Florida Football Recruiting: Position-by-Position Preview for the Class of 2015

The Florida Gators 2015 recruiting class is just getting underway, with eight current commitments on the board. Only a couple of those eight recruits are rated above the 3-star level, making this an unusually slow start for Florida.

With that being said, there are still several months between now and national signing day, and there are countless big names still considering bringing their talents to Gainesville.

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

With a lot of work to be done to make this year’s class successful, let’s take a look at each position and see how things may pan out for the Gators. 

Quarterback

Targets: Sheriron Jones and Deondre Francois 

Francois seems more set on a school where he'll have a chance to compete for playing time right away. That's why he probably won't end up a Gator and is currently looking elsewhere during his recruiting process. 

Jones, on the other hand, remains the top quarterback prospect for the Gators in this class and expects to visit Florida this Saturday, according to 247Sports.

Jones would be a big pickup for Florida and would keep the competition at quarterback alive after the school just landed a few big names in last year's class.

Florida remains the leader for Jones and would have plenty of quarterbacks to choose from next season, assuming he commits.

Running Back

Targets: Jacques Patrick, Ray-Ray McCloud III and T.J. Simmons 

Florida could very well end up not landing a single running back in this class. However, with Kelvin Taylor sticking around for another season and Adam Lane and Brandon Powell waiting in the wings, that may not be such a big deal.

Florida is pushing for Patrick, but he seems a lot more interested in Florida State. Having already visited the Seminoles several times, Patrick also mentioned spending some of his official visits on Florida State and Alabama, according to 247Sports.

No mention of Florida.

The Gators still have an outside shot at Simmons, who is from Florida, but this is the same running back who named UCLA his leader back in May.

Florida's best chance may come with McCloud, who visited Florida this week with his mother. 

After losing Dexter Williams to the Miami Hurricanes, Florida has to be a little concerned with its chances of landing a running back this year.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Commits: Derrick Dillon, Tristan Payton and Camrin Knight 

Targets: George Campbell 

One of Florida’s top recruits, Dillon committed last week. He’s a versatile player and can make things happen with the ball in his hands. Capable of playing quarterback, Dillon told 247Sports that he plans on playing wide receiver during his college days.

"

They want to use me as a slot receiver and use me with speed sweeps and bubbles and stuff like that. They just say they want to get me the ball in space and let me go.

I like how they throw the ball a lot to the slot receivers and they focus on getting them the ball.

"

With that being said, one of Florida's biggest recruiting targets is still out there.

Wide receiver George Campbell can take over a game. He is arguably the best receiver in this year's class. A lot of Florida’s recruiting success will be determined by what Campbell does with his commitment. 

Offensive Line

Commits: Tyler Jordan 

Targets: Martez Ivey, Isaiah Prince, Abdul Bello and Tyree St. Louis 

Jordan was an underrated pickup and has the potential to be a legit starter once he gets a little more experience and improves his technique.

Let’s not kid ourselves, though.

Ivey is the cream of the crop and is probably the most important player in this year’s class for Florida.

Ivey has All-SEC written all over him. He is a player who could step in right away and dominate at the college level. His potential commitment means the world to Florida.

Besides Ivey, St. Louis, Prince and Bello are all considering Florida and have pretty good upside. Bello is one of the more intriguing players in this class, as he has all of the tools to be a solid offensive lineman.

The scary part is that he really hasn’t played football until his junior year. 

Defensive Line

Commits: Andrew Ivie 

Targets: CeCe Jefferson and Byron Cowart

Florida has a chance to land a scary one-two punch at defensive end if it can convince Jefferson and Cowart to team up. Those two players are as physical and as athletic as they come. Getting them both would really put Florida’s recruiting class over the top and help make sure this defense remains one of the best in college football for years to come.

I suspect Jefferson is a lock to commit to the Gators, while Cowart says Florida is in his top two along with Oregon, according to 247Sports. 

Keep your fingers crossed, Florida fans.

As for Ivie, he lacks great size, but he has a strong motor and gets off the ball quickly. He can be a disruptive player once he adds a little more weight to his frame.

Linebacker

Targets: Jeffery Holland, Adonis Thomas, Tevon Coney and Roquan Smith 

Holland is obviously the biggest linebacker recruit for the Gators, but he’s doing too much flirting with Auburn that it’s difficult to really consider him a safe bet at this point. He’s expected to take an official visit soon, but his commitment is really a toss-up with the way things stand.

Right now, Thomas seems to be the biggest lock out of this group. He’s expected to visit Florida again this weekend, according to 247Sports. He’s certainly not a bad consolation prize if Florida can’t seal the deal on Holland.

Coney also seems to be favoring Florida, while Smith is likely going to stay close to home by picking the Georgia Bulldogs.

Landing Thomas would be huge with all of the talent already at the linebacker position. Holland and anybody else on top of that would just be the cherry on top of the sundae. 

Secondary

Commits: Marcus Lewis, Deontai Williams and Jalen Julius 

Targets: Jaquan Johnson

With a roster already loaded with young talented players in the secondary, a lot of big names seem to be looking elsewhere. However, that doesn’t mean that the Gators are striking out when it comes to corners and safeties.

Williams is one of the more physical players in this class, Julius is a versatile player with terrific ball skills and Lewis is a sure tackler with great instincts.

Johnson seems to be torn between Florida and Miami. He’s capable of playing either safety or running back, but would likely see playing time in the secondary if he picked the Gators. Johnson is a natural athlete with great explosion.

Florida has solid pieces in the secondary already, so this year’s class doesn’t need to hit this area particularly hard.