Billy Napier recently added another IMG Academy recruit to Florida’s list of 2023 commits in offensive lineman Knijeah Harris and is looking to continue establishing the pipeline between UF and the Bradenton program. The next Ascender on the Napier’s list is four-star defensive lineman Will Norman and the folks at Swamp247 feel strongly enough about the Gators’ chances that they submitted a crystal ball prediction in favor of the Orange and Blue on Thursday.
Blake Alderman submitted the prediction with a confidence level of six out of a possible 10. There’s only one other crystal ball submitted so far and it comes from FSU insider Josh Newberg in support of the Penn State Nittany Lions. Norman named the Gators in his top five along with PSU, LSU, Michigan and Texas A&M at the start of the month and it seems that UF is pulling out in front of this one.
Of those teams that made the recent cut in Norman’s top schools, the Gators have seemed to be pressing the hardest for him. Some intel Swamp247 has received is that another school that has recruited Norman for most of this year feels he is leaning to the Gators. Sources close to the Florida program are also feeling good on where they stand in this recruitment. — Swamp247
The next step for Florida would be to get Norman on campus again, this time on an official visit. Those trips could make the difference for Norman and shake things back up before his planned decision prior to the start of his senior year. That said, Florida’s official visits have almost uniformly impressed recruits since Napier took over, so it should only help to get him into the Swamp. The question is whether or not other programs can impress him more.
The 247Sports composite ranks Norman as the No. 88 overall recruit in the country and the No. 11 defensive lineman in the class of 2023. Adding him and Harris after landing Kamari Wilson last season would solidify Napier as the bridge between Gainesville and IMG.
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