National Signing Day may be seven months away, but the Gators took strides during the month of June toward building another strong football recruiting class.
After coming into June with just four commitments, Florida received solid verbals from six prospects last month to push the 2011 recruiting class to a total of 10 commitments so far.
The six commitments in June are more than any other Southeastern Conference school and in-state rivals UM and FSU.
Among the verbal commitments the Gators received last month, two came from four-star recruits and three came from three-star recruits, as rated by Rivals.
Florida started the month slow on the recruiting trail, not landing a commitment until nearly two weeks in when Lakeland’s four-star wide receiver Javares McRoy decommitted from Texas Tech, where he originally committed with his older brother Benjamin – a three-star athlete.
“I just thought about where I really wanted to go and what best fit me and my running style, and UF fits my style,” McRoy told The Lakeland Ledger last month.
McRoy became the Gators’ first skill position commitment of the 2011 class and the first Lakeland prospect to commit to UF since 2007, when the Gators signed Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, Ahmad Black and Chris Rainey.
After McRoy’s commitment to the Gators, the ball kept rolling along the recruiting trail and five more prospects verbally pledged to play for UF in 2011.
On June 17, three-star fullback, Hunter Joyer, accepted a scholarship offer from Florida after his showing at coach Urban Meyer’s football camp that week.
The 6-foot, 245-pound Joyer is rated No. 1 overall at his position by Rivals and ran for 1,030 yards and 10 touchdowns for Tampa Catholic in 2008.
His commitment is peculiar, considering how little Meyer has used fullbacks during his tenure at Florida, but could point to the Gators deploying the I-formation more in the coming years with quarterback John Brantley under center.
Four days after Joyer gave his verbal to the Gators, they landed two more recruits in Tommy Jordan, an offensive lineman from Ridgefield, Conn., and Plantation linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Jordan is a three-star nose guard prospect who committed to Florida after visiting the football camp last month.
Shazier, the other four-star prospect the team landed in June, recorded 87 tackles and 19 sacks as a junior last year for the Colonels.
The linebacker, who is rated as the ninth-best at his position by Rivals, visited the school with his family last month and committed to the Gators shortly thereafter.
According to The Gainesville Sun, Shazier said Meyer was “excited” by his commitment and thanked him for it.
Florida’s June recruiting surge came to a climax on Monday when it gained its fifth and sixth verbal commitments of the month.
Nature Coast wide receiver Ja’Juan Story gave his verbal to UF on Monday, shunning scholarship offers from at least 22 schools, including five other SEC schools and UF’s in-state rivals FSU and UM.
Story, who joins McRoy as the Gators’ only two wide receiver commitments thus far for 2011, brings even more speed to Meyer’s offense, as he runs a 4.4 40-yard dash, according to Rivals.
As a junior, Story caught 13 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 265 yards and two scores on 27 carries. He also recorded 22 tackles and one sack while playing defensive back for the Sharks.
Story could play on either side of the ball for the Gators by the time 2011 comes around, but will be playing quarterback at Nature Coast this coming season as a senior.
The same day Story committed to Florida, the Gators also landed their tenth recruit for 2011 – one that wasn’t even on their radar at the beginning of the month.
Kicker Kyle Christy of Brownsburg, Ind., committed to UF after receiving an offer Monday night.
Christy wasn’t recruited by UF until he attended the team’s kicking camp that took place from June 21-23.
“I talked to Urban Meyer and he said they actually had three or four guys there specifically just to look at them, and I wasn’t one of those guys,” Christy said. “But I stole the show.”
Christy said he impressed coaches with his punting and called them Monday night. It was then they decided to offer him a scholarship, which he quickly accepted over an offer from LSU.