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Road To Signing Day: Gators Land TJ Moore, Commits Vocally Lobby For Recruits

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:06 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Nicholas Gonzalez/FanSided via Hail Florida Hail

Florida Gators land four-star lineman T.J. Moore and are closing in on four-star Kai-Leon Herbert. Are the Gators closing strong?Merry Christmas! The Florida Gators opened a BIG present both figuratively and literally on the day, and appear to be closing strong as we heading closer to National Signing Day.

News

Last week, I talked about how I was fairly confident the Gators were going to land four-star offensive lineman T.J. Moore, and they did just that. Moore is from Mallard Creek, NC and was recruited by none other than former Florida offensive tackle D.J. Humphries.

UF beat out rival Tennessee for his talents, as well as the Will Muschamp coached South Carolina Gamecocks. Below is a tweet of Moore announcing his commitment.

The announcement pushed Gators to becoming the 19th ranked class on the 247Sports composite.

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Staying on the subject of the offensive line, four-star offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert has confirmed Florida has obtained his final visit before National Signing Day. The visit is dated for January 27th, according to 247 Sports, and many believe that Herbert will announce his commitment on the 28th based on his recent tweet. 

That can only be a good sign for the Gators. If they can land Herbert, that would be three four-star offensive linemen in this class.

Another hint Herbert might be putting out is retweeting Gators commit Zach Carter’s tweet below.

Not the world’s biggest news, but still something positive.

Florida lands a spot in 2018 five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman’s Top 10. Ohio State appears to be the frontrunner just in front of Alabama for the Ohio native.

Clemson and USC are also reportedly in the mix. Below is the tweet of his top 10.

Next: Rumors

Rumors

This was touched on before, but four-star offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert now appears to be Florida’s to lose. He’s still currently a Michigan commit, but Florida appears to be his current frontrunner with winning his final visit and his recent Twitter actions.

A couple of Florida commits have been active on Twitter lately, headed by four-star Zach Carter. Carter made numerous tweets the last few days talking about how strong the class of 2017 will finish by signing day.

Marco Wilson has also been involved with the pursuing of three-star shifty wideout Mike Harley. Harley currently doesn’t have a Florida offer, but will visit the school January 27th along with a few others.

Harley is currently committed to West Virginia, but Miami is making a strong push. It’s also believed if Florida extends the offer, he will be an instant flip.

Keep an eye on how this pans out.

Checking In

This seems to be a recurring theme, but Zach Carter has been beyond active in recruiting for the Gators. There’s zero cance he flips or even thinks about decomitting even with a couple visits planned that aren’t Florida.

He’s most likely just getting the free trip.

Is Florida losing ground for Elijah Blades? Possibly. The California native has recently removed Florida from his bio and has been oddly quiet about doing so.

No official report on a decomittment, but the four-star cornerback is starting to show some warning signs of his pledge. Blades is projected as a day one starter and would be a big loss for the Gators even if they do land four-star defensive backs Brad Stewart and Chris Henderson.

Early enrollees Kadarious Toney and Kemore Gamble are ready to get their feet wet on campus. Both have been vocal about how excited they are to finally be in Gainesville, as seen in the tweets below.

Next: Predictions: Offense

Class Of 2017 Predictions

Quarterback (1) –

3-Star Jake Allen

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/11/16 Notes: It’s very unlikely that the Gators will take another quarterback with three in the system next year and one already committed. Allen lost a star, but the talent is there.

Running Back (2) –

3-Star Malik Davis

3-Star Adarius Lemons (Pending Grades)

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16  Notes:  Based on his recent tweets, three-star running back Adarius Lemons seems to be closer to being academically eligible to sign with Florida. Only time will tell, but the tweet below has me remaining positive.

12/11/16 Notes: Malik Davis is pretty much a lock, and if Adarius Lemons can’t qualify, it seems he will be the only back taken. Yesterday was the last possible date for Lemons to take the ACT to take it before National Signing Day.

Wide Receiver (2) –

4-Star Daquon Green

4-Star James Robinson

12/26/16 Notes: The above two are fully expected, but recent rumors have pointed to possibly adding Michael Harley to this class. I am still a little skeptical he will get an offer because of his small frame, but we will see. Until he gets an offer, can’t even bother to add him to the class.

12/18/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/11/16 Notes: Both are pretty many locks to The Swamp. I can’t see it going any other way, even if Clemson and Alabama make a late push for Robinson.

Tight End (2) –

3-Star Zech Byrd

4-Star Kemore Gamble

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/11/16 Notes: Nothing to really see or talk about here. Both will be in The Swamp come next summer. Doubt the Gators add another tight end, as it hasn’t even seemed liked they have pushed for one.

Offensive Line (2) –

4-Star Kadeem Telfort

4-Star T.J. Moore

4-Star Kai Leon-Herbert

12/26/16 Notes: Moore joined the class, as expected from last week, and now I also expect four-star Kai-Leon Herbert. I have read, heard and seen enough for me to feel confident with this selection. Herbert will be on Florida’s campus four days before signing day and his announcement is expected to come on the 28th. All signs point to KLH joining the Orange & Blue.

12/18/16 Notes: Donaldson has closed up shop, so I was wrong on that. I am seeing and hearing nothing but good reports on Herbert, but this was before Wilson going to UGA. I think that hurts the Gators in more ways than one. T.J. Moore, on the other hand, has been trending up with the Gators. Florida holds the right to his last visit and reportedly the running is between UF and North Carolina State. For him to choose N.C. State over the Gators would be a shocker.

12/11/16 Notes: Telfort is a lock. If you are following me on Twitter, you know I’m relatively optimistic the Gators can flip Donaldson. The in-home visit seemed to have gone great and he will have a shot at immediate playtime here in the swamp.

Defensive Line (4)

5- Star Aubrey Solomon

4-Star Zachary Carter

3-Star Tyrone Truesdell

3-Star Kyree Campbell

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/11/16 Notes: Go big or home. Three of the four on the list are potentially locks. Solomon is the only one in doubt. He had to schedule the Gators as his last visit for a reason. In my eyes, it means he would like to come here, but he needs one last “woo.”

Linebackers (3) –

4-Star Rahyme Johnson (ATH, but will play LB in college)

3-Star Ventrell Miller

3-Star James Houston

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/11/16 Notes: The linebacker class is lackluster on paper, but the film checks out for all three of these guys.

Defensive Backs (4)

4-Star Elijah Blades

4-Star Marco Wilson

4-Star Brad Stewart

3-Star Shawn Davis

12/26/16 Notes: A little bit of a Blades scare is brewing, but I still think he finishes off as a Gator.

12/18/16 Notes: I still do not have the utmost confidence in landing Bishop like some others.

12/11/16 Notes: This cornerback class is loaded. Stewart is more of a prototypical safety, which is where he’ll most likely play at the next level. The Gators appear to be trending upwards for four-star Tray Bishop and four-star Devon Hunter, but I’m not as confident in those two to put them on my prediction board. Even without them, this is one heck of a DB class.

Athletes (1) –

3-Star Kadarius Toney

4-Star Christopher Henderson

12/26/16 Notes: Nothing has changed.

12/18/16 Notes: Don’t know how or why I forgot to add “Hendo” to the board last week, but now he’s here. Almost a surefire lock for Florida.

12/11/16 Notes: Filthy athletic ability. Zero ideas where he will play, but I can assure it will not be at quarterback.

Until next week!

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