UF COMMITMENTS
FIVE STARS
Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Hometown-School
DB Vernon Hargreaves 5-11 185 Tampa-Wharton
FOUR STARS
RB Kelvin Taylor* 5-11 205 Glades Day
WR Ahmad Fulwood 6-4 200 Jacksonville-Bishop Kenny
WR Alvin Bailey 5-11 170 Seffner-Armwood
WR Demarcus Robinson* 6-2 200 Fort Valley, Ga.-Peach County
DT Caleb Brantley 6-3 285 Crescent City
DE Joey Ivie* 6-4 275 Dade City-Pasco
DE Jordan Sherit 6-5 235 Tampa-Hillsborough
LB Daniel McMillian* 6-3 220 Jacksonville-First Coast
LB James Hearns 6-3 230 Tallahassee-Lincoln
LB Matt Rolin* 6-4 210 Ashburn, Va.-Briar Woods
LB Alex Anzalone* 6-3 230 Wyomissing (Pa.)
DB Marcell Harris 6-1 205 Orlando-Dr. Phillips
DB Nick Washington 6-0 185 Jacksonville-Trinity Christian
DB Keanu Neal 6-0 205 Bushnell-South Sumter
THREE STARS
QB Max Staver 6-5 230 Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
RB Adam Lane 5-7 208 Winter Haven
WR Marqui Hawkins 6-1 185 Columbus, Ga.-Carver
WR Chris Thompson 6-0 170 Gainesville
OL Octavious Jackson 6-4 285 Moultrie, Ga.-Colquitt County
OL Cameron Dillard 6-3 280 Canton (Mich.)
OL Roderick Johnson 6-6 320 American Heritage
DE Antonio Riles 6-4 260 Lawrenceville, Ga.-Archer
LB Jarrad Davis 6-3 220 Kingsland, Ga.-Camden County
JUNIOR COLLEGE
OL Tyler Moore* 6-5 312 St. Petersburg Junior College
OL Trenton Brown** 6-8 363 Georgia Military College
DT Darious Cummings* 6-3 310 East Miss. Community College
*Enrolled
**Signed but not enrolled
IN RUNNING FOR
FIVE STARS
DE Robert Nkemdiche 6-5 260 Loganville, Ga.-Grayson
OL Laremy Tunsil 6-6 300 Columbia-Lake City
DB Jalen Ramsey 6-0 190 Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
DT Montravius Adams 6-3 290 Vienna, Ga.-Dooly County
LB Matthew Thomas 6-3 205 Miami-Washington
FOUR STARS
DB Mackensie Alexander 5-11 175 Immokalee
DB Tahaan Goodman 6-2 180 Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
WR Stacy Coley 6-1 175 Oakland Park-Northeast
DE Elijah Daniel 6-3 250 Avon (Ind.)
DT Jay-nard Bostwick 6-4 275 Centennial
THREE STARS
TE Josh McNeil 6-5 230 New Berlin, N.Y.-Milford Academy
TE Durham Smythe 6-6 230 Belton, Texas
National signing day is two weeks away, an eternity in the recruiting world, and there are several coveted prospects willing to be convinced.
But even if Florida makes no headway during that time, it’s on track to haul in one of the top classes in the country. The Gators’ current group of 27 commitments and signees is ranked No. 1 by Rivals and ESPN, and Scout has UF sixth.
Although a lot can change between now and Feb. 6, the first day prospects can sign letters of intent, Florida already has a good chunk of its class secured. Three junior college transfers signed letters of intent (two enrolled), and six high school players enrolled this month in order to go through offseason conditioning and spring football.
The Gators hosted about a dozen prospects this past weekend. Players toured the facilities and attended the basketball team’s 83-52 blowout of Missouri on Saturday.
Kelvin Taylor, a running back from Glades Day, is part of the group that enrolled two weeks ago and already is training on campus. He could be one of the Gators’ most important recruits considering that Mike Gillislee ran for 1,152 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior this past season, and his departure will leave a gaping hole in production.
Taylor is expected to be the biggest challenger to sophomore-to-be Matt Jones for the starting job. All three recruiting sites consider him a top 50 prospect, with ESPN placing him the highest at No. 8.
The other local player who should land with the Gators is American Heritage offensive lineman Roderick Johnson. He is one of three high school linemen who are committed, and he is the largest at 6-feet-6, 315 pounds.
Johnson’s recruitment has been unusual, and UF cannot make any assumptions about what he will do Feb. 6. He originally committed in March, then de-committed in August before reaffirming his pledge to the Gators last month.
“I’m 100 percent committed right now,” he said Sunday. “I was surprised by how up and down the recruiting process was, but I was just trying to weigh my options at the time.
“It’s been difficult, but I’ve gotten good insight into the program right now. My mom figures this is the best school for me, and I agree.”
UF’s top-rated commit is cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, whose father is the defensive line coach by the same name at South Florida. Hargeaves is the only consensus five-star prospect to pick the Gators, though they are in contention for at least five others.
The biggest name still available is defensive end Robert Nkemdiche from Loganville, Ga. He is the No. 1 player on all three of the major recruiting websites and reportedly visited Gainesville over the weekend.
Nkemdiche, 6-4, 282 pounds, was committed to Clemson until November. He now lists Ole Miss and LSU as his leaders and will visit those schools the next two weeks, but he hasn’t eliminated the Gators.
Another intriguing target is cornerback Jalen Ramsey from Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy. He has been committed to Southern California since the summer, but the Trojans have had a variety of on- and off-field fiascos since then.
The Gators already have a commitment from Ramsey’s high school teammate, quarterback Max Staver. Staver said last fall he was hopeful Ramsey would change his mind and choose Florida.
By ESPN’s rankings, Florida has commitments from 10 of the best 100 players in the country. Seven of those are in Rivals’ top 100, and three are in Scout’s.
Because of early entrants to the NFL draft and the departure of three little-used backups, the Gators have ample space for the upcoming signing class. They currently have 25 scholarships available for the 2013 season, counting all currently enrolled players, and 19 commits. One of those commits, junior college offensive lineman Trenton Brown, signed a letter of intent but has yet to qualify.
About the Author
