Gators DB Jason Marshall Jr. returns for his senior season in 2024.

Gatorade announced their player of the year nominees on Wednesday, following the 2023 high school football season. This is something they do every year. A national overall champion is also chosen in addition to the Gatorade player of the year award winners in each state. Three Florida signees were announced as the state champions, and one was among the three contenders for the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

Aaron Chiles, a four-star linebacker signed by Florida, was declared the Maryland champion. This follows Chiles, an Under Armour All-American, having an outstanding senior year on the field. In a press release from Gatorade, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior linebacker was named the leader of  DJ Lagway, a five-star quarterback and Florida’s biggest signing in the 2024 class, was another victor. Following a stellar senior season in which he was also named the MaxPreps Player of the Year, Willis (TX), the winner of the state of Texas, has received accolade after accolade.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior quarterback led the Wildkats to a 12-1 record, their first district title since 2002, and a trip to the 6A-Division II regional final this past season. He also passed for 4,604 yards and a 6A state record 58 touchdowns, according to the Gatorade announcement. Lagway averaged 354.2 yards per game and completed 72.1% of his throws. Along with leading the squad in touchdowns (16) and rushing yards (957) he was also voted District 13-6A Player of the Year.

Through the NCAA Transfer Portal, the Florida Gators have already added one name to their offensive line, but they are still looking for more. Former Arkansas offensive tackle Devon Manuel is one name that Swamp247 has been informed to anticipate in town for an official visit later this week. A person close to Manuel has stated that his visit is anticipated to happen between January 3 and January 5. The same source states that he is also anticipated to travel to Missouri this week after his stay in Florida. He has previously traveled to Kentucky in December as well as Oklahoma State.

Though he doesn’t have a lot of overall experience, the 6-foot-9, 310-pound Manuel would provide Florida some  Florida is anticipated to undertake roster adjustments in anticipation of what is generally considered to be an extremely difficult 2024 schedule, following a dismal 5-7 performance in its second season under head coach Billy Napier, who fell to 11-14 in his Gainesville tenure.

The Gators will examine their alternatives through the NCAA transfer site in addition to the surge of true freshmen, which produced several players for them in 2023.

In the previous winter portal cycle, the Gators signed ten transfers before spring practices began, and they added four more players during the spring window. Quarterback Graham Mertz provided a variety of contributions to those players during the 2023 campaign.