If there was any doubt about which college football program has a pipeline at Lakeland High School in Florida, the Florida Gators put that to rest with a trio of commitment announcements Wednesday morning. At a press conference sitting side-by-side, four-star recruits Deyavie Hammond, Lloyd Summerall, and Keon Zipper each declared their commitment to the Gators. The news was well-received by Florida head coach Dan Mullen, who broke out his broom on Twitter and Zimmer gave Florida a clean sweep of Lakeland’s latest top recruits.
Sweep!!! Welcome to the Florida Family @_KeonZ!!! #SwampSquadXIX pic.twitter.com/gCLcTfDeve
— Dan Mullen (@CoachDanMullen) December 19, 2018
The importance of having an established connection at Lakeland has not been overlooked by Mullen. The school has produced a handful of top players in recruiting over the years including Mike Pouncey and Maurkice Pouncey, Ahmad Black, and former XFL standout Rod Smart. Mullen clearly made it a point to create a relationship with the high school as he looks to build Florida back to being the SEC contending program they once were. Seizing in-state talent is always key for the power programs in the state of Florida. All three players making their announcements chose Florida over Miami and other programs as well.
Hammond will provide some good quality depth on the offensive line and Summerall should add the same beef to the defensive line. Summerall made waves recently in the recruiting world when a photo of his father dressed in full Florida uniform was making the rounds. Maybe the recruiting strategy helped seal the deal for Mullen and Florida. Zipper, a tight end, will potentially be a reliable asset in the passing game as Mullen continues to mold the program to his vision.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 19, 2018
Florida may not have a five-star player at this point in time, but Mullen is adding plenty of four-star prospects to improve the quality of players on the roster at a variety of positions.