Gators announce nine 2014 early enrollees

The Florida Gators on Monday officially acknowledged the nine early enrollees that are on campus for the spring semester and will participate in practice in March.

Head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper also shared some thoughts about some of the newest players on campus.

“Having nine guys in mid-year, number one, says a lot about these kids academically, being ready to go. But it also says a lot about our administration, our academic people being able to turn these over, guys over quickly and get them in school. So, hats off to them,” said Muschamp.

OnlyGators.com will update this post with the players’ official school bios when Florida adds them to the Gators 2014 roster.

Jalen Tabor • Cornerback •
6’1” • 188 lbs. • Washington, DC
Muschamp: “A corner that’s got a lot of length and athleticism on the top, and he can finish some plays.”

Will Grier • Quarterback •
6’2″ • 186 lbs. • Davidson, NC
Muschamp: “The ability to learn, athleticism. Obviously you look at accuracy as a thrower, being able to throw the ball into tight spots. He’s shown the ability to do that. We had him in camp multiple times. He showed tremendous leadership ability here while he was on campus, positively affecting guys around him. The athleticism and accuracy, we feel like, is there. That’s why a quarterback is a very difficult position to evaluate. You don’t really know sometimes the level of competition and there are other factors that figure in to how successful they’ll be on the college level or moving from the college level to the National Football League.”

Roper: “You knew Will was real talented and was going to be heavily recruited. I think he has a great mindset. I think he has a great quarterback demeanor, and then I tell you what, he was accurate. He can throw it. He has a fast arm. I look for a guy that when he turns it loose, his arm speed is really consistently fast. He’s got a fast arm, so obviously he’s a talented young man.”

Duke Dawson • Cornerback •
5’10” • 191 lbs. • Cross City, FL
Muschamp: “A guy that we feel like had a great senior season, and a guy who continued to impress and improve.”

Brandon Powell • Running Back •
5’8” • 167 lbs. • Deerfield Beach, FL
Muschamp: “A running back we’ve been on and had an opportunity there to get him.”

Roper: “It looks like he’s a guy who can score from a long way away. And that makes coaching easier, when you can score from 90 rather than have to get it to the five.”

Nolan Kelleher • Offensive Lineman •
6’5” • 316 lbs. • Mount Pleasant, SC

DeAndre Goolsby • Tight End •
6’4” • 221 lbs. • Derby, KS
Muschamp: “We need some help at the tight end position. He’s a guy that’s going to come in here and be here and certainly get his opportunities.”

Kavaris Harkless • Offensive Lineman •
6’5” • 266 lbs. • Jacksonville, FL
Muschamp: “Had a little change of heart there at the end where he was going to go to school. We’re fortunate to been recruiting him throughout the fall of his senior year. Had a great senior year. Had a great state championship from Trinity Christian.

Taven Bryan • Defensive End •
6’5” • 257 lbs. • Casper, WY
Muschamp: “Broad-shouldered, looks great. Excited to get him on campus. Did a fantastic job at our summer camps this past year.”

On recruiting a player out of Wyoming: “I’m not worried about what everyone else thinks. I could care less. He is a guy that was very athletic in the workouts here he was very athletic in the workouts at his school. He showed great athleticism. For a guy that’s 6’5”, 6’5.5”, 265 pounds to run like he runs there’s a tremendous upside and there’s multiple positions he probably could play. He’s still young for his age. Who knows where his body’s gonna grow. But you always think size and speed when you have the athleticism. Great work ethic, great toughness and a guy that I’m really pleased to have as a part of the program. I think he’s got tremendous upside as a player.”

Drew Sarvary • Offensive Lineman •
6’5” • 309 lbs. • Tyler Junior College
Muschamp: “A guy that had been on our radar at the time. We were not going to take a junior college lineman and then we had some attrition there at the end of the season and felt like we needed a more mature guy to step up – up front – and go through the spring with us and had Drew here on campus.”