Early Signing Period 2017: K Evan McPherson signs with Florida Gators

The Florida Gators officially landed the services of kicker Evan McPherson on Wednesday, announcing his signing as part of the 2017 early signing period.

McPherson flipped to the Gators on December 10, deciding to follow Dan Mullen from Mississippi State to Florida.

The 6’0”, 165-pound specialist from Fort Payne, Alabama, is rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports — but, more importantly, he is the No. 1 kicker in the 2018 class per those same 247Sports rankings, and the No. 1 kicker in the 2018 class per Kohl’s Kicking. The latter service, which runs camps that McPherson has attended, calls him “the nation’s best FG kicker.”

You can view the Under Armour All-American’s highlights here, or check out the snippets Florida posted to Twitter from its official football account.

With Eddy Piñeiro declaring for the NFL Draft, McPherson is likely to assume kicking duties next season. McPherson has leg strength to spare, much like his predecessor, having kicked a 60-yard field goal during a game this year — the second-longest field goal in the annals of Alabama high school football.

McPherson is the eighth signee of the Gators’ early signing period, and one of Florida’s 13 current commitments in the 2018 recruiting class, which is presently ranked No. 30 by the 247Sports Composite rankings.