle with a bitter rival
Jon Sumrall’s recruiting prowess has been excellent over the last two weeks, but he faces an uphill battle against Georgia.
The Florida Gators have been really good with recruiting over the last month.
Head coach Jon Sumrall has done a great job of changing the vibes around the program. They were at a low point last year with Billy Napier’s team failing to make a bowl game, finishing with a 4-8 record for the third time in the last 15 years.
With the vibes improving, recruiting has spiked with 10 commitments, including five-star offensive lineman Maxwell Hiller, the first since Martez Ivey in 2015. They are still working hard to land a talented running back, but it’s an uphill battle.
Florida Gators looking to secure RB commit from Georgia Bulldogs
While the Gators have seven commitments on offense, none of them are at the running back position. They will know if that changes on Friday, May 8th when four-star Andrew Beard announces his commitment. He will be choosing between the Gators, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, and Tennessee Volunteers.
Of the four schools, the Bulldogs are in first with 31.7% on the Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine, and the Gators are fourth at 8.1%. They have an uphill battle to land Beard for multiple reasons, but the biggest is that his uncle played for the Bulldogs. He’s visited them a whopping 12 times being just 12 miles away, while the Gators have hosted him three times, the latest being April 4th.
The 165th-ranked recruit and No. 9 running back, Beard was initially going to wait until after his four official visits to announce his commitment, including one on June 4th with the Gators, but decided to move up his commitment date.
If the Gators can land him, it would be a coup, and bolster a running back room that needs youth in it. Jadan Baugh is the guy in the room, and they have Evan Pryor to spell him, but the cupboard isn’t full behind them.
May 8th will be a key date for the Gators, and the hope is they can steal him away from Georgia.