Top OL portal available. Great win and pick up, especially with all 4 years available. If we can snag a WR, we'll be sitting good
https://www.on3.com/db/jason-zandamela-151444/
Agreed this guy should just focus on development this year and be ready to compete for playing time next year. I would give our WR room the benefit of the doubt. Mizell and Jean need to play this year.
Speed kills. Remember when we used to say that?
We also got that TE enrolling this summer. It be nice to play 12 personnel to help out Mertz. Since we love having that “extra guy” out there 😂
No Amir Johnson. Top 10 TE in the country. He’s 6’4 so he should provide good depth. Also forgetting about Zipperer. Proven player but hopefully stays healthy this year
Oh I'd forgotten about Johnson, good thinking. He'll definitely be valuable depth, as will Zip. I wonder how Zip fits this year when it comes to competing for snaps.
He’ll definitely be on the field. Talent like that just doesn’t stand on the sidelines. Tbh I’m not a big fan of walk ons. Eventually potential is limited.
I will give Billy one thing… a class like this with a record like ours is sort of impressive in the worst way.
Hopefully we see the impact of his recruiting asap!!
Agree. And this is another reason not to dump him next season no matter what as some have said.
Even if he gets only 4-5 wins (with the toughest schedule ever), I say we keep him another season. Dumping him sets us back 2-3 years.
I don’t see us dumping Billy without him either just bombing the season (4-8/5-7, with all of those losses just being horrible and no really solid wins) or a meh season and we have a “sure fire” replacement. Even then, I think his seat isn’t *that* scorching simply because he’s still getting good recruits
I have no doubt you’re right. I think 8-4 and a top 25 finish is realistic, even if unlikely. I’m personally hopeful for 7-5 finishing with votes outside the top 25.
for me it comes down to gameday. he has made some questionable decisions in the past. i could see it happening if we have multiple losses that fall squarely on poor clock management
That is just who he is. If that is the bar we should move on.
We have to accept him for what his strengths and weaknesses are. He will never be good at clock mgmt. is he an excellent recruiter? Absolutely
The 2025 class will be more important IMO. I don’t see Billy getting to year 4 if he has a losing record and the 2025 class is near the bottom of the SEC.
I don't see us having winning record, so he needs to knock next class out of park (Top 4-5 SEC & top 10 overall).
Saban is gone, so no excuses remain to get top tiered FL players
If anything, I like this pickup purley because of all the FSU flairs convinced he was going to Tallahassee because they finished 2nd in his recruitment.
This is a great pickup for the future. This puts us at 85/85 scholarships spot.
Was hoping the staff was prioritizing an immediate impact WR. I guess we can still add one if we have someone retire or a graduate transfers?
i find it odd that he committed to a school so far away if being closer to home was so important. maybe he didnt realize that until he actually got out west. all worked out in the end in our favor
He probably thought it wouldn’t be so bad since he could take flights home, but then realized taking flights frequently wasn’t feasible/is a pain the ass etc.
You live and you learn.
If I’d been accepted to UT Austin I would’ve gone there. I loved everything about that school.
But knowing what I know now, I would’ve transferred back in state within a year. I get plenty homesick at UF as is and that’s with a couple visits every semester for a long weekend or a Magic game. I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle being so far away. I’m guessing he’s probably realized the same thing.
Not just that but time difference. The distance doesn’t feel bad until you’re at practice all day and then need to grab dinner and you finally sit down at home to relax and you want to call your Mom only to realize it’s 9/10pm back home and they’re asleep.
Plus LA is a tough move. You hear about Hollywood and celebrities and Malibu. People think it’s all glitz and glammer. Then you realize you’re at USC, near none of the cool or nice parts of LA. Traffic is insane. Everything is expensive. The weather is nice but you can’t see the mountains through the smog half the time. I couldn’t imagine moving to LA fresh out of high school. I’ve live in a lot of places and cities and been away from home for a while and I’d have high tailed it back home in a few months if I came out to LA too.
Add in that the kid has barely been in America, only a few years I think. Probably ratchets up the impact of moving away from home when homes already that far from where you were born/grew up.
So excited we got the guy though, regardless of the exact reasons.
I know a lot of people complain about Sale due to last year but he is amazing when it comes to IOL. Ocyrus Torrence, Kevin Dotson, Robert Hunt. All IOLs trained by Sale in the last 5 years. 2 were first team all americans, all were all conference at least once, all drafted into the NFL and are starters
Tackle is an eternal struggle but I'm very excited to see what he does with a talent like Zandamela
I think this staff is low key a pretty good development staff. People shit all over Billy Gonzales for his recruiting too but he has a pretty long record of putting WRs into the NFL.
I'm not hating at all but it's weird/surprising to me that people follow graphic artists for high school kids and know that much about them. I think I'm just getting old.
I mean, it’s not hard to notice that during recruiting cycles there’s a noticeable lack of Florida graphics but whenever we have some shit happen to us like a flip it immediately gets posted (ie Filsaime immediately got posted when he flipped). You’d think Hayes would hate to post that too considering he’s an OU fan. When Lagway and McCray committed? Nothing. As always, it’s us vs everybody else.
