Florida Football Recruiting: Alex McCalister Commits To Florida
by LanceDavis on Jan 23, 2012 1:03 PM EST
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PrintAlex McCalister has committed to Florida, according to ESPN's Derek Tyson. McCalister chose UF over offers from Georgia Tech and North Carolina. That gives the Gators 20 commitments in the Class of 2012, 12 of which are on the defensive side of the ball. Don’t worry; offense is coming later.
Fellow Gator commit Bryan Cox, Jr. hinted, well, pretty much gave it away on his Twitter account, that McCalister would be committing to the Gators today. The two defensive ends visitited UF this past weekend.
McCalister is a rangy defensive end at 6’6”, 212 pounds. He has tremendous length and a body frame similar to former Gator Lynden Trail when he signed with Florida in 2010. Although McCalister has the range and length, he doesn’t have the overall size and build to make an early impact on defense. He’ll likely need some time to develop and add some weight.
The McCalister commitment gives Florida four defensive ends in the 2012 class -- Cox, Jonathan Bullard and Quinteze Williams being the others -- but the Gators aren’t done recruiting the position. Will Muschamp is still in hot pursuit of Florida State commit Dante Fowler, who visited Florida over the weekend. Fowler said he remains 100 percent committed to Florida State, but will do the "hat pick" routine on National Signing Day. Actions speak louder than words here.
Florida remains in the mix for defensive ends Darius Hamilton and Leonard Williams. Another name to keep an eye on is Junior Gnonkonde. Gnonkonde was Georgia Tech’s first Class of 2012 commitment, but recently had his offer pulled because his test score was too low. John White, Gnonkonde’s legal guardian, told the AJC’s Michael Carvell that if Florida decides to pursue the former Georgia Tech commit, “they would offer him a scholarship with the understanding that if he doesn’t get his score up high enough, he couldn’t come.”
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I like this kid a lot, good size and a athlete, if he can get to around 260 or so he would be a handful for tackles off the edge. Also we have more than 3 de in this class you forgot about bullard, he’s one of the better ends we have
by RNappy20 on Jan 23, 2012 1:27 PM EST via Android app reply actions
At 6'6"/6'7" it's possible
210 lbs basketball players can put on 25-30 lbs at that height, with a decent frame, and they’re not trying to bulk up in the same way as a football player.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 23, 2012 3:22 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah 250 is more reasonable
But it all depends on how much he really worked out in high school some kids don’t really work out that much. He could get on a good plan and really put on weight fast
by RNappy20 on Jan 23, 2012 3:49 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
Maybe if he doesn't fill out like the coaches want
we can actually switch him to a position that he can succeed in. It kind of felt like we lost out on some potential with Trail.
I completely agree with this I thought trial was gonna be a stud with his stature, and that didn’t work out. I’m always a little skeptical about 6’ 6 defensive linemen, but he looks good and hopefully he will fill out and turn out to be a good pick up
by RNappy20 on Jan 23, 2012 2:01 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
If he's fast, make him a WR
if he fills out, keep him at DE.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 23, 2012 2:13 PM EST up reply actions
Pretty much, yeah
I witnessed the Kentucky - Western Kentucky derpfest of '11 and survived to tell the tale
by SC-Gator on Jan 23, 2012 2:22 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
Ostensibly, you'd only recruit a guy that's 6'6" and 210 pounds to play DE
if he’s fucking blazing fast for that position. He must have decent speed. Ball handling abilities…who knows?
The problem is you have to put just an exhaustively high amount of weight on the guy. 50 pounds will get him competitive in terms of just weight, but at 6’6", he’ll need even more to just balance it out. And he’ll have to maintain his speed.
Clearly a project guy. I hope it doesn’t burn us.
let’s keep in mind that 260 lb guys are typically much slower than 210 lb guys.
In all kinds of weather...
now we just need Diggs and Agholar
by BradKenny2000 on Jan 23, 2012 2:18 PM EST via Android app reply actions
Agholor is probably going to USC
I think Diggs is almost locked up, but Urban Meyer could sway him. Being on the other side of the Meyer recruiting machine is not fun. Defensively, Howard looks like a lock. If Florida can land one of Harvey-Clemons, Hamilton, or Fowler, then this defense will be up there with 2010’s class as far as on-paper beasts go.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 23, 2012 2:23 PM EST up reply actions
I was going to ask about Howard
so that’s good to hear
Anyone else troubled
that we seem to be filling our remaining scholarships with 3-star guys while there are still a bunch of 4 and 5 star guys on the table?!?1
In all kinds of weather...
There are theoretically a bunch of scholarships left.
Including what we can get to by counting back, etc. But the other thing is that you can’t just swoop in and get kids (unless, well, you’re Urban Meyer) without established relationships.
