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Florida Gators: Checking on the large group of early enrollees

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Florida’s 2015 recruiting class benefited from a late surge of commitments in the run up to National Signing Day, highlighted by five-star recruits OL Martez Ivey and DL CeCe Jefferson.

The second time around, Gators coach Jim McElwain took a different approach, placing a premium on recruits who could enroll for UF’s spring semester in January and immediately join the football team. The 12 early enrollees in the new class could be the difference in a disappointing or successful 2016 season for UF.

With many key contributors from the 2015 team either departed for the NFL, graduated, transferred out or currently suspended, the spring enrollees are in the mix for playing time at multiple positions. Here’s a look at the impressions left by some of the Gator newcomers so far in practice.

QUARTERBACKS

The only two scholarship quarterbacks on the 2016 depth chart are early enrollees Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. Franks was a sought-after, four-star recruit ranked as one of the top quarterbacks in the class, while Trask was an under-the-radar, three-star prospect and backup on his Manvel, Texas, high school team.

Transfer walk-on Luke Del Rio is said to have the edge in the quarterback competition right now, but whether it is due to injuries or suspensions, Florida backups and third-stringers have a way of seeing the field in Gainesville.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Florida’s highest-rated receiver signee, Tyrie Cleveland, won’t be on campus until the fall, but early enrollees Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond and Dre Massey, a junior college transfer, are getting a jump on him this spring.

The short (5-foot-9) but speedy Massey profiles as a slot receiver, while Swain and Hammond offer more versatility and stand to benefit from the absence of suspended WR Antonio Callaway. Brady Ackerman, a Gators analyst and former player from the Steve Spurrier era, noted Swain’s route running and big-play ability in a recent article he wrote for GridironNow.com.

RUNNING BACK

JUCO transfer Mark Thompson’s size and stature has gotten the attention of his teammates and coaches. Whether Thompson’s strength as a ball carrier earns him a role as a feature back or situational power back remains to be seen.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

The Gators return experienced cornerbacks (Jalen Tabor, Quincy Wilson) and safeties (Marcus Maye, Duke Dawson, Nick Washington and Marcell Harris), but early enrollees Chauncey Gardner and McArthur Burnett could work their way onto the field in 2016. Injuries to Wilson (hernia) and Dawson (foot) means more spring action for the newcomers.

KICKER

Rarely is the team’s new kicker a campus celebrity before he kicks in a college game, but Eddy Pineiro has used social media to highlight his kicking abilities and excite Florida fans in the process.

The recent announcement of K Austin Hardin’s transfer plans seem to be confirmation that Pineiro has already won the job. Hardin, who could play somewhere next season as a graduate transfer, went a dreadful 5-for-14 on field goal attempts in 2015. There’s no official word that connects Hardin’s departure to Pineiro’s arrival, but it sure looks like more than a coincidence.

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.

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