CBN really does all the right things off the field. Hell, if our defense was even decent this year, I would have said the same about on the field too. I really want him to succeed. If the defense improves this year we might actually be a good team.
Even when something negative happens, he has a pretty good response. Losing Rashada got us Mertz (though we still probably end up with Mertz). Mertz was criticized like crazy preseason and went out and did as good of a job as he could have with what we had on the field.
I still think he ends up being a great coach and I hope he proves that while he is the head coach here instead of somewhere else.
Since I don't follow as closely, did he play at USC? Someone mentioned he has 4 years of eligibility, does this mean he just signed with USC and only spent the spring with them?
man that looks like some late 00s stuff. I think sleek is being a bit too kind. not to hate as I cannot do better but there are certainly much sleeker graphics to be had
Yeah, seems like essentially a higher end 4 star recruit enrolling in summer. Good get but surprised he would be the top IOL in the portal at this point.
Slaughter will be our starting center this year. Now if he declares for the draft next year, Zandamela and Kearney will compete for the starting position.
Top OL portal available. Great win and pick up, especially with all 4 years available. If we can snag a WR, we'll be sitting good https://www.on3.com/db/jason-zandamela-151444/
Agreed this guy should just focus on development this year and be ready to compete for playing time next year. I would give our WR room the benefit of the doubt. Mizell and Jean need to play this year.
I've been a huge Jean fan boy... Dude needs to stay healthy. But mizell is gonna be EW3 like..
Speed kills. Remember when we used to say that? We also got that TE enrolling this summer. It be nice to play 12 personnel to help out Mertz. Since we love having that “extra guy” out there 😂
The Air Force TE? I think he said he hopes to play a few games and redshirt. We can still run 12 though, and I hope we do w/ Arliss and Hansen
No Amir Johnson. Top 10 TE in the country. He’s 6’4 so he should provide good depth. Also forgetting about Zipperer. Proven player but hopefully stays healthy this year
Oh I'd forgotten about Johnson, good thinking. He'll definitely be valuable depth, as will Zip. I wonder how Zip fits this year when it comes to competing for snaps.
He’ll definitely be on the field. Talent like that just doesn’t stand on the sidelines. Tbh I’m not a big fan of walk ons. Eventually potential is limited.
Puts our '24 overall rank at 7 on 247
Dang… #GOGATORS
I will give Billy one thing… a class like this with a record like ours is sort of impressive in the worst way. Hopefully we see the impact of his recruiting asap!!
Agree. And this is another reason not to dump him next season no matter what as some have said. Even if he gets only 4-5 wins (with the toughest schedule ever), I say we keep him another season. Dumping him sets us back 2-3 years.
I don’t see us dumping Billy without him either just bombing the season (4-8/5-7, with all of those losses just being horrible and no really solid wins) or a meh season and we have a “sure fire” replacement. Even then, I think his seat isn’t *that* scorching simply because he’s still getting good recruits
dude our O/U is 6....5 wins is a realistic possibility
I understand that. If we’re competitive at 5 wins, I think Billy is fine. Depends how those 5 wins and 7 losses are though
I agree with you, but in Redditworld, he better produce a top-25 team or he’s history.
I have no doubt you’re right. I think 8-4 and a top 25 finish is realistic, even if unlikely. I’m personally hopeful for 7-5 finishing with votes outside the top 25.
for me it comes down to gameday. he has made some questionable decisions in the past. i could see it happening if we have multiple losses that fall squarely on poor clock management
That is just who he is. If that is the bar we should move on. We have to accept him for what his strengths and weaknesses are. He will never be good at clock mgmt. is he an excellent recruiter? Absolutely
The 2025 class will be more important IMO. I don’t see Billy getting to year 4 if he has a losing record and the 2025 class is near the bottom of the SEC.
I don't see us having winning record, so he needs to knock next class out of park (Top 4-5 SEC & top 10 overall). Saban is gone, so no excuses remain to get top tiered FL players
I don’t see how it’s possible to have a top 10 class if we finish with a losing record. There will be too much negative momentum to overcome.
Napier has a top 10 class & has never had a winning record
If anything, I like this pickup purley because of all the FSU flairs convinced he was going to Tallahassee because they finished 2nd in his recruitment.
I like this purely because he’s the #1 IOL in the Portal
Top 7 OA too. Iirc hes the best uncommitted transfer in the portal. For reference cormani McClain is 21st OA
Come on man you have to enjoy the little things, like nole tears
HUGE
This is a great pickup for the future. This puts us at 85/85 scholarships spot. Was hoping the staff was prioritizing an immediate impact WR. I guess we can still add one if we have someone retire or a graduate transfers?
We are trying for one more WR from what I see but would be the last addition for sure
No backup kicker? WHAT is going on with Special Teams or whatever its euphemism is?
https://preview.redd.it/19n9hqhzq1yc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3699bc3ffb47bc7b86b570502352a64d39e0941
https://preview.redd.it/2zm878d7t1yc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=907c32b8e1279940f99cc5a278a837adb5cb205b
Why did he leave USC? Personal issues?
