DAYTONA BEACH — The Gators lost one of their own on National Signing Day in four-star defensive end Leonard Williams.
The Daytona Beach Mainland defensive end passed on Florida — his favorite team growing up — and committed to Southern California on Wednesday morning.
“I always wanted to go to Florida ever since I was little — that’s been my team forever,” Williams said. “But after I experienced all of this, I just really found out what was best for me.”
Williams’ decision comes on the heels of a week marred by the stress of family issues.
His maternal grandmother slipped into a coma this week.
“It was hard because I had a lot of stuff going on, like family problems going at the same time,” Williams said. “I had to take time to do family stuff and [recruiting] stuff.”
When asked if his grandmother would approve of his decision to attend USC, Williams said, “Yeah. Yeah, she would love it.”
Williams was one of eight targets that the Gators failed to sign on Wednesday.
Notable five-stars that escaped Will Muschamp’s grasp were receiver Nelson Agholor and cornerback Tracy Howard, who committed to USC and Miami, respectively.
Florida seemingly whiffed on five-star linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons also, who announced his intentions to attend Georgia Wednesday morning.
However, an ESPN report stated the Harvey-Clemons family wanted him to pick UF and as of press time, he has not yet sent a letter of intent.
Muschamp made waves when he visited Clemons’ church in Valdosta, Ga., making a donation that Clemons’ grandfather said “surprised” the collection plate, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
In addition to the aforementioned five-star recruits, UF also missed out on improving its offensive line depth, losing four-star tackle Avery Young to Auburn and three-star tackle Jake Meador to Wisconsin.
Despite bringing in only five commits at wide receiver, halfback, and offensive line — three of Florida’s thinnest positions — Muschamp is not concerned with the recruits he missed out on.
“No,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
