Florida gators friday night lights 2023

When Billy Napier was hired to replace Dan Mullen back in December, he made it very clear that he was going to hire an “army” of people to work for him. On Friday night, that “army” was on full display as Florida hosted its annual Friday Night Lights camp.

Maybe it was the Catapult GPS trackers being passed out to campers. Maybe it was the headshots of each UF assistant coach plastered on photos at check-in so prospects could quickly place a face to a name. Or maybe it was Napier and pretty much his entire staff dropping whatever they were doing to greet a priority target upon arrival. All of that – and much more – made this year’s Friday Night Lights feel very different than the ones run by Mullen, and if you’re a fan of the Gators, that’s a good thing.

Napier & Co. started the week off with the nation’s No. 23-ranked recruiting class per the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. After picking up a commitment Thursday night from Top247 cornerback Ja'Keem Jackson and another Friday afternoon from Top247 wide receiver Aidan Mizell, the folks in Gainesville will wake up Saturday morning with the nation’s No. 14-ranked class. But don’t be surprised if the Gators keep climbing rankings. After all, Napier’s first go at Friday Night Lights was by all accounts a hit. 

247Sports takes you inside the event below.

These elite camps have quickly turned into underclassmen showcases with most high-profile rising seniors not wanting to risk injury. And while it would be nice to see some of the big names compete, their absence allows kids like Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader to shine. The two five-star wide receivers out of Hollywood (Fla.) Chamiande-Madonna Prep put on a show once 1-on-1s got underway inside The Swamp, essentially scoring on each rep before quickly shutting things down. Smith, who checks in as the nation’s No. 1 wideout in the class of 2024 per 247Sports, is all of his 6-foot-3, 185-pound listing and is simply just a handful for opposing defensive backs. The same could be said about Traeder, who is currently pegged as the No. 3 athlete in the 2024 cycle. The two friends, who grew up playing youth football together down in Miami-Dade, got plenty of love from Napier in-between drills and should be viewed as some of the top rising juniors not only in Florida, but the entire country.

QB Marcus Stokes (Florida commit) – Fresh off a cruise ship, Stokes wasn’t initially planning to throw, but decided at the last minute to let it rip. His first pass during 1-on-1s was a beautiful dime to Smith down the sidelines for six. Stokes needs to clean things up, but the arm talent is there.

2025 DL Armondo Blount – Remember the name. Blount was by far the best defensive lineman working out Friday and killed offensive linemen with an explosive first step. The youngster out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard was the 3A state champion in the shot put as a freshman.

RB Michael Mitchell (Utah commit) – There was some buzz before the camp started that UF might offer Mitchell, who lives nearby in the town of Middleburg. As of 1 a.m. Saturday, that hadn’t happened, but Mitchell made his case that he can play as he scored multiple times on angle routes.

OL Caden Jones – When the camp moved from the IPF to the stadium, the 6-foot-7, 300-pound  Jones was spotted riding down the street in a Polaris Ranger with Napier. It was a tight squeeze, but one could tell that the Gators wanted to keep a close eye on the New Orleans De La Salle product. 

2024 DB Jaylen Heyward – No one in the DB line was as smooth as Heyward. The Top247 prospect out of Rockledge (Fla.) then held his own during 1-on-1s and was able to break up a few passes. He’s teammates with Florida 2023 commit Bryce Lovett and has been a regular in Gainesville.

WR Richard Dandridge (Temple commit) – The Gators already have two slot receivers committed in Creed Whittemore and Eugene Wilson. So, they probably don’t have room for a guy like Dandridge, but he flashed and had one of the catches of the night when he tightroped the goaline.

ATH Desirrio Riles – Riles is a QB-turned-LB/TE at Jacksonville (Fla.) University Chrisitan that’s over 6-foot-3 and equipped with long arms. He was tasked with covering running backs once 1-on-1s got underway and had a nice pass break up. Riles could be an interesting project for someone.

CB Dwight Bootle II (Nebraska commit) – Bootle essentially fought for reps and was pretty sticky in coverage on the outside. The senior out of Miami Palmetto lacks length, but he’s added some good weight throughout the torso and has some of the required skills to make a difference in the slot.

2024 DL Adam Kissayi – Kissayi is a complete unknown from Palm Beach (Fla.) Bayside that was hard to miss at registration. He not only measured in at 6-foot-6.5, 205 pounds, but had an 82-inch wingspan to boost. Kissayi is extremely raw, and thin, but he showed some fight out on the edge.

2024 ATH Chalil Cummings – There’s a lot to like about Cummings, who attends Stake (Fla.) Bradford. He started off the night working at safety, but flipped over to wide receiver towards the tail end of camp. He excelled in both roles. Florida has yet to offer, but that could change one day.

One of the biggest goals for Florida in the 2023 cycle  is to reconstruct/rebuild the defensive line room. As one contact put it, the Gators “must'' get longer as they want to play like Alabama and Georgia do in the trenches with a true nose, two 4is and an elite, twitched-up pass rusher.

It won’t be easy to sign all of them, but pretty much everything UF needs to build out that type of front was walking around the facilities Friday night taking in the action as James Smith (No. 2 DL per 247Sports), Samuel M'Pemba (No. 3 EDGE), Jaquavious Russaw (No. 8 EDGE), Kelby Collins (No. 24 DL), Kamran James (No. 26 DL) and Will Norman (No. 31 DL) were all in attendance. As were current UF commits T.J. Searcy (No. 28), Gavin Hill (No. 30 DL) and Isaiah Nixon (No. 35 EDGE).

The offensive line group of visitors wasn’t as deep as the defensive line group, but it still was interesting to see multiple coaches/staffers walking around with “5=1” gear. Apparently that’s the motto/mindset for Florida’s offensive line with Napier now in charge. The Gators currently hold pledges from two 2023 offensive linemen: four-star Knijeah Harris, who was hanging out in street clothes Friday, and three-star Bryce Lovett.

When Napier gave his opening statement he stressed creating competition Friday. Another coach said in passing that the Gators wanted FNL to be like FNL of old where everyone in the state would show hoping to land an offer. The Napier regime might not be there just yet, but there were still a lot of kids committed elsewhere going through drills like South Carolina safety commit Cameron Upshaw, Indiana safety commit Amare Ferrell and Minnesota wide receiver commit Donielle Hayes. One would have to think all three are prospects Florida will continue to evaluate.

Miami Northwestern four-star wide receiver Andy Jean was one of the last prospects to leave campus Friday night according to Swamp247's Blake Alderman. He's tentatively scheduled to be at Miami's BBQ on Saturday, but there's reason to believe this one might be trending in the right direction for Florida. The Gators also seem to have found some traction with Tampa (Fla.) Wharton Top247 cornerback commit Dijon Johnson. He remains committed to Ohio State, but was seen hanging out Friday night with UF commits Treyaun Webb and Shariff Denson. Then there's Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Jordan Castell. He's set to announce a commitment Saturday at 10:30 a.m. EST and his orange and blue hat Friday night might be a telling sign of what's to come.

A handful of 2024 quarterbacks threw for Florida, but no 2024 arm seemed to get as much love as five-star DJ Lagway, who was taking in all the action from a distance. The Lone Star State standout was in town with his father. IMG Academy cornerback Desmond Ricks was another 2024 five-star in attendance.