Gators 2024 Five-star CB Is Ranked To The Top Due To……
Combination five-star cornerback and 2025 class Dijon Lee Jr., a cornerback for Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School, listed Florida as one of his top eight colleges on Friday, according to On3 Sports.
Relegated from an offer sheet with at least twenty scholarship offers, Lee’s list of competing programs includes Washington, Georgia, Oregon, Southern California, LSU, Penn State, and Arizona. In October of 2023, Florida made an offer for Lee’s playing services when Corey Raymond was still the Gators’ backup coach.
The following month, Raymond was let go, but UF continued to support Lee because in December, it hired Will Harris to take charge of the role. Similar to Lee, Harris is originally from the Los Angeles region. He attended Southern Cal for his collegiate football career in the middle of the 2000s, growing up in Pasadena. According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Lee is rated as the class of 2025’s No. 5 cornerback and No. 23 prospect overall. Over his two varsity seasons with Mission Viejo, 6-foot-3, 180-pound cornerback Lee has racked up 87 tackles, five for loss, one sack, four interceptions, and sixteen pass breakups. Throughout 13 tries in 2023, Lee, a dangerous kick returner, averaged 28.9 yards per attempt. As a receiver, he also scored four touchdowns.
Running back Waltez Clark of Tampa (Fla.) Plant is one commitment Florida already has to build around as it closes the book on the 2024 recruiting cycle and opens the 2025 class.
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Clemson versus Kentucky The Gator Bowl is the best bowl game this season.
The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl between Kentucky and Clemson, which was hailed as one of the best matchups of bowl season when the pairings were revealed on December 3, lived up to the anticipation.
ESPN’s Ryan McGee named the Wildcats’ devastating 38-35 loss to the Tigers in the Gator Bowl the best bowl game of the season.
“Yes, we are aware the Rose Bowl went to OT. Heck, I was standing on the sideline. However, when it comes to pure entertainment, it is difficult to top the show put on by the Tigers and Wildcats, who slugged through the first half but then scored a combined 42 points in the fourth quarter with five lead changes, including three in the final 4:20, ultimately won by Clemson with 17 seconds remaining.
Despite the loss, it was still a showcase game for Kentucky, who is one of only nine active teams to go to eight straight bowl games.
In a game that featured a total of nine lead changes, the Wildcats and Tigers combined for 73 points, 765 yards of total offense and 36 first downs. The fourth quarter alone featured 42 total points, five lead changes and five turnovers, four of which were committed by UK.
In the end, Clemson running back Phil Mafah‘s fourth rushing touchdown of the game with :17 seconds to play gave the No. 22 Tigers a thrilling 38-35 win.
After completing with three receptions for 100 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown, two carries for 26 yards and a 22-yard score, and a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown—the longest in Gator Bowl history—Barion Brown of Kentucky was named the game’s Most Valuable Player despite the loss. It was also only the second bowl game touchdown by a Kentucky player and the first since David Jones in the Liberty Bowl victory over East Carolina in 2009.
Devin Leary, the quarterback, had his third 300-yard passing performance of the year after completing 16 of 28 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns. This season, he has thrown 25 touchdown passes, the most by a Wildcat since 40 in 2007.
Dane Key, a wide receiver, had four catches for 83 yards, including a career-long 58-yard reception. On the very next play, Key set up a 5-yard touchdown reception to give Kentucky the lead in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, tight end Jordan Dingle recorded a career-long 72-yard reception that helped Kentucky retake the lead with a touchdown.
On defense, sophomore nose tackle Deone Walker logged two of UK’s eight season-high sacks, limiting Clemson to a pitiful 2.6 yards per carry for just 103 rushing yards on the day.