Florida Gators 2007 Recruiting Class

[Escambia94]

For historical purposes, here is the 2007 recruiting class, ranked number 1 in the country. Feel free to comment on this thread as some of these Gators bloom in the NFL and CFL.

This class had 4 five-star, 16 four-star, and 7 three-star athletes. Note that 3 of the five-star, 3 of the four-star, and 3 of the three-star athletes transferred or retired from this class.

1. Ahmad Black CB 5-10 170 Lakeland (Lakeland) EE 4*
   • 2011 NFL Draft, 5th round, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. John Brantley QB 6-3 195 Ocala (Trinity Catholic) 4*
   • 2012 NFL UDFA, Baltimore Ravens
3. John Brown DT 6-1 285 Lakeland (Lakeland) 4*
   • medical RS 2007
   • transferred 2008
   • 2010 NFL Draft, 2nd round, New York Giants
4. Torrey Davis DL 6-4 285 Seffner (Armwood) 5*
   • transferred to Jacksonville State in 2009 after legal issues
   • 2010 NFL UDFA, played Arena Football and CFL
5. Carlos Dunlap DE 6-6 240 North Charleston, SC (Ft Dorchester) 5*
   • 2010 NFL Draft, 2nd round, Cincinnati Bengals
6. Lorenzo Edwards S 6-2 221 Orlando (Edgewater) 4*
   • minimal impact player
7. Jerimy Finch S 6-1 203 Indianapolis, IN (Warren Central) 4*
   • impact player in 2007 until injured
   • transferred home to Indiana in 2008
8. Joe Haden ATH/QB 5-11 195 Ft Washington, MD (Friendly) EE 4*
   • 2010 NFL Draft, 1st round, Cleveland Browns
9. Chas Henry P/QB 6-4 200 Dallas, GA (East Paulding) 3*
   • 2011 NFL UDFA, Philadelphia Eagles. UFA 2013.
10. Aaron Hernandez TE 6-4 235 Bristol, CT (Bristol Central) EE 4*
    • 2010 NFL Draft, 4th round, New England
    • arrested 2013
11. Brandon Hicks LB 6-2 205 Jacksonville, FL (Nathan Bedford) 4*
    • 2011 NFL UDFA
12. Jerry "Jay" Howard DE 6-5 230 Apopka (Jones) 4*
    • 2012 NFL Draft, 4th round, Seattle Seahawks
13. Moses Jenkins CB 6-2.5 175 Coral Springs (Boyd H. Anderson) 3*
    • 2012 NFL UDFA
14. John Jones LB 6-3 205 Sarasota (Booker) 3*
    • transferred to Tennessee in 2009 under Lane Kiffin due to lack of playing time
    • transferred to Tennessee State in 2010
15. Duke Lemmens DE 6-5 238 Westlake Village, CA (Oaks Christian) 3*
    • 2011 NFL UDFA, played for Arizona Cardinals
    • 2013 GA at Florida with Chris Leak
16. Cameron Newton QB 6-5 225 College Park, GA (Westlake) EE 5*
    • transferred to Blinn College 2009, then Auburn 2010 (won Heisman)
    • 2011 NFL Draft, 1st round, Carolina Panthers
17. James "Mike" Pouncey OL 6-5 298 Lakeland (Lakeland) EE 4*
    • 2011 NFL Draft, 1st round, Miami Dolphins
18. LaShawn "Maurkice" Pouncey OL 6-5 283 Lakeland (Lakeland) EE 4*
    • 2010 NFL Draft, 1st round, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Chris Rainey RB 5-9 156 Lakeland (Lakeland) 4*
    • 2012 NFL Draft, 5th round, Pittsburgh Steelers
20. Deonte Thompson WR 5-11 186 Belle Glade (Glades Central) 4*
    • 2012 NFL UDFA, signed with Baltimore Ravens
21. Justin Trattou DE 6-4 250 Ramsey, NJ (Don Bosco Prep) 4*
    • 2011 NFL UDFA, played with New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings
22. Bryan Waggener QB 6-4 226 Chino Hills, CA (Citrus College) EE 3*
    • transferred to Northern Colorado in 2008
23. Johnny "Bo" Williams RB 6-0 205 Oakland Park (Northeast) EE 4*
    • transferred to Iowa State in 2009
24. Steven Wilks LB 6-2 195 Lakeland (Lakeland) 3*
    • 2012 NFL UDFA
    • works for former Gator QB Wayne Peace as insurance agent
25. James Wilson OL 6-5 305 St. Augustine (Nease) 5*
    • 2012 NFL UDFA
    • works for former Gator QB Wayne Peace as insurance agent
26. Mark "Paul" Wilson WR 6-1 175 Lakeland (Lakeland) EE 3*
    • medical redshirt 2007
    • left football in 2008 to play baseball
27. Major Wright S 6-1 204 Miramar (St Thomas Aquinas) 4*
    • 2010 NFL Draft, 3rd round Chicago Bears

 

[Dale J. Rodriguez]

Deonte Thompson was actually on the Ravens Roster for the SB. Major Wright has not really shined in the league but had some good games, of course the bright star is Cameron Newtown, who I always felt like was a better QB than Tim Tebow, but lack the Maturity.

 

[Escambia94]

Back in the day, Cam looked horrible. He was completing about 50% of his passes both in practice and in mop-up duty, but he was tearing it up as a runner. What Cam needed to do was buckle down. Gainesville is a lively campus full of fun and drugs, and Cam just could not handle it. It was his time at Blinn College in the middle of nowhere that helped him buckle down and work hard. Seeing Cam now, I see that he was a better passer than Tebow, but nobody saw that coming back in 2007, 2008, or 2009. I still think that Tebow has some potential to expand his ceiling as a QB in the NFL, but he has reached his ceiling as a passer unless he encounters a coach that helps the light come on.

 

[Dale J. Rodriguez]

Escambia, I could honestly sayI was the only one on guys bandwagon when they put him in a few games. I just saw potential all over him, he reminded me of a slimmer JeMarcus Russell that could ran faster and I just knew in time he would do well, I just thought it would be at Florida and not Auburn/Binn/And them other schools.

Yea he definitely needs a new coach, a new city and a team. I stayed in Charlotte, NC and that town sucks as a football fan base.

 

[Escambia94]

I finally took a look back at the class of 2007. This was a great class, with 7 classmates from Lakeland that formed the nucleus of this class and the 2008 National Championship team. This class had almost 30% of it transfer out due to injury or legal issues, which is alarming to say the least. This class had 11 drafted into the NFL, plus 10 UDFAs. Some of the UDFAs managed to make it onto rosters, but others have left football forever. Two from this class sell insurance for former Gator QB Wayne Peace. The others are at home starting families.