Fact or Fiction: Florida is recruiting well enough to win the SEC East
Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney and national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman along with Blayne Gilmer from UGASports.com and Corey Bender of GatorsTerritory.com tackle three topics and determine whether they believe each statement is FACT or FICTION.
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1. Florida is recruiting well enough to win the SEC East on a consistent basis.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Georgia is doing a phenomenal job recruiting and turning that talent into wins on the field but Florida can definitely consistently win the SEC East with a few more pieces. Especially on offense, the Gators need an elite quarterback and some playmakers and they should be ultra-competitive in their division. Dan Mullen is arguably the best play-caller in the conference and the team has talented players. After a drubbing by Georgia, many might not want to hear this but Florida is still a very quality football team. Georgia is definitely a roadblock but the Gators can get their wins, too.
Bender’s take: FICTION. I'm not saying they cannot win the SEC East here and there, but with UF currently holding the No. 35 recruiting class and Georgia topping that list in four of the last five cycles, it will be difficult to consistently surpass the Bulldogs on the field. Other than the 2022 cycle, the Gators have done a fairly good job of recruiting though. It has not been great, but I wouldn't say it has been bad either. They finished No. 11 or higher in three previous recruiting cycles and signed a flurry of five-star prospects as well, including Gervon Dexter and Corey Collier. However, when you are the lone SEC school in arguably the most talent-rich state, you should be finishing with a recruiting class in the top-five range.
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2. RB Nicholas Singleton should be ranked higher.
Gorney’s take: FACT. A new round of rankings is coming up after the high school football season and Nicholas Singleton definitely deserves a bump in the position rankings. If there are seven better running backs in this class, I’d be hard-pressed to find them. Singleton has proven in his senior year that he’s as productive as anybody in the country. The Penn State commit has nearly 1,500 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in eight games. Everybody knows he’s getting the ball and there’s no stopping him. A deep run in the playoffs and his stats will be off the charts. Rankings aren’t all about stats but they do tell a story. The story here is that Singleton is not high enough in the rankings.
Friedman’s take: FACT. This isn't as easy an answer as some people might think. There are some really impressive backs ahead of Singleton in the rankings but he'll move up at least one spot in the position rankings when the entire 2022 class rankings are updated. Speed is the name of the game at running back. Singleton is by no means a burner but he did post a 4.5-second 40 at Penn State and has shown more explosiveness than originally expected this season. Those times combined with his 6-foot, 215-pound frame make for a really impressive running back. All that being said, the final judge on rankings is the NFL Draft and there are very few that turn out to be first-round picks and franchise backs.
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3. Former Florida commits Shemar James and Julian Humphrey will both land at Georgia.
Gorney’s take: FACT. I’m going to lean Georgia here but Alabama definitely wants Shemar James – because he might be one of the best overall players in the entire 2022 class – and rarely do the Crimson Tide lose top targets. But James has also been seriously interested in the Bulldogs and that entire coaching staff is putting the full-court press on for him. It looks like Julian Humphrey is heavily leaning toward Georgia at this point. James could be the snag here but Georgia has made him a top priority in every way and I’ll say the Bulldogs get him, too.
Gilmer’s take: FACT. Georgia has made both Humphrey and James priorities throughout their respective recruitments even after committing to Florida. Glenn Schumann, Todd Hartley, Dan Lanning, Jahmile Addae, Will Muschamp, and most importantly Kirby Smart have all been involved in these two recruitments. Alabama is the biggest threat for Georgia with James, but the official visit this weekend could go a long way toward dispelling said threat. Texas A&M is pushing for Humphrey as well, but overall it seems that Georgia is the favorite for each. Inside linebacker and defensive back are both position groups that Georgia is set to lose a lot from after the 2021 season, so the Dawgs are able to sell opportunities. As of now, I believe both of these talented prospects will commit to Georgia and attempt to seize that opportunity.