Billy Napier and his army have been hitting the recruiting trail hard this summer as they fight to bring Florida football back into national prominence. The new staff has put a tremendous amount of emphasis on building the program up from the bottom beginning with the best that the prep levels have to offer — especially within the confines of the Sunshine State.
While the nascent administration has put most of its recent efforts into wooing the cream of the 2023 crop, there has been little neglect when it comes to the next brood — a clear departure from Dan Mullen’s lackadaisical approach to drawing top talent. Among the fruits of these labors was Florida’s mention in the recent release of four-star wide receiver Debron Gatling’s top 14 schools list, after which he offered the following to Rivals’ Jed May.
“Coach Billy Napier (head coach), Coach Colbert (Keary Colbert, receivers), I camped with them. They really liked me. I already had the offer. The coaches were just telling me how much they love my film. Coach Napier said he loves my film. He said he really liked what I did last season as a sophomore, just telling me stuff that he liked about me. I got to talk to him. Coach Colbert, I got to work with him in a couple drills and some 2-on-2s and stuff like that. He really liked me, really liked what I did when I was camping. I took a visit, I liked what they’ve got building because they’re building new facilities. I liked the campus already.”
Gatling is currently ranked No. 249 overall and No. 35 at his position nationally according to the On3 consensus, while Rivals has him at Nos. 122 and 15, respectively — both with a four-star rating; 247Sports currently does not have any ratings data. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has a tight race for the young prospect, with the Georgia Bulldogs out in front with a 21.4% chance of landing him while the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ole Miss Rebels follow at 18.7% and 16%, respectively.
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