GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is expected to have a handful of early enrollees joining the team in the next few weeks as the 2020 class begins to sign National Letters of Intent next week. Already three have joined the program.

Swamp247 can confirm that quarterback Anthony Richardson and offensive linemen Joshua Braun and Richard Leonard were all on campus and attending the team's practice on Friday afternoon.

The trio is not yet actually participating at practice, with the trio all in blue Gators gear accompanying offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator John Hevesy on their way out to practice Friday. The rest of the team was practicing in pads.

Sources have informed Swamp247 that the trio of early enrollees were expected to take a physical on Friday morning, with the expectation that they will be able to join the team in bowl practices in the near future. NCAA rules typically require players to spend their first two practices in shorts and a helmet only, then progress to half shells for two days before being allowed to practice in full pads.

That these early enrollees will get to practice even before spring ball is a new advantage that more and more programs are beginning to take advantage of.

Coach Dan Mullen said at a Capital One Orange Bowl press conference on Wednesday that he was looking into ways to get as many of his early enrollees involved as possible.

"One of the things I'm looking into tonight and I'm trying to follow up, is that those guys with the Early Signing Period coming up, that once they sign obviously their status changes, they're going to be able to come out and watch practice while we're here," Mullen said.

For the trio on campus Friday, actually practicing will be part of the equation soon. And that can make a big difference.

Perhaps the most famous example in recent memory is LSU cornerback Derek Stingley. Stingley began practicing during LSU's bowl practices leading up to the Fiesta Bowl last season against UCF. Stingley immediately turned heads, picking off three passes in his first few outings. Now he's one of the top players in the country as a true freshman.

Florida's current guys aren't likely to get quite that much run -- Richardson's a quarterback and the Gators have a ton of young offensive linemen that will need key reps ahead of Leonard and Braun -- but every little bit helps.

This is the next wave in early enrollees getting a jump on their fall counterparts.

For the moment, Florida is anticipating 10 early enrollees in its current 23-man recruiting class.

Expected to join Richardson, Braun and Leonard are cornerback Jahari Rogers, cornerback Ethan Pouncey, offensive tackle Issiah Walker Jr., defensive end Antwaun Powell, safety Rashad Torrence II, defensive tackle Lamar Goods and punter Jeremy Crawshaw.