And Meyer bringing Pantoni to Ohio State means he has “established relationships” of a sort.
by Andy Hutchins on Jan 23, 2012 3:22 PM EST up reply actions
These guys are fringe 4 stars
kinda like Trey Burton. It’s usually a lack of size that keeps them from being better recruits. They aren’t bad gets though. McCalister was still the 13th best prospect in North Carolina.
Plus, as Andy said, there’s plenty of spots left. UF’s best three classes all included at least 5 3-star guys. Depth is nearly as important as potential.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 23, 2012 3:27 PM EST up reply actions
I’m never troubled by adding numbers on the D-Line. With the lines, there’s almost never such a thing as too much depth.
by CanWeBeMature on Jan 23, 2012 7:58 PM EST up reply actions
This is the problem though:
It creates a situation down the road (say, next year or the year after) in which a scholarship isn’t available for a higher ranking and better player.
Editor at Alligator Army.
Theres not many 4/5 star recruits left that have us even listed in their top 3. So if we can sign the few players left that show interest, I’ll be happy.
"When you argue correctly, you're never wrong."-Nick Naylor
Howard, Diggs, Algohor, Harvey-Clemons, Hamilton, Williams
That’s 6, all with Florida in their official or “unofficial” top 3. Fowler is a really really outside shot, but he technically has Florida in his top 2.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 24, 2012 12:01 AM EST up reply actions
I'm not saying that in a bad way.
6 sounds about right, I wasn’t intending to play it down. If 3-4 of the six sign i’ll be happy. If all of them sign, that would be awesome but if not I’m ok with filling in the open slots with some 3 star players.
"When you argue correctly, you're never wrong."-Nick Naylor
If 3-4 of them sign we should be absolutely estatic.
In all kinds of weather...
by skigator93 on Jan 24, 2012 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Its hard for me to get really excited about recruiting classes
But your right.
"When you argue correctly, you're never wrong."-Nick Naylor
You never know with these guys.
De’Ante Saunders got to UF early, worked his butt off, and earned himself a starting spot. Played pretty well, too.
True but the situation at the safety position was left a little jumbled after Will Hill declared unexpectedly for the draft. There was no proven player to step into that role, so with a new coaching staff and new defensive scheme it provided the perfect opportunity for a freshman to step in and win the job. That should be less likely in year 2 of the system with Ronald Powell already pretty much entrenched as the starter at the buck spot.
I think the safety spot was a little more stable than defensive end last season.
RoPo underperformed, Willie Green was expectedly unspectacular, McCray was above average, and then there was Sharrif Floyd playing out of position. Earl Okine and Ked Johnson… I mean… Okine got in and made some plays late in the season, but that’s about it.
With Green gone and Floyd moving back to DT, there’s plenty of PT available. Honestly, if Florida doesn’t add another DE in 2012, I’d still consider this DE haul a success. You have to imagine one of the three three-stars will out-perform expectations.
I’m considering Cox and MCalister at the buck position. The Gators got Bullard for the DE spot, and I think Quinteze Williams could be playing there early on too.
I think Cox could outgrow the buck. Yeah, Bullard’s not gonna do the buck thing. Fowler would get a strong look, Hamilton would be a regular DE.
The important thing for UF this go around was to get numbers, something I think they should’ve done at OL. If they can add Young, then that should be fine.
Powell did pretty well
I’m not sure I get this underachieving thing from him. He led the team in sacks, and was 4th in tackles for loss. It’ll be nice to finally have usable depth behind him, but I nobody’s stealing his playing time.
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by Chekhov's Spread Gun Option on Jan 24, 2012 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
Adding 2 guys lower on the board at the buck is indicative however.
Depth is always important, but the coaches clearly wanted Fowler, Jenkins, or Hamilton more at the buck position. Considering that they have taken 2 guys in the last 3 days that will need probably at least a year if not 2 before being able to contribute would indicate they don’t feel strongly about their chances with the other guys higher up the board.
3 star guys
I went back 6 recruiting classes to check on the 3 star guys. The best one was Chas Henry. 2006 was a banner year for 3-star Gators though, with Maurice Hurt, Brandon James, Lawrence Marsh.
Overall, aside from special teamers and OL, 3-star guys don’t see the field much (if at all) for the Gators. Dalls Baker and Ray McDonald were 3-star guys, so there certainly are exceptions.
In all kinds of weather...
Yeah, I wouldn’t really count special teams players (read: kickers) when looking at recruiting rankings. Because more often than not, they hurt a teams’ ranking instead of helping. Because, you know, average star ranking and what not.
But yeah, every once in a while a player will see significant (non-injury or garbage time) time. But like you said, it’s not all that often comparatively.
Editor at Alligator Army.
I look at 3 star guys as depth. At a program like Florida, yeah, 4- and 5-star guys are most likely to turn out to be the stars of the team. But any good team needs role players to provide depth and insurance in case of injuries. I’m sure a lot of those 3 star guys you were looking at saw the field a lot more than you think.
by CanWeBeMature on Jan 24, 2012 7:42 PM EST up reply actions
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