Florida adds commit from top 2018 K Evan McPherson

By Adam Silverstein
December 11, 2017
Florida adds commit from top 2018 K Evan McPherson
Football

Image Credit: Evan McPherson on Twitter

Life after Eddy Pineiro will begin at some point, and the Florida Gators are now prepared for that eventuality.

Florida received a verbal commitment Sunday from 2018 kicker Evan McPherson (Fort Payne, AL), considered one of the nation’s top prospects at his position. McPherson, a former Mississippi State pledge, flipped to UF by posting a message to his Twitter account.

“After visiting the University of Florida and already having a great relationship with Coach [Dan] Mullen and the staff, I feel that this program would be the best fit for me,” he wrote. “I am extremely excited and blessed to say that I have committed to the University of Florida!! #gogators”

McPherson is ranked as the No. 1 kicker (and No. 5 punter) in the nation by Kohl’s, widely considered an industry leader at evaluating the position. He is also No. 2 overall in the 247Sports Composite. Here’s a look at what Kohl’s had to say about McPherson.

McPherson was dominant at his last five Kohl’s ranking camps with the latest being the 2017 National Scholarship Camp. No one in the country has made more FG during that span than McPherson. … His confidence in his ability to hit clean field goals is impressive. His ball striking is repeatable, it explodes off his foot and his ability to call on his “A” ball is D1 ready right now. He has one of the premier kickoff legs in the 2018 class. … He is currently ahead of the entire 2018 field in his ability to lock in and hit the same ball rep after rep. He is a high level punter, but his greatest strength is as the nation’s best FG kicker. McPherson has continued to prove throughout his career that he can make field goals. He has been the most highly sought after recruit in the 2018 class.

Mullen obviously made adding McPherson (6-foot, 165 pounds) a priority as he was one of the first new offers put out by Mullen and the second commitment the Gators have added since he’s taken over the program. Three-star offensive lineman Chris Bleich (Plymouth, PA) was the first.

Whether McPherson will be kicking for UF in 2018 remains to be seen. Pineiro, a redshirt junior, could declare for the NFL Draft with a year of eligibility remaining, or he could come back for one additional season.

Florida’s class has been upended since Mullen’s arrival as he has jettisoned some commitments and seen a couple others rescind their pledges. The Gators now sit at No. 16 nationally and sixth in the SEC with plenty of time to go until the early signing period and National Signing Day in February.

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