Early Signing Period 2017: S Randy Russell signs with Florida Gators

No single commit in the Florida Gators’ 2018 recruiting class did more talking up of the Gators on social media than South Florida safety Randy Russell. Now, the loquacious defensive back can do all of that as a Florida signee, after the school announced his signing on Wednesday.

Russell is rated a three-star safety prospect by the 247Sports Composite rankings, but the service itself sees Russell as a four-star prospect. At 5’10” and just 180 pounds, Russell lacks prototypical size for the safety position, but he compensates for that with violent hitting and a nose for the ball that you can see clearly in his highlights.

Russell is the third defensive back to sign with the Gators during the 2017 early signing period, joining fellow safeties John Huggins and Amari Burney. While this creates a glut at safety, it is possible, and maybe even likely, that some of the safeties signed in this class will end up at other positions when the dust settles.

Russell is also Florida’s 10th signee of the early signing period. Those 10 signees and three other commits currently comprise Florida’s 2018 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 30 by the 247Sports Composite rankings.