Florida entered Wednesday morning as the No. 7 class in 247Sports composite rankings but slipped through the day to finish with the No. 13 ranking with 25 signees late in the afternoon. Florida’s class is considered sixth-best in the SEC and second in the SEC East behind Georgia.

The Gators won the Tyrie Cleveland sweepstakes, but four-star DT Shavar Manuel and three-star CB Aaron Robinson both backed off their pledges on Wednesday. Uncommitted prospects four-star OG John Simpson and five-star CB Kristian Fulton chose Clemson and LSU respectively. UF flipped JUCO CB Joseph Putu, an Arkansas commit entering the day, Wednesday afternoon.

THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM

Florida’s recruiting has been relatively quiet the past few weeks after taking in a large haul of 12 early enrollees. Head coach Jim McElwain’s strategy for the 2016 class appeared to focus on accumulating commitments early in the cycle rather than holding out for five-star players who might leave UF at the altar on signing day.

STAR WARS

The big knock on Florida’s class will be the lack of five-star players (zero) combined with an abundance of three-star prospects (16). If McElwain can coach up the three-stars, he will look like a genius with an eye for underrated talent. If the lack of five-stars hurts UF against the likes of Georgia, LSU and FSU, the second-year coach will fall out of favor with the recruitniks of Florida’s fanbase.

OFFENSE IS ON THE WAY

With the departures of QB Will Grier (transfer), WR Demarcus Robinson (draft) and TE Jake McGee (graduation), Florida was in desperate need to bring in contributors to the passing game. Four-star QB Feleipe Franks, an early enrollee, could be a contender for the starting quarterback job. Franks and the other UF quarterbacks had to be ecstatic when Cleveland, the No. 2 wide receiver of the class of 2016, flipped his commitment from Houston to Florida. Cleveland gives the Gators quarterbacks a much-needed big, physical target.

SIGNEES

  • Antonneous Clayton, DE, four-star
  • Tyrie Cleveland, WR, four-star
  • Jeremiah Moon, LB, four-star
  • Jaewon Taylor, S, three-star
  • Rick Wells, WR, three-star
  • Lamical Perine, RB, three-star
  • Brett Heggie, C, three-star
  • Quincy Lenton, S, three-star
  • Vosean Joseph, LB, three-star
  • Jachai Polite, DE, three-star
  • Jawaan Taylor, OG, three-star
  • Joseph Putu, CB, three-star
  • Christopher McWilliams, CB, three-star

EARLY ENROLLEES

  • Chauncey Gardner, CB, four-star
  • Feleipe Franks, QB, four-star
  • Freddie Swain, WR, four-star
  • Mark Thompson, RB, four-star
  • Joshua Hammond, WR, four-star
  • Jordan Smith, DE, four-star
  • Dre Massey, WR, three-star
  • David Reese, LB, three-star
  • McArthur Burnett, ATH, three-star
  • Stone Forsythe, OT, three-star
  • Eddy Pineiro, K, three-star
  • Kyle Trask, QB, three-star