They're Here: A Look At Florida Gators Football's Early Enrollees

The early arrivals of Florida football’s 2021 crop have touched down in Gainesville.

On the first Saturday without college football since the start of the season, Florida’s coaching staff stayed busy at work as they welcomed 12 of the program’s newest members to campus.

Here are the 12 early enrollees with whom Dan Mullen and his staff will have an early swing:

Donovan McMillon, safety

Hailing from Peters Township in Canonsburg, PA, McMillon was the first of the 2021 recruiting class to get settled into Gainesville as he made his bed on January 6.

McMillon bears a four-star rating and is ranked as the 11th-best safety in the 2021 cycle. With such hype, it is no surprise that the 6-foot-2, 192-pound safety hauled in over 50 scholarship offers.

Barton Simmons, former scouting director at 247Sports describes McMillon as a “big safety that appears to have the frame to land at linebacker or rover depending on development.

“Has a can’t-miss presence on the field.”

Chief Borders, outside linebacker

I’ve been big on Chief Borders – not just because he has the greatest name I’ve ever heard, but because the 6-foot-5, 242-pound linebacker is a Gator Great in the making. And he’s officially in Gainesville.

After battling with the Georgia High School Association for an opportunity to play football in his senior year after transferring schools, the four-star defender recorded a team-high of 54 tackles for Heard County.

With aspirations of studying medicine, the surefooted student-athlete briefly weighed his opportunity to attend Stanford, before ultimately backing up his loyalty to the Gators -- turning his nose up at other offers from Alabama, Auburn and others.

Jason Marshall, cornerback

Jason Marshall touts the honor of being Florida’s highest rated recruit in the 2021 cycle. The five-star defensive back out of Miami Palmetto comes to Gainesville despite strong pushes from Manny Diaz at Miami and Nick Saban at Alabama.

According to Andrew Ivins, 247 Sports southeast recruiting analyst, Marshall “has the looks of a new-age cornerback given his length.

“Tracks the ball extremely well and doesn’t seem to have a problem flipping his hips while running in coverage. Excels on defense, but also makes an impact on offense and can score via the return game.”

Corey Collier Jr., safety

Coming to Florida alongside Marshall is Corey Collier Jr. Together, the Palmetto pair make up two of the four highly-touted recruits from Miami Palmetto that Florida was chasing. Two out of four isn’t terrible.

Collier Jr. Will continue to add depth to the Gators’ defensive backfield. The four-star safety bagged 35 scholarship offers, but ultimately pledged to Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators.

And according to Ivins, Collier Jr., at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, is one player strength coach Nick Savage might have some fun with.

“A long frame with long limbs that doesn’t appear to be anywhere near close to being fully physically developed as the body is still maturing,” Ivins said of the Florida signee. “Should add muscle mass once in college strength program which will make him more explosive.”

Ivins also describes Collier Jr. As “an intelligent defender with good ball skills that knows how to take the right angles.”

Jordan Young, cornerback

Further beefing up the defensive secondary, Jordan Young is a three-star Tampa native that touched down in Gainesville on Saturday.

Young hails from Gaither High School, where he helped the Cowboys to an 11-1 record in 2020. Through the course of the season, Young snatched three interceptions and tallied 21 tackles. Young also made contributions on the Cowboys’ offense.

Despite offers from Alabama, Arkansas and 20+ others, Young maintained his commitment to the Gators prior to signing his letter of intent during Early Signing Day on December 16.

Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, quarterback

The addition of Carlos Del Rio-Wilson will make Florida’s quarterback room that much more interesting in the years to come.

Like Chief Borders, the four-star, dual threat quarterback also fell victim to the Gainesville High School Association this year after transferring schools. However, in his junior season with the McEachern Indians, Del Rio-Wilson led his team to a 12-1 record behind 1,792 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes.

Del Rio-Wilson also competed in the Elite 11 back in July where he finished fifth in the event.

Del Rio-Wilson has been committed to Florida since July of 2019. He signed his letter of intent on Early Signing Day and recently arrived to campus.

Jalen Kitna, quarterback

Jalen Kitna, son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, will join the quarterback room with Del Rio-Wilson, as well as the remaining quarterbacks Florida has to offer.

And as a three-star Texan signal caller and Florida’s recent history with three-star quarterbacks from the Lone Star State, the Gators should be excited about Kitna’s arrival.

At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Kitna tallied a total of 13 scholarship offers with Arizona and Boston College topping the list.

In his senior season at Burleson High School, Kitna threw for 2,516 yards with 32 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Nick Elksnis, tight end

After the year that Kyle Pitts had, Florida must look like a tight end’s dream.

At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, early enrollee Nick Elksnis boasts the same height as Pitts and is just 20 pounds slimmer. The three-star tight end comes out of Jacksonville and chose Florida over 17 other scholarship offers.

In his senior season with Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Elksnis hauled in 21 catches, totaling 425 yards and five touchdowns.

Daejon Reynolds, wide receiver

Another potential target for the Gators’ quarterback comes in the shape of Daejon Reynolds, a three-star wide receiver out of Grayson High School in Logansville, Georgia.

Reynolds, who stretches 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds contributed 88 receptions in the 2019 season, good for 1,534 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

According to Charles Power, a national writer for 247Sports, Reynolds is “highly productive as a junior as he was among the top wide receivers in Georgia from a statistical standpoint.

“Shows the ability to make difficult, contested catches in traffic. Is able to time his leap to out-jump opposing defensive backs”

Justus Boone, defensive end

Justus Boone, who hails out of South Carolina, is a big-bodied pickup for the Florida Gators’ defense.

According to Power, Boone “possesses an above average stature and frame for a strong-side defensive end. Has room to add mass once in a college strength program and could ultimately grow into a defensive tackle, nearing 300 pounds”

At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Boone provides the Gators with a lot of size up front.

In the 2020 high school season, the four-star defensive end recorded 42 total tackles for Sumter High School, with 10.5 happening behind the line of scrimmage.

Christopher Thomas, defensive tackle

Todd Grantham and the Florida Gators defense reeled Christopher Thomas, a three-star defensive tackle out of Fort Myers, in from other offers such as Florida State and Georgia.

At 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds, Thomas joins the likes of Justus Boone in the fact the Florida has recruited a hefty defensive line this cycle.

Thomas, the No. 27-ranked defensive tackle in the country, recorded 97 tackles for the Dunbar Tigers in 2020, with 32 being behind the line of scrimmage.

Desmond Watson, defensive tackle

Like Thomas, Desmond Watson is another massive in-state target that the Gators hauled in after the early signing period.

Coming out of Seffner, Watson played for the Armwood Hawks where he racked up 39 total tackles, with 19 being good for a loss.

The three-star defensive tackled is described by Ivins as “A large, wide-hipped body that’s well over 350 pounds, yet surprisingly light on his feet given build and composition.

At 6-foot-5 and 380 pounds, Ivins was impressed with Watson being one of the first to “pounce off the snap and initiate contact”.