Florida is on track to sign a top-10 recruiting class, but National Signing Day did not go as planned.

Deland (Florida) S Avantae Williams, rated the No. 2 safety and No. 44 prospect overall in the class of 2020 on the 247Sports Composite, surprised everyone when he chose Miami over UF at his Signing Day ceremony. On 247Sports, 15 recruiting experts had submitted Crystal Ball predictions that Williams would sign with the Gators. Williams’ cousin Lorenzo Lingard recently transferred from UM to Florida and seemed to be taking an active role in getting Williams to join the Gators.

In his Wednesday press conference, Mullen was asked about missing out on Williams.

“I like him,” Mullen said. “I thought this was a good place for him to be, as a person.”

The Gators coach said Williams would have made good defensive backs class even better, but said it’s ultimately “not that big a deal.”

In the 2020 class, 4-star S Rashad Torrence II has already enrolled at UF and 3-star safety Tre’Vez Johnson has signed with the Gators. 4-star Miami Christian School ATH Marc Britt is committed to Florida, but will not be making his final decision to sign with either UF or Ole Miss until Feb. 20. Britt plays multiple positions, but the Gators coaching staff sees him as a safety.