Ben Hanks Jr. Commits To Florida | Florida Gators Recruiting News

Intro welcome back to another episode of rock boys football Billy Napier the Florida Gator getting some massive news coming out of the recruiting Trail four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr committing to this Florida Gator program now we've talked a lot about Ben Hanks over the summer as you know being one of my favorite quarterback prospects in this 2025 cycle and if I were to sell the Florida Gator fans on Ben Hanks it it would start as just being a box Checker I mean there are normally three things that we really look for in cornerback prospects making the jump to the Collegiate level I think first and foremost the frame at 61 170 but more importantly this dude is incredibly long Overview six foot five Wings spin so he's got a really good frame to use that length put hands on opposing wide receivers the second thing we look at long speed and Ben Hanks Jr Goes 11 seconds in the 100 meter dash has been clocked as a 4540 this kid can roll in a straight line so you start talking about size you'd start talking about long speed those are the type of wide receivers that we're seeing in the SEC in this day and age you need freak shows at cornerback to deal with some of these wide receivers that we see in the SEC Ben Hanks he's got all those physical traits to deal with those Elite SEC wide receivers and I think finally the ball skills and Ben Hanks Jr is a ball Hawk and quarterback nine interceptions over the last two years at the high school level he is one of those cornerbacks that is on my ball kind of quarterback meaning when that football's in the air he's attacking like wide receiver actually plays a little bit of wide receiver at the high school level so it's not all too surprising to see him go up and make plays on the football so when you have the frame the long speed the ball skills that Ben Hanks Jr has you're getting an elite quarterback prospect that's the reason he's a top 100 National Prospect in this 2025 cycle want to get into little bit of the film but more importantly also have a conversation of where Florida is going on the recruiting Trail in 2025 before we get into it as always just want to say thank you to you guys and as we're winding down the summer heading into the 2024 season it it's been a blast for me personally to cover the recruiting Trail over the last couple of months the amount of support yall continue to show to the fellas it means the absolute world if you guys do enjoy the content consider subscribing to the channel without further Ado let's get into Ben Hanks Jr but let's start first with where Florida is going on the recruiting tra and there's a lot of you know Buzz about Florida not necessarily putting together the best class in 2025 so far and I want to emphasize so far because this is a program that it just gets the feeling that if they start winning some football games in 2024 I would think Florida is one of the better closers late on the recruiting Trail why do I say that I mean Florida has made a ton of relationships with a ton of guys that are still uncommitted but also committed to other programs and you talk about Florida maybe exceeding expectations in the 2024 season and then circling back to some of these other committed or uncommitted prospects that I think this is a Florida program that can close the 2025 class really effectively in the months of December if they kind of start winning some football games in 2024 because again I think there's a lot of high school recruits who are looking at the situation in Florida and said hey what's it going to look like over the next couple years obviously all the media Buzz Around Billy Napier being on the H hot seat if Billy Napier and the Florida Gators win a lot of football games kind of calm some of those voices and say yeah this is going to be a program that's stable that's going in the right direction that's going to flip the narrative on a lot of these kids and how they look at this Florida Gator program so if I'm Florida I'm not necessarily in panic mode about the recruiting class if you start winning football games in the fall I think this class is going to come together more than okay because again what have we talked all summer you know Florida is building a ton of relationships with a ton of different prospects across the country and so I think they'll be able to Circle back to a lot of those kids and you know potentially get into some of those recruitments come the month of November and December if they can get it done on the football field in the fall now you get into Ben Hanks I just want to turn on the film talk about what we see now I think what's really cool about Ben Han there's a couple different things one I think he can play press man Film Corner doesn't play a ton of press man corner at the high school level you're talking about a guy with a 6'4 6' five wingspan Elite long speed the thing that separates Ben Hanks from a lot of other quarterback prospects is the short area quickness when that football's in there and he needs to plant his foot and drive on a throwing window his ability to change direction and take away throwing windows it's extremely impressive you continue to roll through the film here one this is probably where he's at its best you can kind of play in that deep Zone coverage where I'm keeping my eyes on the quarterback and when that foot ball is in the air I'm going to go play the football he's going to come off his route and just go up and make a play this is a cornerback that we talk about Florida only having three interceptions in the 2023 season if you want to enhance that get that number up and Ben HS Jor is one of those guys that you want to look at to be a guy that can kind of create plays always seems to be in the right place at the right time I mean this is kind of like yeah you got a football right into your lap I think as you continue to work through the film and see more of plays like this you start saying that's Lucky in more just Ben Hanks Jr putting himself in really good spots love this rep right reading the quarterback's eyes look how quick he is to caught on this throwing window I mean again short area quickness it's El leite breaking on the football taking it the other way this kid has a knack for turning the ball over taking away the football that matters at the cornerback position really good rep too where again the change of Direction his ability to again get down hill plant his foot in the ground and takeway throwing windows and then use that length to get his hands on footb football and kind of separate the wide receiver from the football there's not many things that Ben Hanks Jr can't really do and when he gets asked to play some more press man coverage he can certainly do it which is exciting for Ben Hanks I think he's a guy that you know Austin Armstrong wants to do a lot of different things this is kind of an example of that where hey we're gonna get hands on this wide receiver lock him up sometimes gets a little grabby I'll say this I'd rather have my quarterbacks at the high school levels being a little too physical than not being physical enough can get him into Florida teach him how to temper that physicality and still have that physicality but just use it a little bit more effectively when you see him play press man and put hands on wide receivers this kid can be overwhelmingly physical at the line of scrimmage and you see kind of just smooth route Runner here top of your screen you talk about change of Direction smooth this kid's a smooth mover for a it's hard to find Long athletes who are as smooth as Ben Hanks junr is I think that's something that separates him you continue to work through the film and just a couple of different things that you really really like again you're playing a little bit off right here sometimes a little physical right and again I don't know if you'll get away with this kind of play at the SEC level I'd rather have my quarterbacks doing this than just not being physical hey we'll teach him how to use that physicality the right way but again when he gets his hands on opposing wide receivers he can do a lot really really smooth impress man right here again change of direction right in the hit pocket of the wide receiver playing the football lot lot of things to like about Ben Hanks Jr I think this is sneaky one of the better cornerbacks in this 2025 so like you take a look up at Florida in the 2025 class and you know there's a lot to like obviously you have some Elite talents and guys like Vernell Brown and Jaylen Wiggins I think the you know key for Florida over the next couple months is kind of filling out the depth of this 2025 cycle you talk about what it takes to win in the SEC you want to fill your roster with blue chip talent and I think Florida is going to work to do that and I think it's going to get a lot easier if they win games on Saturdays in the fall and these high school kids start looking at Florida as not a big question mark program about who's going to be the head coach in the next 12 months as opposed to this is a program that is building that is going in the right direction is on its way to competing at the highest level of the SEC it gets so much easier to sell this Florida Gator program that's what I'm looking for from Florida over the next couple of weeks or next couple of weeks and months on the recruiting Trail we'll cut it there again appreciate you guys rocking with the fellas if you all do enjoy the content consider subscribing to the channel appreciate you guys and we'll talk to you all later