Florida will play for the SEC Championship Saturday night in Atlanta (8 p.m., CBS) but after Saturday night’s stunning 37-34 upset loss to LSU at home, a season that saw Florida claim its first SEC East division title since 2016 has lost a bit of luster. Florida could change all of that by shocking the Crimson Tide on Saturday evening, but this is an Alabama team without any real weaknesses, making Florida’s first SEC football championship since 2008 extremely unlikely.

Instead, the Gators are still very much a work in progress as a program, and the lifeblood of any build remainst recruiting.

Florida is set to lose a special group of seniors, along with the almost-certain to declare for the NFL Draft junior tight end Kyle Pitts, all architects of Florida’s outstanding 3-year program turnaround under Dan Mullen. Florida’s biggest personnel losses will be at the skill positions, where in addition to Pitts the Gators will lose Heisman candidate quarterback Kyle Trask, the electric playmaker Kadarius Toney and outstanding perimeter wide receiver Trevon Grimes to graduation.

These losses mean Florida will need to supplement the roster with high-end talent on that side of the football, but even with a big 2021 recruiting class, the Gators are almost certain to take a step back offensively in 2021.

Defensively, the picture is a bit rosier. The Gators are poised to lose the bulk of their starting secondary to graduation with Donovan Stiner, Shawn Davis, Brad Stewart and Marco Wilson all set to graduate and move on. But Florida’s better talent in the first 2 full Mullen recruiting classes, at least per the 247 Composite, was on defense, and while the loss of Davis will sting, the other spots, at least from a talent or consistency standpoint, may be more addition by subtraction.

Here’s an early look at Florida’s 2021 recruiting class. The Gators expect 15 of their current 2021 commitments to sign during the Early Signing Period, which starts Wednesday, and enroll early. The rest of the class with sign in the December period and enroll over the summer or make their official decision in February.

All rankings are from the 247 Composite.

  • National Rank: 7th
  • SEC Rank: 4th
  • 5-stars: 1
  • 4-stars: 14
  • 3-stars: 11

Best Player: 5-star Jason Marshall, CB

Marshall surprised many by picking the Gators but has said that it was really a “no-brainer.” Florida needed to add depth at corner and Marshall has developed a great rapport with Florida cornerback coach Torrian Gray, whose unit — especially the young talent — has been the bright spot of a ragged year for Florida’s secondary. Marshall, who is 6-2, 180, will play in the Under Armour All-American game where he’ll flash the elite length and athleticism that make him the prototypical new-age corner. Marshall should play immediately and has a three-year to NFL type ceiling and trajectory.

Marshall plans to enroll early.

Assessing the QBs: Jalen Kitna and Carlos Del Rio-Wilson

The Gators will aim to replace Trask with 2 quarterback signees. The first is 4-star Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, a kid with nice size and mobility out of Cartersville, Georgia. Del Rio-Wilson is more “quick” than he is “fast,” but he is a willing runner who has improved as a thrower over the course of his high school career. He was a big-time enough talent to be on Lincoln Riley’s radar at Oklahoma, not just Mullen’s, and he’ll be ranked as the second highest-rated quarterback Mullen has ever signed as a head coach, behind only Emory Jones.

Del Rio-Wilson will enroll early.

The other quarterback is 3-star Jalen Kitna. A more traditional pocket passer, Kitna, like Trask, comes to Gainesville from a small-town in Texas. Unlike Trask, he was a high school starter and has NFL bloodlines as the son of longtime NFL quarterback Jon Kitna. Kitna (6-4, 200) has better size than Del Rio-Wilson (6-3, 215) and great mechanics for such a young age. He is expected to enroll early and it is likely either he or Del Rio-Wilson — or both — will redshirt.

In any event, a 2-quarterback class for Mullen gives him the deepest and most talented quarterback room he’s had since he left Florida as an offensive coordinator over a decade ago.

Biggest need filled: Safety

This summer, I wrote that the biggest impediment to Florida winning an SEC championship with what promised to be an elite offense was the talent and play at the safety position. Jim McElwain and his staff simply didn’t sign enough elite talent at the position and it has shown on the field over the past 2 seasons.

