Welcome to the Class of 2020 Early NSD tracker! Here, we’ll be posting live updates on everything that happens related to Florida’s 2020 recruiting class.
12/17/19 3:30pm: I have to retroactively add the first update to this NSD tracker, as I forgot one tiny detail: it’s already Signing Day in Australia. That means punter Jeremy Crenshaw was able to send in his LOI this afternoon, becoming the first Gator commit to do so. Welcome, mate.
7:10am: Safety Tre’Vez Johnson has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
7:15am: Offensive guard Richie Leonard has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
7:16am: Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
7:17am: Linebacker Derek Wingo has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
7:35am: Cornerback Ethan Pouncey has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
7:40am Early morning recap: Six of the 24 members in Florida’s 2020 class have sent in their letters of intent, and the overwhelming majority of the rest will do so later today. We’re in a little bit of a lull right now, so allow me to take this time to remind y’all of what lies ahead here on the early Signing Day. Eight high school players will be making their final decisions at some point today, which you can see a full list of here.
7:43am: It’s not a surprise in the least, but running back Demarkcus Bowman has officially signed with Clemson. There were some whispers about him flipping to Florida from some (unrealistic) fans who thought he had “secretly visited” Gainesville, and, well, that’s the end of that.
7:50am: Offensive tackle Gerald Mincey has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
8:02am: Defensive end Antwaun Powell has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
8:15am: Offensive tackle Josh Braun has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator, thus making the first flip of the 2020 class (from Georgia) to become official.
8:19am: Tight end Jonathan Odom has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
8:22am: Cornerback Avery Helm has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
8:36am: Cornerback Mordecai McDaniel has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
8:56am: Quarterback Anthony Richardson has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
9:03am: Defensive tackle Johnnie Brown has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
9:40am mid-morning recap: Over half the commits in Florida’s 2020 class have sent in their letters of intent. A few more will do so over the course of the day, and the rest will do so in February. But now the real fun begins.
Eight high school seniors who are considering Florida will be announcing their college decisions throughout the course of the day. Of those eight, three are thought to be seriously considering Florida, and I would even go as far as to say probably will pick- and sign with- Florida. Look for WR Sam Brown, DT Tim Smith and DT Donell Harris to all choose the Gators at their respective ceremonies. And of course, there’s always a commitment or two each year that comes out of left field and catches everybody by surprise, so be on the lookout for that as well.
9:41am: Cornerback Jahari Rogers has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
9:43am: Defensive tackle Lamar Goods has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
9:45am: Wide receiver Jaquavion Fraziars has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator.
10:25am: We’ve hit a bit of a lull in terms of letters of intent being sent in. Seventeen of the 24 commits have signed their letters of intent. The surprise of the day so far has to be Mordecai McDaniel, who was expected to sign in February. Things are about to pick up, though: running back EJ Smith (projection: Stanford) and offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil (projection: LSU) are about to announce their college decisions at the top of the hour. Florida is considered a long shot for both, but we’ll see…
10:33am: Safety Rashad Torrence II has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator. That makes three quarters of Florida’s 2020 class (18/24) signed, sealed and delivered.
10:40am: We’ve got our first real interesting development of the day. Defensive tackle Clyde Pinder (a current North Carolina commit) was supposed to sign this morning, but is now thinking twice and is no longer expected to sign today. This is because, according to Rivals’ Rob Cassidy, that Florida jumped into his recruitment late and has now forced a stalemate with the Tar Heels. It would seem semi-strange to me that Pinder would want to join a class that already has four DT’s already locked in, and let’s also not forget that Florida is in the mix for a pair of additional four star DT’s in Donell Harris and Tim Smith. But this is certainly something worth following.
10:55am: Comic relief break: Josh Griffis has signed with FSU, thus officially ending one of the most circus-y recruitment processes I can remember. The part time defensive end and full time twitter troll originally committed to Florida, decommitted, committed to FSU, decommitted and flipped to Louisville just last week before flipping one last time and making it official to FSU just now. I’ll consider it an early Christmas present that his actions will at long last stop finding their way into my twitter timeline.
10:56am: Defensive tackle Jalen Lee has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator. Nineteen of the 24 committed 2020 Gators have been locked in.
11:04am: Do note, of course, that every time I or anyone else listed for a recruit’s decision time is “Recruiting Standard Time,” which means the announcement will come at some point after the designated time. OT Marcus Dumervil is the first one to go, in what people down at St. Thomas Aquinas are saying will be about ten minutes from now.
11:07am: …or now. Dumervil picks LSU. It would have been a nice pickup, but it’s not a surprise.
11:17am: Next up on the announcement list: running back EJ Smith and linebacker Phillip Webb, who will be announcing around 11:45am EST. Florida has an outside shot at both, so it’s worth waiting around for their decisions (and I wouldn’t include them in my NSD coverage if it wasn’t, like Demarkcus Bowman) but realistically speaking the Gators probably land neither.
11:40am: Running back EJ Smith is set to announce. Projection: Stanford
11:50am: EJ Smith selects Stanford. Not a surprise.
