P Johnny Townsend: commit No. 30 | OL/TE Trevon Young: commit No. 29 | JUCO DT Jarran Reed: commit No. 28 | DT Jay-nard Bostwick: commit No. 27 | Muschamp discusses class; assistants evaluate signees | Video interviews with coaches | “Closing”, quarterback situation

Courtesy of the University of Florida‘s University Athletic Association:

EARLY ENROLLEES (8)

Alex Anzalone • Linebacker
6’3″ • 220 • Wyomissing, PA (Wyomissing Area)
PRIOR TO FLORIDA: Helped Wyomissing High to its first Class AA state championship in 2012, finishing 16-0, a school single-season record for wins…Selected to the 2013 Under Armour All-American Game…Finished his senior year with over 1,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns from the fullback position and registered more than 100 tackles…Earned a spot on the 247Sports Class of 2013 All-America team…Named senior Class AA Player of the Year as part of the 2012 Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State Team…As a junior, was named first team all-state, all-region and all-county…In 2011, ran for over 900 yards and scored 13 touchdowns and was named to the all-state team…Invited to “The Opening”, an all-star summer prospect camp held on the Nike Campus…Chose Florida over Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, UCLA, Miami, Tennessee, Pitt, Stanford, Georgia and Florida State…Coached by Bob Wolfrum.

Darious Cummings • Defensive tackle
6’1″ • 310 • Titusville, FL (Astronaut/Florida St./East Mississippi CC)
PRIOR TO FLORIDA: Played in all 10 games during the 2012 season at EMCC, tallying 26 tackles (12 unassisted) with 4.0 TFL (12 yards), 3.0 sacks, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble…EMCC finished 8-2 on the year and ranked 15th in the final NJCAA poll…Anchored a defense that allowed just 74.2 rushing yards per game…Notched a season-high four tackles twice during the season, against Pearl River CC and Itawamba CC…Played under head coach Buddy Stephens at EMCC…Spent two years at Florida State before transferring to EMCC…Played in three games as a true freshman and two games as a sophomore before suffering an injury that caused him to miss most of the 2011 season…Totaled seven tackles in five career games at FSU…Missed the spring of 2012 at FSU after arthroscopic knee surgery and then transferred to EMCC in the summer of 2012…Entered his senior year of high school with 159 tackles, including 22 for loss and 15 sacks…Was the first commit in FSU’s 2010 signing class…Was a Florida Super 75 selection by the Times-Union…Named to SunStateFootball.com all-state first team in 2009…Attended the same high school as former Gator football players LB Wilber Marshall, WR Cris Collinsworth and TE Aaron Walker…Chose Florida over offers from Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Arkansas.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2013 National Signing Day bios

Tags: Adam Lane, Ahmad Fulwood, Alex Anzalone, Alvin Bailey, Antonio Riles, Caleb Brantley, Cameron Dillard, Chris Thompson, Daniel McMillian, Darious Cummings, Demarcus Robinson, Jarrad Davis, Jarran Reed, Jay-nard Bostwick, Joey Ivie, Jordan Sherit, Keanu Neal, Kelvin Taylor, Marcell Harris, Marqui Hawkins, Matt Rolin, Max Staver, Nick Washington, Octavius Jackson, Roderick Johnson, Trenton Brown, Tyler Moore, Vernon Hargreaves

1 » Three-star Florida Gators offensive lineman commit Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) updated the avatar on his Twitter account recently with the picture below (left), which appears to who a modified version of the football uniform with thicker numbers in a different font. As can be seen by the comparison picture next to it (right), the different font is significantly thicker and the design appears adjusted so that there is a thinner outline in both blue and orange around the numbers. To each their own as far as design tastes go, but this number change looks to go along with Florida’s total transition to a new font for the entire sports program. Uniform changes across college football are mostly headed in a modern and streamlined direction; UF looks to be going for the opposite if this big block style has indeed been adopted for the uniforms, too.

UPDATE – Jan. 29: OGGOA has confirmed with a source close to the program and an incoming player that these are indeed the new uniforms for 2013 and are being shown to recruits and players as what they will be wearing next season. The jersey, which appear to feature a sweatbox under the numbers similar to what is used on NFL jerseys, is also made of a lighter more breathable material that Nike uses in its shoes. There are no changes being made to the pants or helmet at this time.

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Tags: Billy Horschel, Camilo Villegas, Case Harrison, Chris Doering, Draft, golf, NFL, PGA, Roderick Johnson, Sharrif Floyd, uniforms

1 » Will quarterback Jacoby Brissett be spending his junior season with the Florida Gators? That is one of many unanswered questions lingering in the wake of Florida’s 33-23 loss to Louisville in the 2013 Sugar Bowl on Tuesday. Brissett addressed his future after the game when questioned by the Palm Beach Post. “I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “It depends on how I feel when I get back to Gainesville and have a talk with Coach [Will] Muschamp. You grow relationships for two years with some of these people you’re around every day, and it’s hard to leave them. It depends on how I feel.” With sophomore Jeff Driskel entranced as the Gators’ starter, Brissett would likely be returning in a back-up role. He has yet to use a redshirt season and Driskel is an unlikely candidate to leave as a junior meaning Brissett, should he stay, would run the risk of either never being a full-time starter or doing so for just one year elsewhere if he transferred following the 2013 season. Dwyer High School head coach Jack Daniels said last week that he has suggested that Brissett leave even though he thinks he will stay for at least one more year.

