Florida Gators land in-state wide receiver Joshua Hammond
Florida Gators new head coach Jim McElwain is a man on a mission. After being hired away from Colorado State in early December 2014, McElwain piece mailed together a recruiting class shattered after the dismissal of former head coach Will Muschamp. The Gators signed 21 players making a strong National Signing Day push landing 5-stars defensive end CeCe Jefferson and offensive lineman Martez Ivey.
Four months later and McElwain and company are continuing forward with heavy recruiting efforts landing verbal commitment No. 14 to their 2016 class on Thursday, Joshua Hammond.
Hammond, listed at 6’1”, 180 pounds, reportedly developed strong ties with the Gators staff including lead recruiter Randy Shannon leading to the commitment. The Hallandale High School star has 32 reported scholarship offers covering seemingly every other SEC program, all ACC schools, and all East Coast teams in-between.
The decision for Hammond to commit to Florida did not come lightly after taking unofficial visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, N.C. State, Duke, and Miami. Some of the other schools to offer the prized recruit include Georgia, South Florida, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, Mississippi State, Louisville, LSU, Penn State, and Florida State.
In 2014 Hammond helped Hallandale to a 10-2 overall record pulling down 25 passes for 413 yards with six touchdowns. During his sophomore season he caught 16 passes for 313 yards with three scores.
Of the 14 players Florida has received verbal commitments from 11 are in-state recruits.
Florida Gators Class of 2016 Commitments
CB Chauncey Gardner 5’11”, 190 lbs, Cocoa High School, Cocoa, Florida
CB Christopher McWilliams, 5’11”, 164 lbs, Southwest HS, Miami, Florida
SS Spencer Perry, 6’3”, 202 lbs, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida
DE JaQuan Bailey, 6’3”, 235 lbs, Raines High School, Jacksonville, Florida
DE Eric Mitchell, 6’1”, 228 lbs, Miami Central, Miami, Florida
LB Vosean Joseph, 6’2”, 210 lbs, Miami Norland, Miami, Florida
RB Lamical Perine, 5’11”, 211 lbs, Theodore HS, Theodore, Alabama
RB Tyrek Tisdale, 6’1”, 198 lbs, Oak Ridge HS, Orlando, Florida
RB Mark Thompson, 6’2”, 230 lbs, Dodge City C.C., Dodge City, Kansas
WR Isaiah Johnson, 6’3”, 190 lbs, West Palm Beach, Florida
WR Joshua Hammond, 6’0”, 180 lbs, Hallandale HS, Hallandale, Florida
WR Rick Wells, 6’0”, 187 lbs, Raines High School, Jacksonville, Florida
OL Branton Autry, 6’4”, 320 lbs, Coffeyville C.C., Coffeyville, Kansas
OL Stone Forsythe, 6’7”, 331 lbs, West Orange HS, Winter Garden, Florida
Written by Ryan Wright
Photo credit: miamihearld.com; No. 5 Joshua Hammond scores for Hallandale.