4* DB Divaad Wilson de-commits from Gators 2018 class

By
Graham Hall
-
50
4438

Florida’s 2018 class lost its fourth commitment since the departure of coach Jim McElwain.

Divaad Wilson, a 5-foot-11 cornerback out of Miami, backed off his Florida pledge a night after meeting with new Gators coach Dan Mullen.

Wilson initially stated he would de-commit from UF if the program did not retain interim coach Randy Shannon.

The Gators have 15 verbal commitments in the 2018 class following Wilson’s de-commitment.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

50 COMMENTS

  6. All the best to Divaad in his collegiate choice. Good luck to you young man. Coach Shannon was an excellent recruiter & did a fine job while here. Coach Grantham will certainly put his stamp on the D side of recruiting before we’re done with this class. Go Gators!

  7. Haven’t seen film on him but what some associates tell me he is a game changer. This type of stuff happends with coaching changes. You can’t keep the same staff because that is what got us in this situation . So good luck with your new school, and thank you Coach Shannon for your service.
    There will be more attrition with this class but there will be some surprising additions.

  11. I saw this kid play on tv once and was unimpressed. He only made a few plays and did not seem too willing to come up and play the run. I understand he had a connection with Coach Shannon who I have a lot of respect for, but you can’t let a high school recruit who has never played a down of college ball dictate who the assistant coaches are going to be. Coach Shannon seemed to be a good motivator based on how the players like him, but the defense definitely took a step back this year. But in fairness they did have to deal with the suspensions and a lot of injuries. They could have used the two freshman linebackers who were both suspended. As far as Shannon’s recruiting goes, if he had such good connections in South Florida, how come Richt at Miami out recruited him. Bottom line as long as Miami is winning, nobody is going to out recruit the U down there. I’m sure Mullen and Grantham can find another player who wants to be a part of the DBU!

    • “…but you can’t let a high school recruit who has never played a down of college ball dictate who the assistant coaches are going to be.”

      I completely agree. But when a kid chooses to go in a different direction, for whatever reason, he should not be subjected to the rantings of the simple minded rectums on this site.

  13. TOO BAD for the young guy…it always gets me… when they say they have got to look out for their best interest. Actually, if he were truly interested in what was really best for him and his and family…he would pick a school rather than a coach…after all, the state of Florida has a population of over 20 million people. In, all of the other states, consisting of SEC and ACC schools have populations of 10 million or less…except for Texas…One real fact is that Gator Nation has a following of more than FSU. Miami and Georgia all put together…the opportunities for the player and even their families are much better at a school like Florida because of it’s following and academics…In my company…and like many others…If, I have 3 or 4 candidates applying for the same job opening…I’ll choose a UF graduate or a member of his family over any other graduates or family members …UF people look out for their own, in this state…but, most young kids can’t see their future ahead of them…If he decides to go out of state to school, and he remains in that state to work after graduation he’ll be ok, but if he comes back to Florida to work he’s got more of a challenge and he’ll be competing with UF graduates…I’ll hire a UF graduate any day over other graduates….UF is one of the best academic public schools in the country. I wish the kid well…but, he’s made a bad decision if he picks a coach over the school. Coaches come and go but the school is always there for you, even after graduation…UF certainly opens doors for all of it’s followers.

    • Clearly he doesnt want to be challenged to play DB, as Grantham is a way better DC than Shannon and the recruit would have to work harder and would learn more under grantham. Its his loss,but Mullen has made it clear if you come here you will have to work your tail off, but on the flip side you will become a much better football player than somewhere else!

    • See if you can follow this. I will type slow:

      It’s…his…life…and…his…decision…He…doesn’t…require…the…approval…of…anyone…on…this…board…to make… it…nor…should…he…be…criticized…for…it.

      Good luck to the kid, except of course against the Gators.

  14. People think “the School” is so important to these kids. Probably only 1 out of 10 of these high ranked kids care about “School.” They care about the possibility of playing in the pros, the possibility of starting early, the possibility of winning, having fun in college, being in a nice place, playing for a coach they like and then some where further down the line is “school.” If school was important, Stanford would have the #1 class every year. Coaching relationships are important because many of these kids come from broken or single parent homes so a parental figure is crucial to them. Wilson should go elsewhere if his coach isn’t here. If Wilson doesn’t like the coaching staff and doesn’t end up liking UF, his playing days or his chance of making it to the pros is most likely done. It’s not like a coach. When things don’t work out for a coach, he get’s paid $7.5 million to go elsewhere. These kids get nothing to leave. Very cutthroat. Pretty tough decision for a 17 year old. UF or bust.

    • Your comment is completely wrong with respect to Stanford. Very, very few of college football players in the US can meet Stanford’s academic requirements. There are about 250 players each year that have the academic and intellectual ability to meet Stanford’s football requirement.

  18. sorry to see the kid go, for his sake not ours. seems to me uf sends close to 50% of who gets signed to the nfl, so I don’t know his odds where he goes, or if the educational and branding value is the same. but even if this kid is the second coming of joe haden, you cant have the kids pick the coaches or negotiate with them about who will lead them. I hope this guy gets lucky and ends up at Miami, fsu, Georgia, Clemson, or Alabama so his odds are similar, for his sake, but that’s a risky call this late in the game for him. I appreciate coach Shannon, and Id be surprised if he negative recruited the kid, but either way that’s a bet these kids need to think through imo.

  20. You clowns crack me up. You call a kid making the biggest decision of his young life “entitled” because he chooses to go to another school.

    Project much? You are the ones with entitlement issues. Please explain how UF is entitled to any player? Explain how you as a fan are entitled to dictate a kid’s life.

    Get a friggin’ life, you hypocritical termini of the alimentary canal.

    • Most of these commenters are more childish than the kids being recruited. Coaches came and persuaded him to come to Florida. Became friends with him, show him their credentials and built a bond with him, next day the people he was sold on is fired. That’s a kick in the face no one talks about. He opened up his options with other coaches that were recruiting him that he grown to know. It probably going to be transfer requests also. Part of coaching changes.

  23. 7-18 year old kids will learn that whether it’s football or a business/professional career, names change like musical chairs. It’s UF and being a Gator that matters. Maybe he doesn’t like the competition as there are some talented CB’s currently on the roster.

  26. HALL ASK BOY! WE DON’T HAVE TO RESPECT YOUR DECISION. BYE BYE. JUST ANNOUNCE YOUR DECISION AND LEAVE. THAT WASN’T NEEDED TO BE SAID. ONE MAN DOESN’T MAKE A TEAM.

    P. S.
    YOU RESPECT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA.

  28. I wish him the best and hope this was indeed the best decision for him. He’s totally within his rights to change his mind, and I personally don’t want anyone on the team that’s not 100% Gator. Go have a great career, preferably not against us.