2 » The Post also caught up with Florida sophomore running back Chris Johnson after the game and asked him how he felt about being ejected from the game after he threw a punch following the team’s onside kick attempt to start the second half. “Bad discipline on my part, but you learn from your mistakes and move on,” he said. “It was frustration. The guy was riding me a little bit. If I could do it differently, I’d walk away from it. It sucks. In my mind, I feel like I cost us the Sugar Bowl.” Johnson’s personal foul was one of two on the play, and the Cardinals started at the Gators’ 19-yard line as a result. One play later, Louisville took a 30-10 lead and all but put the game away.

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Tags: Ahmad Fulwood, Alvin Bailey, Army All-American Bowl, Caleb Brantley, Chris Johnson, Daniel McMillian, Demarcus Robinson, Demarcus Walker, Elijah Daniel, Jacoby Brissett, Jordan Sherit, Keanu Neal, Kelvin Taylor, Marcell Harris, Matt Rolin, Nick Washington, Roderick Johnson, Under Armour All-American Game, Vernon Hargreaves, Will Muschamp

The Florida Gators’ 2013 recruiting class has lost yet another prominent member as four-star defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (Crescent City, FL) publicly announced his decommitment from the program on Wednesday.

Brantley officially became the second member of Florida’s 2013 class on Jan. 28, 2012 when he originally committed to join the program. He has considered decommitting in the past but ultimately decided to remain pledged to the Gators.

He obviously had a change of this week while in St. Petersburg, FL for the 2013 Under Armour All-American Game.

“Just Decommitted from Florida by text message !” he wrote on Twitter. “It is what it is ! I aint even playing I decommitted ! ON GOD !”

Soon after Brantley’s announcement, Florida four-star defensive end commit Joey Ivie (Dade City, FL) reached out to him in an attempt to ease his concerns.

“Call me when you can. Don’t let BS screw up your future man,” he wrote. “Your a Gator, its your dream school like mine. Haters gonna hate.”

Brantley was the Gators’ only defensive tackle commitment for 2013 aside from four-star JUCO transfer Darious Cummings (Scooba, MS). He supposedly grew up a fan of the team as his entire family roots for Florida.

With redshirt senior Omar Hunter graduating and junior Sharrif Floyd likely leaving early for the 2013 NFL Draft, playing time in the middle of the defensive line is up for grabs next season.

Though Brantley has decommitted and said he plans to take visits, recruiting analysts such as Blake Alderman from InsidetheGators.com believe there is a high likelihood that he could recommit to the program within the next month.

Either way, he is the eighth former pledge to decommit from the Gators this recruiting cycle. Three-star offensive lineman Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) is the only one of those eight to recommit as of press time while Brantley and four-star wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (Fort Valley, GA) remain in limbo.

UF now has 24 total pledges including 23 that count as part of the 2013 class.

Tags: Caleb Brantley, Darious Cummings, Demarcus Robinson, Omar Hunter, Roderick Johnson, Sharrif Floyd, Under Armour All-American Game

The Florida Gators’ 2013 recruiting class is seemingly growing by the day with the team reportedly adding yet another prized commitment on Saturday from three-star linebacker Jarrad Davis (Kingsland, GA).

Jeff Herron, Davis’s head coach at Camden County High School, confirmed to 247 Sports (which first reported the pledge) that the player had decided to flip from Auburn to Florida after being extended an offer this week.

The Gators found a spot open in their recruiting class after four-star LB Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach, FL) decommitted on Monday. The coaching staff stopped by Davis’s house this week and gave him a scholarship offer shortly thereafter.

Florida has added five commitments and lost one since Dec. 9.

Three players – four-star LB Matt Rolin (Ashburn, VA) and three-star offensive linemen Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) and JUCO player Trenton Brown (Milledgeville, GA) – joined the team on Sunday.

Two days after Powell’s decommitment, on Wednesday, four-star wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (Fort Valley, GA) pledged to play for the Gators.

Of Florida’s five recent commitments, three were previously committed elsewhere – Rolin (South Carolina), Robinson (Clemson) and Davis (Auburn).

The Gators now have 26 total pledges including 25 that count as members of the 2013 recruiting class.

Davis joins Rolin and four-stars James Hearns (Tallahassee, FL) and Daniel McMillian (Jacksonville, FL) as linebackers committed in this class.

