Florida lands four-star small forward over Kansas, Michigan and UGA
The Florida Gators always had something of a leg up for four-star small forward recruit CJ Ingram, but that doesn’t make his commitment any less of a big deal for head coach Todd Golden and staff.
Ingram, from Orlando, Florida (Oak Ridge High School), is the son of Cornelius Ingram, who was a second-team All-SEC tight end for Florida in 2007 and part of the Gators’ BCS national championship teams in 2007 and 2009.
So yes, the Gators had a leg up in this recruitment, but it was still impressive to see them land Ingram over the likes of Kansas, Michigan and Georgia.
“It always felt like home,” Ingram told On3’s Joe Tipton regarding his commitment to Florida. “The atmosphere is just different with the fans. My visit just felt almost perfect and I’m doing [it] at home in front of friends and family. Coach Todd, Coach Taurean Green, Coach Hartmann and Coach Talley, they tell me every day what I can be in the future, how I can develop, and how I fit in the system.”
Ingram considers himself a “two-way slasher” who can play the one two or three at the college level. According to 247Sports, he’s the No. 11 small forward in the 2025 basketball recruiting class.
He’s also Florida’s second commitment for the class, joining four-star combo guard Alex Lloyd in a Gators’ class that’s now ranked top-10 nationally.
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Florida loses key defensive contributor for the season
Few things sting worse than a fall camp injury that takes out an entire season, but that’s what the Florida Gators are dealing with after a major injury this past weekend.
Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jamari Lyons was injured on Saturday in Florida’s first fall scrimmage. On Monday, head coach Billy Napier revealed that Lyons has been lost for the season.
“Jamari Lyons broke his ankle, and he’ll be out for the season. “Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with him,” Napier said, according to On3.
“We got all 132 on the spot there to support him as he was carried off the field,” Napier continued. “I think that’s an indicator that these guys are doing something right, you know, that there is that type of connection to some degree.”
Nobody wants to see anybody hurt, but it stings even worse when it happens in a scrimmage. This will also hurt Florida on the field in 2024 and maybe even in 2025 as Lyons was slated to be the backup nose tackle behind senior Cam Jackson.
A former four-star recruit, Lyons played in all 12 games last season for the Gators with one start. He notched 20 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
OTHERS TOPICS…
Billy Napier is toying with options to fill snaps lost to Jamari Lyons injury
Billy Napier confirmed yesterday that defensive lineman Jamari Lyons broke his ankle during Saturday’s scrimmage and will miss the 2024 season. The former four-star prospect out of Vierra High took 198 snaps last season in a rotational role and was positioned to take about the same number of snaps in 2024.
In a vacuum, the Gators should have players who can step up, but replacing the versatility of Lyons will be a challenge for Florida in 2024.
Florida Football: Move Around
During his press conference, Napier highlighted the flexibility Lyons has to play both inside and along the end.
“There will be some adjustment. But the biggest thing was Jamari (Lyons) can play nose and end. That’s where we’re going to have to shuffle the deck a little bit.”
To that point, last year Lyons lined up in the A gap 76 times and in the B gap 110 times, according to Pro Football Focus. He was better at stopping the run than he was getting to the QB, but having a guy who can eat up snaps at multiple spots as needed does add value to the team.
Napier hinted Michai Boireau and Kelby Collins would be the next guys up to take on the snaps Lyons was going to get.
Boireau is a true freshman who has had quite the journey to fall camp. Listed at 6’5″ and 351 pounds, he was committed to Florida, then de-committed in September and re-committed in December. On paper, he would take the inside snaps Lyons took.
Collins had 274 snaps last season, with all but 46 of those snaps coming out wide. He had three sacks and 15 hurries as a true freshman and could inherit the outside snaps from Lyons.
Napier also mentioned the possibility of moving Tyreak Sapp back inside. Sapp played EDGE last year in the wake of the injury to Justus Boone after playing inside during the 2022 campaign. Sapp was solid in spots along the outside, but his “win rate” of 7.7% was bottom half in the country among defensive ends who had at least 100 pass rush attempts.
And while there isn’t a ton of depth along the outside, and Sapp is a potential starter along the outside this year, Napier may feel he can get close enough production from guys like Collins, Kamram James, or five-star freshman LJ McCray then it may make sense to try and push Sapp back inside.If all of this sounds complicated, the moral is that Lyons was slated to take about 15 to 20 snaps per game, and Napier has multiple pathways to fill those snaps.
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