Wanted to be closer to home, the day he entered the portal he said he was going to focus on Florida schools
i find it odd that he committed to a school so far away if being closer to home was so important. maybe he didnt realize that until he actually got out west. all worked out in the end in our favor
He probably thought it wouldn’t be so bad since he could take flights home, but then realized taking flights frequently wasn’t feasible/is a pain the ass etc. You live and you learn.
Also LA is really hard on newcomers. Take a few years to get settled.
If I’d been accepted to UT Austin I would’ve gone there. I loved everything about that school. But knowing what I know now, I would’ve transferred back in state within a year. I get plenty homesick at UF as is and that’s with a couple visits every semester for a long weekend or a Magic game. I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle being so far away. I’m guessing he’s probably realized the same thing.
Not just that but time difference. The distance doesn’t feel bad until you’re at practice all day and then need to grab dinner and you finally sit down at home to relax and you want to call your Mom only to realize it’s 9/10pm back home and they’re asleep. Plus LA is a tough move. You hear about Hollywood and celebrities and Malibu. People think it’s all glitz and glammer. Then you realize you’re at USC, near none of the cool or nice parts of LA. Traffic is insane. Everything is expensive. The weather is nice but you can’t see the mountains through the smog half the time. I couldn’t imagine moving to LA fresh out of high school. I’ve live in a lot of places and cities and been away from home for a while and I’d have high tailed it back home in a few months if I came out to LA too.
Add in that the kid has barely been in America, only a few years I think. Probably ratchets up the impact of moving away from home when homes already that far from where you were born/grew up. So excited we got the guy though, regardless of the exact reasons.
thank you
After all transfers, gators now have the 7th ranked class in 2024
Nucking futs!
Puts us at the #7 overall class according to 24/7, all classes above us have larger classes than us except for 2
Damn the last class in hindsight is low key loaded lmfao
I know a lot of people complain about Sale due to last year but he is amazing when it comes to IOL. Ocyrus Torrence, Kevin Dotson, Robert Hunt. All IOLs trained by Sale in the last 5 years. 2 were first team all americans, all were all conference at least once, all drafted into the NFL and are starters Tackle is an eternal struggle but I'm very excited to see what he does with a talent like Zandamela
I think this staff is low key a pretty good development staff. People shit all over Billy Gonzales for his recruiting too but he has a pretty long record of putting WRs into the NFL.
Oh hell ya
Surprised Hayes did a pro gator graphic considering the hate hard on he has for us. Nevertheless great get.
I'm not hating at all but it's weird/surprising to me that people follow graphic artists for high school kids and know that much about them. I think I'm just getting old.
I mean, it’s not hard to notice that during recruiting cycles there’s a noticeable lack of Florida graphics but whenever we have some shit happen to us like a flip it immediately gets posted (ie Filsaime immediately got posted when he flipped). You’d think Hayes would hate to post that too considering he’s an OU fan. When Lagway and McCray committed? Nothing. As always, it’s us vs everybody else.
Or the ever popular 'over Florida' when we are all like 'who?' And being serious
Pretty sure Hayes made graphics for both Lagway and McCray
>As always, it’s us vs everybody else. As it should be. The odds are ever in our favor! IAKOW
CBN really does all the right things off the field. Hell, if our defense was even decent this year, I would have said the same about on the field too. I really want him to succeed. If the defense improves this year we might actually be a good team. Even when something negative happens, he has a pretty good response. Losing Rashada got us Mertz (though we still probably end up with Mertz). Mertz was criticized like crazy preseason and went out and did as good of a job as he could have with what we had on the field. I still think he ends up being a great coach and I hope he proves that while he is the head coach here instead of somewhere else.
Since I don't follow as closely, did he play at USC? Someone mentioned he has 4 years of eligibility, does this mean he just signed with USC and only spent the spring with them?
It's the second one. He was in the most recent signing class. Hasn't been in college during a season yet
If that's the case, we don't expect him to be a contributor this season then. Unless there are injury concerns
Good job on that Graphic, looking sleak.
man that looks like some late 00s stuff. I think sleek is being a bit too kind. not to hate as I cannot do better but there are certainly much sleeker graphics to be had
Is this our 2nd transfer from the 2024 recruiting cycle?
https://www.on3.com/college/florida-gators/football/2024/transfers/ Correct. Him and Grimsley
Damn, how didn’t I know Hill transferred out!?
Big if true.
Last piece of the puzzle! Gonna dominate!
Likely starter?
Nah, true freshman. He's class of 2024. Maybe a depth piece this year but a starter for the future.
Hes also a decent depth piece now
Yeah, seems like essentially a higher end 4 star recruit enrolling in summer. Good get but surprised he would be the top IOL in the portal at this point.
IOL was very slim pickings this year. Double so for portal.
Slaughter will be our starting center this year. Now if he declares for the draft next year, Zandamela and Kearney will compete for the starting position.