With three blue-chip recruits, Gulliver’s loaded senior class tries to finally get over hump

For the last three years, Gulliver Prep has bumped up against the sort of expectations it hasn’t faced since the days of Sean Taylor and its lone state championship.

This will be the third straight season with Gulliver ranked in the top 100 by MaxPreps. That’s what happens when a group like these Raiders seniors comes along.

Jalen Brown, a four-star wide receiver, is the top-ranked player in Miami-Dade County for the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Cornerback Daniel Harris and edge rusher Lamont Green Jr. are four-star prospects, too. Those three all rank among the top 15 recruits in Miami-Dade for their class and form the foundation of a team with massive expectations once again.

They also know they’re just about out of chances.

“I asked our senior class to address their team,” coach Earl Sims said, “and basically all of them had something to say about the last game.”

They still think about the way last season ended, just like they think about the way the previous year did and the one before that.

In each of the last two years, Gulliver’s season ended with a loss to Cardinal Gibbons. Last season, the Raiders squandered a 19-point second-half lead in the Region 4-4A championship. Three weeks later, the Chiefs won the Class 4A title, just like they did the year before after eliminating Gulliver in a 4-4A semifinal.

Back in 2019, the Raiders’ undefeated run ended in the 4-4A semis, too, when they gave up a game-winning touchdown to Booker T. Washington with 1:18 left and then watched the Tornadoes win the 4A championship less than a month later.

“Losing those games,” Brown said, “is a chip on the shoulder.”

The road will be even more challenging this year, with the Raiders stuck in the ultra-competitive new Class 2M with Miami, Northwestern, Cardinal Gibbons and Plantation American Heritage, all of whom rank in the top 50 nationally. After its Week 1 loss in Rockledge, Gulliver checks in behind all of them, but still ahead of everyone else across the state in 2M. Once again, the Raiders’ stiffest challenge will be just getting out of their region.

At the top end of the roster, Gulliver has the capability. Brown is the No. 48 player in the country and No. 8 in Florida, and orally committed to the LSU Tigers. As a junior, he racked up 1,033 receiving yards as the No. 2 target in the Raiders’ potent passing attack. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound wideout has the ability to almost singlehandedly win games, as he did last year when he scored three touchdowns to help hand Killian its only loss of the regular season.

On defense, Harris and Green are a pair of anchors. Green, at 6-5 and 228 pounds, notched 58 tackles (with 16 tackles for loss), and is orally committed to the Florida State Seminoles. Harris, at 6-2 and 175 pounds, is one of the most fascinating secondary prospects in the country and orally committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.

Green, who is the son of former Florida State star Lamont Green, has been a solid contributor since he was a freshman. Harris, on the other hand, didn’t join Gulliver’s football team until his sophomore year, then broke out last season as he grew into his lanky frame.

“He’s starting to get more aggressive, he’s starting to put hands on more, and he’s starting to use his length and speed to his advantage,” Brown said. “He’s one tough DB to get past. I’ll match him up against any wide receiver in the country.”

As nice as the individual accolades and recruiting successes are, Brown, Green and Harris still yearn for the type of team success the Raiders haven’t had since 2008, when they last made it out of the region.

They know this is their last chance and they’re still thinking about their ugly ending from a year ago.

“We still talk about it,” Harris said, and then turned his attention to Week 3, when Gulliver will get another crack at the Chiefs. “We play them in the regular season this year.”