FLORIDA FOOTBALL & RECRUITING COVERAGE

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In every hierarchy, there’s always someone wanting to climb higher and higher. Florida is no different. In their own attempt to seize the college football throne, a hunger drives the Gators further as they prepare for week one against the Miami Hurricanes.

Even though the Gators as a whole are trying to climb, if you peer further into the team itself, players are fighting a battle for their own right to play on Saturdays. A certain hunger drives every football player in their conquest for glory and a few even have gone so far as to have garnered the attention of fellow teammates.

Starter Defensive Lineman Kyree Campbell couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for redshirt freshman on the opposite side of the ball. A player he frequently faces off against in practice day after day.

“Richard Gouraige… That’s a kid I would look out for. He’s aggressive, very aggressive.”

Campbell, a key defensive player for the Gators last season, was overly excited about the young offensive lineman - and for good reason!

Gouraige was touted as an elite player out of high school. In various national rankings he was placed in the top 100, and in the state of Florida, Gouraige was often ranked within the top 20.

On the other side of the ball, starting cornerback CJ Henderson was visibly excited about the trio of freshmen cornerbacks, Kaair Elam, Jaydon Hill, and Chester Kimbrough.

All three were included on the two-deep when Florida released its initial depth chart on Monday.

When asked if any younger players were having a good camp, Henderson was quick to mention “the freshman corners, all of them.”

Elam’s name is instantly recognizable to the Gator Nation because his uncle Matt Elam, a former Gator and first-round pick in the NFL.

With a pedigree like that, Elam’s work is cut out for him as he gets ready for Miami alongside his fellow Gators.

Fellow freshman Hill is also a contender for playing time this season. While he suffered an early season-ending injury his senior year of high school in 2018, Hill was named to the 2017 AHSAA Class 7A All-State first-team his junior year.

Last but certainly not least in the trio is Kimbrough. A four-star recruit out of high school, was the only one of the three freshmen listed on Florida’s official pre-game depth chart.

Defensive lineman Adam Schuler, when asked if he expected to see any breakout players on the defensive unit this year, replied, “I think it’s going to be a dynamic year from a lot of positions. I can’t really say if there’s any one or two people who will breakout.. I expect us all to breakout this year.”