There’s serious improvement in the Gators camp as they move up in position from…

On Monday, I introduced adjusted recruiting rankings for 2024, taking into account early enrollees from January who then transferred during the spring portal window.

Calling these “recruiting rankings” isn’t entirely accurate, since early enrollee transfers differ from signing high school players. However, these transfers also aren’t what most people think of as “transfers” since they don’t have a season of college play to consider. They occupy a unique middle ground, and “adjusted rankings” might be the best term available.

With that said, the University of Florida’s 2024 class improves from No. 13 in the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings to No. 8 in the adjusted rankings when all true freshmen, not just traditional signees, are considered.

In my previous piece, I noted that one of Florida’s two early enrollee transfers, cornerback Jameer Grimsley, was initially a top recruit for the Gators. He signed with Alabama but chose to leave after Nick Saban retired. Given his Tampa roots and existing relationships with Billy Napier and his staff, UF was well-positioned to secure him.

Today, I’ll break down the results of applying the same process to the 2023 recruiting classes. I examined the top 15 teams in the ’23 Composite rankings, assessed their signing classes for transfers out, and reviewed both the 2023 and 2024 transfer classes for players who were ’23 high school or JUCO signees.

This analysis is a “what-if” scenario with ratings: what would the rankings look like if signing classes only included the players they signed who remained and the ’23 signees from elsewhere who transferred in? Here’s an example to illustrate.

Florida only lost DT Will Norman from its 2023 signing class. During the winter portal period, the Gators added LB Grayson Howard, originally signed out of high school in South Carolina’s ’23 class. In the spring portal period, UF picked up Cormani McClain, originally signed out of high school in Colorado’s ’23 class.

Using the 247Sports class calculator for 2023 Florida, I removed Norman and all incoming transfers for that cycle, focusing solely on high school signees still at UF. I then added Howard and McClain to see what their rating would be if they had signed out of high school.

I repeated this process for the other 14 teams in the top 15 of the rankings.

Is this a completely foolproof way to evaluate how transfers have shaped the 2023 classes for these teams? Not entirely. Even just a year out, some players’ high school ratings have proven to be off the mark. That’s why 247Sports re-ranks even recent high school players when they transfer. However, these players are still just a year removed from high school, so they have time to live up to expectations.

Before revealing the newly adjusted rankings, a couple of points stood out.

Firstly, the Gators are the only team in the top 15 to have lost just one ’23 signee to the portal. Tennessee, Clemson, and Penn State have lost only two each. Losing three or more signees to transfer even a year later is not unusual—only Alabama and Texas A&M among these programs have changed head coaches since the 2023 classes were signed. Player movement has increased significantly.

Secondly, there’s the dynamic with Grimsley. Both Howard and McClain were priority targets for Florida. They chose to sign elsewhere for different reasons but ended up in the portal for different reasons again. Napier and his staff’s relationships with these players helped bring them aboard the second time around. While it’s ideal to sign players out of high school, maintaining relationships can pay off in the transfer era.

With only one signee lost but several highly rated transfers coming in, you probably guessed that Florida rose in the rankings after adjustments. You’d be correct.

Here are the adjusted rankings:

| Team | Adj Rtg | Adj Rk | Orig Rtg | Orig Rk | Diff |
|————–|———|——–|———-|———|——-|
| Alabama | 319.09 | 1 | 328 | 1 | -8.91 |
| Georgia | 315.68 | 2 | 312.58 | 2 | 3.1 |
| Texas | 303.62 | 3 | 306.31 | 3 | -2.69 |
| Ohio State | 289.02 | 4 | 290.72 | 4 | -1.7 |
| Tennessee | 284.7 | 5 | 277 | 10 | 7.7 |
| Texas A&M | 281.3 | 6 | 268.85 | 15 | 12.45 |
| Florida | 280.43 | 7 | 271.43 | 13 | 9 |
| Oregon | 277.77 | 8 | 278.44 | 9 | -0.67 |
| Oklahoma | 275.54 | 9 | 288.15 | 5 | -12.61|
| Miami | 274.56 | 10 | 284.64 | 7 | -10.08|
| Clemson | 270.38 | 11 | 273.39 | 11 | -3.01 |
| Notre Dame | 264.17 | 12 | 272.74 | 12 | -8.57 |
| Penn State | 263.43 | 13 | 270.1 | 14 | -6.67 |
| LSU | 255.36 | 14 | 288.7 | 6 | -33.34|
| USC | 254.95 | 15 | 280.44 | 8 | -25.49|

Florida rose from No. 13 to No. 7. Texas A&M had an even more significant leap, moving from No. 15 to No. 6. The Aggies managed this by losing just three of their lower-rated recruits from 2023 and adding five class of ’23 transfers. Notably, CB Dezz Ricks, a 5-star in high school, contributed significantly to their gain. Mike Elko brought in 28 transfers after losing 31 players, indicating a substantial reshaping of the roster.

Each team’s story is unique. For example, LSU dropped significantly because they lost ten players from their ’23 class. USC also fell due to four significant departures, including 5-star QB Malachi Nelson, now at Boise State.

Napier’s relationship-focused recruiting strategy helped Florida secure highly-rated transfers like Grimsley, Howard, and McClain. Although signing larger high school classes is preferable, maintaining good relationships with recruits can pay off when they enter the transfer portal.

The transfer portal is unpredictable, and while Napier’s method may not perfectly align with it, focusing on high school recruiting and building strong relationships can help navigate this era. Through retention and strategic incoming transfers, Florida has moved up to having top ten classes for both the 2023 and 2024 cycles.