Image Credit: Twitter / Lloyd Summerall
The Florida Gators made a big splash on Wednesday by going back to their roots at Lakeland High School. Three of the program’s best players all committed to Florida during the start of the Early Signing Period, boosting the Gators’ class and providing a nice haul for a team that did not do much else over the course of the day.
Four-star tight end Keon Zipperer (No. 136 overall), four-star offensive lineman Deyavie Hammond (No. 174) and four-star defensive end Lloyd Summerall (No. 237) all committed to Florida over in-state competition on Wednesday. Hammond has long been a Gators lock but committed to UF over Florida State, while Florida held off Miami for the pledges of Zipperer and Summerall.
All three submitted their National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Zipperer becomes the No. 1 commit in the Class of 2019 for UF with Hammond checking in at No. 5 and Summerall just behind him at No. 6.
The signings harken back to the Class of 2007 when the Gators landed three four-star prospects in Chris Rainey, Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Pouncey — all from Lakeland. Of course, Florida actually signed seven total Lakeland players that cycle with Ahmad Black among that remaining group.
“I was here to sign [the 2007 kids from Lakeland], so I knew the situation and I know the players. The ’07 guys won state and national championships and then came to Florida and won a national championship. The guys at Lakeland were able to win a state championship this year. Hopefully, we can continue that and lead us to a national championship in the future,” said head coach Dan Mullen in the afternoon.
“When you look at it, they were young guys growing up and looking up to guys like Chris Rainey, the Pouncey brothers and Ahmad Black. And now they’re carrying on the tradition of coming here to Florida, and hopefully, they’ll get the opportunity to win a national championship here as well.”
The three commitments pushed Florida from No. 22 to No. 16 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings. It is not expected that the Gators will add another big name during the period unless one of their other top targets decides to announce early, leaving them in a not-so-desirable spot by the time the period closes Friday. Florida will have under two months to sure up its class with formal National Signing Day set for Feb. 6, 2019.
Commit | Pos. | Rating |
---|---|---|