The Gators got some great news on the recruiting front on Saturday — and surprisingly not from the prospects who made their way to Gainesville this weekend. Instead, one of the top offensive linemen in the 2023 class, 5-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, announced his whittled-down list top six schools in the running for his services on Twitter, with the Orange and Blue making the latest cut.
The other schools also remaining in the fray for the native of Ili’ili, American Samoa, are the Alabama Crimson Tide, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, USC Trojans, Miami Hurricanes and Tennessee Volunteers.
Florida’s spot on the list does not come as a complete surprise, given the comments he made to 247Sports’ Greg Biggins after his visit to the Orange and Blue game.
“I’ve been to Florida about three times now so I have a good comfort level there,” Mauigoa said. “The last time I visited, it was when the old staff was still there so this was cool to meet the new staff face to face. I like coach Napier, he’s a good man and puts his players in a position to be successful on and off the field.”
The 6-foot-5-inch, 330-pounder is the No. 7 prospect overall and the No. 1 offensive tackle nationally in the 2023 class per the 247Sports Composite, while the On3 Consensus has him at No. 10 and No. 2, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Vols out in front in his recruitment with a 59.7% chance of landing him while the Gators are fourth with a 1.2% chance.