Tags: Daniel McMillian, Demarcus Robinson, James Hearns, Jarrad Davis, Matt Rolin, Quinton Powell, Roderick Johnson, Trenton Brown

The Florida Gators added a third new member to their 2013 recruiting class on Sunday – a player familiar to those that follow the process – as three-star offensive lineman Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) announced via social media that he has recommitted to continuing his career in Gainesville, FL.

“Its official gator nation Im back,” he tweeted.

Johnson was originally Florida’s 11th commitment for the 2013 cycle, giving head coach Will Muschamp his pledge on March 25. However, he began wavering in his decision after learning that recruiting coordinator Aubrey Hill resigned before the season.

He eventually decommitted on Aug. 13 with reports at the time noting that he had been put “on notice” by the Gators coaching staff due to concerns about the player’s supposedly shaky academic standing.

Now less than four months later, Johnson is back in the fold and has become the 24th member of Florida’s 2013 class and 25th new player set to join the program.

Listed as a four-star prospect by ESPN, he will be the fifth offensive lineman to join the Gators this offseason. Florida already had verbal pledges from three-star Cameron Dillard (Canton, MI), three-star Octavius Jackson (Moultrie, GA) and three-star JUCO transfer Trenton Brown (Milledgeville, GA). UF will also have Tyler Moore (Clearwater, FL), a four-star prospect who played for Nebraska in 2011, transfer in from a community college that does not field a football team.

Johnson is third player and second offensive lineman that committed to the Gators on Sunday. Brown announced his intentions early in the morning, and four-star linebacker Matt Rolin (Ashburn, VA) switched his pledge to Florida in the afternoon.

Tags: Aubrey Hill, Cameron Dillard, Matt Rolin, Octavius Jackson, Roderick Johnson, Trenton Brown, Tyler Moore, Will Muschamp

The Florida Gators lost a pair of 2013 pledges this week, learning that four-star wide receiver Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg, FL) and three-star offensive lineman Joshua Outlaw (Lithonia, GA) decided to decommit from the program.

Adams, who was shaken at the departure of wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill in early August and claimed that he was going to open up his recruitment, had previously been put on notice by the Florida coaching staff as it was growing increasingly unlikely that he would be able to qualify academically.

He also learned early this week that doctors found what they believe to be a hole in his heart. Adams, who decommitted on Wednesday, is not expected to be able to play football for the foreseeable future but is holding out hope that he will not have to stay off of the gridiron longer than the duration of his senior year of high school.

Outlaw, on the other hand, had not reportedly been wavering previously but told ESPN‘s Kipp Adams on Sunday that he has decided to no longer be committed to Florida.

The Gators have now had four players decommit for various reasons in the last nine days. Three-star defensive back Tre Bell (Jersey City, NJ) committed in early April but switched his pledge to Vanderbilt on Aug. 11, and three-star OL Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) pulled the trigger on Aug. 13.

Florida at one time had four offensive line commitments but is now down to just a pair – three-star Cameron Dillard (Canton, MI) and Octavius Jackson (Moultrie, GA).

ESPN notes that three of UF’s five decommitments – three-star linebacker Dillan Lawson (Crestview, FL), Bell and Adams – were spurned by the Gators, though the offensive line pledges who changed their minds did so completely on their own. Florida now has just 18 players committed for 2013 after having as many as 22 at one point.

Tags: Aubrey Hill, Dillan Lawson, Joshua Outlaw, Roderick Johnson, Rodney Adams, Tre Bell

It was just two weeks ago when the Florida Gators football program nabbed five commitments in as many days (as well as a sixth three days later). After reaching 22 verbal pledges in early August, the team has lost a pair of three-star prospects over the past two days as offensive lineman Roderick Johnson (Delray Beach, FL) joined cornerback Tre Bell (Jersey City, NJ) in decommitting from the Gators.

Johnson, who hinted at his potential decommitment after wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill resigned, told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Monday that he was going to pull the trigger only to backtrack and claim that he had not decided to decommit from Florida.

Now Johnson has followed through with the split that was reportedly a long time coming.

According to InsidetheGators.com ($), he was one of two players – the other being four-star wide receiver Rodney Adams (St. Petersburg, FL) – who had previously been put “on notice” by the coaching staff because of their academic standings.

Both players made headlines following Hill’s resignation when they voiced their displeasure with his departure and as a result decided to open up the recruiting process.

Though Adams, as of press time, remains committed to the UF but could sever the relationship at any time, Bell switched his pledge to Vanderbilt on Saturday and Johnson may wind up with West Virginia, which has come on strong for both him and Adams.

The Gators also lost a commitment from three-star linebacker Dillan Lawson (Crestview, FL) on July 19 likely due to similar circumstances.

Florida’s 2013 recruiting class remains strong with 20 members including many of the highest-rated offensive and defensive players from within the state. The Gators are expected to have space for five more players and will have six months to fill those slots.

Tags: Dillan Lawson, Roderick Johnson, Rodney Adams, Tre Bell