11:58am: Linebacker Phillip Webb and wide receiver Arian Smith will both be announcing soon. I doubt that either will pick Florida- although things should start to heat up after that. Florida has a real shot to land three more commitments today in Sam Brown, Tim Smith and Donell Harris. And the Gators still may receive another LOI or two from someone thought to be enrolling later. Stick around.
12:10pm: Phillip Webb is the next to announce his intentions. Projection: LSU.
12:14pm: Phillip Webb has decided to play for LSU. Another one that isn’t a surprise.
12:23pm: Wide receiver Arian Smith is the next to announce his intentions. He’s the last of the long shots, which coincidentally all went first. By contrast, the announcements involving players that are seriously considering Florida are coming up soon. First up in that department is wide receiver Sam Brown, who announces in about 80 minutes from now. In the meanwhile, Florida still may get a surprise letter of intent from someone they didn’t expect to sign until February, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
12:30pm: Rankings update: as of this moment, the Gators’ 2020 class is currently ranked 8th according to 247’s composite ranking system, 7th according to ESPN and 6th according to Rivals. Which means that this is a unanimous top ten class… and that’s before Brown, Donell Harris and Tim Smith sign.
12:44pm: Wide receiver Jordan Pouncey’s transfer from Texas is complete, and he is now officially a Florida Gator.
12:48pm: Cornerback Fenley Graham has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator. 20 of the 24 commits in Florida’s 2020 class are locked in.
12:55pm: Florida doesn’t even have a hat on the table for wide receiver Arian Smith. Never did I think Florida had a real chance at landing him- he’s likely Georgia bound- but I would have thought Florida would at least get onto his table. I guess that settles that.
1:15pm mid-day recap: the only outstanding LOI that I’ve been expecting to come in today is that of offensive tackle Issiah Walker. Other than that, Florida’s fax machine is probably done… at least among the current commits.
Speaking of which, Florida fans have three more announcement ceremonies to really pay attention to. The first of these is wide receiver Sam Brown, who’s deciding between Florida and Mississippi. A few minutes after him, defensive tackle Tim Smith- a current Alabama commit- will decide between the Gators and the Crimson Tide. And then at 4pm EST, fellow defensive tackle Donell Harris will announce if he’s sticking with his commitment to Texas A&M or if he’ll flip to Florida as well. The Gators are considered a heavy favorite for Brown and a slight favorite to flip Smith, while Harris is thought to be a coin flip.
There’s also the commitment of Morven Joseph to pay attention to, although he’s thought to be headed to Tennessee or FSU. He did seem to enjoy his visit to Gainesville last weekend, though, so who knows? That’s coming up at 4pm as well.
1:49pm: Wide receiver Sam Brown will be announcing shortly. Projection: Florida
2:00pm: In the first real upset of the day, wide receiver Sam Brown has signed with West Virginia. In hindsight, it’s not a complete shock, though: Florida already has four star receivers Marc Britt, Jaquavion Fraziars and Leonard Manuel in this 2020 class and it’s understandable that Brown wouldn’t want to fight through all of them just to see the field.
2:10pm: DT Tim Smith is next up. Flipping the current Alabama commit would more than erase the frustration of losing Sam Brown to West Virginia, although Smith, like Brown, could take note of the fact that the Gators are already well stocked at his position. So, with fairly low confidence (I’ll give it about 60/40 odds), I’ll project Smith to flip to Florida.
2:20pm: Tim Smith has decided to stick with his commitment to Alabama. The Gators made an eleventh hour push for him, but undoubtedly, Smith couldn’t help but notice that Florida’s 2020 class already consists of four defensive tackles. 0/2 on the day for Florida, with only the announcement of Donell Harris and possibly the LOI of Issiah Walker remaining.
3:05pm: Smith sticking with Alabama may crack the door open for DT Clyde Pinder- especially if Donell Harris sticks with Texas A&M at the top of the hour. Pinder, a current UNC commit, likely won’t sign today regardless, but be on the lookout for more updates regarding him in the coming days.
3:55pm: Florida is down to two remaining items on its 2020 NSD agenda: the announcement ceremony of defensive tackle Donell Harris and Issiah Walker’s LOI. For Harris, it’s a coin flip battle between Florida and Texas A&M (where he’s currently committed), so I wouldn’t truly be surprised regardless of his decision, but we’ve already seen two kids today prove to be wary of a large volume of players already committed to Florida at their position. Make it three. I’ll say he sticks with the Aggies.
4:15pm: DT Donell Harris is about to announce. Projection: Texas A&M.
4:30pm: DT Donell Harris sticks with Texas A&M. Other than the outstanding LOI from Issiah Walker, Florida’s day is done. Final thoughts on today are coming shortly.
6:55pm: DT Clyde Pinder has chosen to stick with North Carolina.
6:58pm: Florida is not expected to receive a LOI from offensive lineman Issiah Walker today, thus officially ending the day for the Gators. For our extensive recap of the day, check out our NSD wrap-up here. Thanks to everybody for following along throughout the day- we’ll do this again for the residual Signing Day in February.
7:30pm: Surprise postscript to the day: Offensive tackle Issiah Walker has sent in his letter of intent and is officially a Florida Gator. I would have thought he would send it in tomorrow, but that’s academic now. He’s a Florida Gator.
