A lot can change in a short time span when it comes to recruiting in college football. Florida entered the weekend with a 2024 class that landed well outside the top 20 of the 247Sports Team Composite rankings. To make matters worse, Austin Simmons, a four-star quarterback in the Class of 2025, flipped his commitment to Ole Miss and re-classified to 2023 on June 17.
All of this came a week after in-state running back Chauncey Bowens flipped his commitment from the Gators to top rival Georgia while on an official visit to Athens. To say Florida fans were becoming restless would be an understatement. Yet, shortly after Simmons made his decision, four-star tight end Amir Jackson committed to the Gators. And then another top-250 recruit joined Jackson in pledging to Florida. And another.
In all, six prospects committed to Florida in a three-day span. It took less than 72 hours for Florida’s class to rocket more than 15 spots all the way up to No. 5 in 247Sports’ national recruiting rankings, leapfrogging the likes of Clemson, Oregon, Penn State and LSU in the process.
There is not a team hotter than Florida in the recruiting world right now. Here is how it went from treading water to emerging as one of the nation’s top recruiting programs within the span of a week:
Pair of OL recruits get the ball rolling
Florida’s ridiculous run started on June 12 with the commitment of three-star offensive lineman Mike Williams. A former member of South Carolina’s class, the Upper Marlboro, Maryland, product backed out of his Gamecocks pledge in late May and made an official visit to Florida’s campus over the weekend of June 9-11.
Two days later, on June 14, German recruit Noel Portnjagin committed to Florida after earning an offer at camp….
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