Welcome to the 2018 edition of the In All Kinds Of Weather National Signing Day tracker! For the fourth year in a row, we’ll have live updates for you right here as the most exciting day in the college football offseason progresses.
The fun begins around 8am tomorrow, so check back then…
8:09am: Good morning! We’ve got a long and potentially memorable day ahead of us, so buckle up. The action begins with Caleb Tannor’s announcement at 8:45.
8:21am: Defensive lineman Malcolm Lamar has signed with FSU. Not that this is really a surprise at this late juncture, but not a good start to the day nonetheless.
8:49am: we’ve got our first bit of drama today. Apparently, Malcolm Lamar has NOT chosen FSU yet despite the Seminoles (and their beat reporters) announcing him.
Nooooo delete it’s fake
— 97Bandz (@mlamar35) February 7, 2018
8:59am: WR Justin Watkins has sent in his letter of intent.
9:13am: do note: just because Malcolm Lamar asked FSU to delete the whole “Lamar signed with FSU” bit doesn’t mean he won’t ultimately sign with the Noles. Both Neil Shulman and I ultimately project him to be a Seminole.
9:15am: Caleb Tannor’s announcement is running late. Because of course it is. Neither Neil nor myself ultimately think he’ll be a Gator, but it’s still definitely worth tracking his announcement to find out…
9:22am: watch Caleb Tannor’s announcement live here. https://m.facebook.com/videos/live/m/redirect/1792936410716551/?refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FxCrNKOibaP&_rdr
9:49am: Caleb Tannor to Nebraska. No surprise there.
10:12am: Nesta Silvera signs with the Miami Hurricanes. A current Gator player told our Neil Shulman last night that Silvera was “torn” between the two schools, but decided to stick with his commitment. Andrew Chatfield is up next. Both Neil Shulman and myself have him picking Florida.
10:14am: Andrew Chatfield is a Florida Gator. More on his commitment soon.
10:33am: Read more about Chatfield here.
10:35am: Nicholas Petit-Frere picks Ohio State. Not a surprise, as he was trending to Columbus the last few days.
10:54am: Malcolm Lamar is officially a Nole.
10:55am: CB Noah Boykin is set to announce in about half an hour.
11:31am: CB Noah Boykin is almost ready to announce. He’s down to the Gators, Fighting Irish and possibly the Cavaliers of Virginia.
11:49am: There’s always one recruit who drags his announcement out way beyond the time he scheduled, for whatever reason. That recruit appears to be Boykin this year.
11:57am: And the wait for Boykin continues…
12:02pm: Boykin commits to Notre Dame. First real surprising loss of the day for the Gators. Oh well.
12:30pm: Mid day analysis: Florida hasn’t had a great day so far, but it hasn’t been the abject disaster some were projecting, either. The Gators did land Andrew Chatfield to continue the Heritage-UF pipeline, and Chatfield could be an instant impact player. Florida also got a letter of intent from Justin Watkins, who was committed verbally prior to sending in that letter… and who was also committed to LSU, FSU and Texas at various points in his recruitment prior to committing to Florida. But the positives stop there. Signs were pointing Nicholas Petit-Frere, Malcolm Lamar and Caleb Tannor to Ohio State, FSU and Nebraska, respectively, before today, and each ultimately signed with those respective schools. NPF may be the big loss, though, and it makes the Gators’ prior miss of William Barnes sting a little more.
But the Gators are by no means finished with this class. There’s still the matter of receiving a letter of intent from the other top-tier offensive tackle they were after, Richard Gouraige. And Florida will still get hats on the table for four more sought after prospects: Caleb Johnson, Jacob Copeland, Dorian Gerald and Malik Langham, all coming up soon.
So keep checking for more updates…
2:02pm: Jacob Copeland is expected to announce within the hour; his announcement should be on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
2:31pm: Copeland is set to announce inside his high school gymnasium. I’d be utterly shocked if he picks Tennessee or Alabama over Florida.
2:34pm: Jacob Copeland is a Florida Gator. The day has been salvaged.
3:04pm: in a bit of a pleasant surprise, QB Jaylin Jackson has committed to Florida. Jackson is a Cambridge Christian teammate of Richard Gouraige, who’s about set to commit, so that’s a good sign…
3:13pm: Caleb Johnson to Auburn. Not a surprise, but Florida certainly could have used him on the defensive line.
3:21pm: Richard Gouraige sticks with his commitment and puts pen to paper. He’s a Florida Gator.
3:25pm: Malik Langham is next. Florida can turn a rough day into a wild success if they can somehow lure him away from Alabama.
3:40pm: whoa. Malik Langham is a Gator. Florida literally stole one away from Alabama from their own state. How about that?