Stiner plays with incredible heart and effort but is often a step or two behind plays even when he knows what’s coming. Davis is a 3-star story made good, but Stewart is a 4-star whose promise has never been fully realized for a host of off-field and injury reasons.

That core group will be gone, and Florida hoped to build on a nice safety haul in 2020 by adding depth, elite talent and even more options in 2021. Mission accomplished.

Corey Collier, a 4-star and Jason Marshall’s teammate at Miami Palmetto, picked the Gators after a lengthy and fierce recruiting battle with FSU. Collier has great ball skills and gives the Gators a roaming, fast ballhawk they’ve lacked in recent seasons. He has plenty of room to fill out physically. He plans to enroll with his buddy Marshall next month.

Safety Donovan McMillion had a huge senior year that helped him shoot up the 247 Composite rankings. He also will need to fill out physically but he’s a willing tackler and should contribute to special teams immediately. He’ll enroll early.

Three-star Dakota Mitchell rounds out the Florida safety class. A flip from LSU, Mitchell is a guy the staff thinks is very underrated, with excellent speed and an offer list (Clemson and Alabama also came calling) you don’t typically see from 3-stars outside the top 300. He could be one of the gems of this Florida class and the Gators did a nice job keeping the Orlando native home.

Biggest need remaining to be filled: Defensive tackle?

Florida will graduate 5 offensive linemen in 2020, so it is tempting to go that direction because you can never have enough game ready offensive linemen. But Florida needs better talent and inside tackle play on defense even more, and with the program’s best defensive tackle, Kyree Campbell, set to graduate, this is an area where Florida’s 2021 haul is a bit underwhelming.

First, Florida’s defensive tackle commitments, Desmond Watson and Christopher Thomas, are both 3-stars ranked outside the top 300. Watson comes from football factory Armwood, which tends to produce game-ready kids, but his weight (380) is a concern. He’ll enroll early and hope Nick Savage can get him into shape. Thomas is more of a project, one of the class’s lowest-rated recruits but one who the staff believes has a huge ceiling.

Can Florida add a player to this group? See below.

Best Player Florida is still chasing: Because of need, it is 4-star DT Savion Collins

Savion Collins, a teammate of Collier and Marshall’s at Miami Palmetto, recently decommitted from Miami. He’s not really a nose tackle at 6-4, 290, but he could be a perfect hybrid for Florida’s 3-man fronts and has an elite first step and burst and big hands, which allows him to gain leverage on offensive lineman. Florida has recruited him hard– finishing the job here is important.

Collins slots just ahead of 5-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh, a lineman whom the Gators think they have a real chance to land, in this group due to position need. Safety Terrion Arnold would also qualify here.

Best Position Group: Wide Receiver

This is subject to change because there is plenty to like about Florida’s safety haul and what they are bringing in at defensive end, assuming things hold.

For now, though, the wide receiving haul is one of the best in college football.

Marcus Burke, a 4-star from Jacksonville, picked the Gators over Auburn and gives Florida another vertical threat to replace the departing Trevon Grimes. At 6-3, he’s not a like for like compared to Grimes, but he will fill out and is ahead of his age (and where Grimes was) as a route runner.

Ocala product Trevonte Rucker is a converted quarterback who is still learning the position, but the 4-star is electric and slippery with the ball in his hands and has shown a knack for picking up yards after the catch and after contact despite his small stature. It’s unfair to compare him to departing Kadarius Toney, but folks will anyway — and it’s worth noting he comes in as a more highly touted 4-star recruit than the 3-star Toney.

The guy that has the most NFL potential might be Daejon Reynolds, a 6-3, 210-pound receiver out of Georgia who has posted huge high school numbers at Grayson High, one of the state’s better programs. Reynolds has outstanding hands and good polish as a route runner, and his ability to make catches in traffic and to get open will get him on the field as a freshman. Another kid who could be the gem of the class if you just evaluate the group on video.