In the afternoon session of Monday’s camp, many of the big name prospects were either on their way home or heading to Gainesville.
Nonetheless, there were still a few campers who impressed at the wide receiver and cornerback position.
Charles “C.J.” Gaines, of Miami Central, made the trip with his mother and it was his first visit of the recruiting process. The staff gave Gaines a tour of the campus and athletic facilities and then got to see the speedy receiver in action. The 5-foot-11, 170 pounder put his nice hands and technique on display during drills with coach Zach Azzanni, and ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.4 range (unofficially).
His teammate, Durrell Eskridge, also got some work in at wideout. He has great size at 6-0, 180, and showed exceptional footwork in the cone drill. His only weakness appeared to be his catching ability, as he dropped a few balls.
Both 2011 prospects received individual attention from the coaches following their workouts.
Tyree Green out of St. Petersburg, Fla., was another receiver who stood out Monday.
On the defensive side of the ball, three cornerbacks separated themselves from the pack.
Cedric Walker (Miami, Fla.) was on hand with his father and participated in his first of many camps this summer. He saw reps at cornerback and running back, and is well coordinated on the football field. The Gulliver Prep prospect currently holds offers from Florida Atlantic, Florida International and Kansas State and should have more coming his way as the year progresses. He stands at 5-9, 175, and has been listed at 4.39 in the 40.
Another standout in the secondary was Gainesville High School’s Chris Bivins. The local prospect is part of the 2012 class, and should be one the top defensive backs in north central Florida next year.
Lauderdale Lakes’ (Fla.) Corey Tindal is a talented cornerback out of Boyd Anderson, and he looked legit in pass coverage against Monday’s receivers.
Another Boyd Anderson prospect, inside linebacker Kent Turene, arrived in Gainesville as well. He didn’t participate in any workouts but should start on Tuesday.
He recently received an offer during the evaluation period, and he is very high on the Gators. He could pull the trigger for Florida at any moment and will attend Friday Night Lights on July 23.
Looks like Zach is hitting the big time.
Was wondering with all these kids showing up to UF’s camp, do we have the inside jump on getting these kids to committ in the upcoming year or two? I mean, if they are coming to our camp, dont they have a bit of interest in playing for the Gator Nation?
Hmm – Looks like Randy Shannon continues to “lock down” South Florida…riiiiighhhht….
These camps are great for the kids and invaluable to the coaching staff to really evaluate some individual talent and some hidden gems rather than just reading Rivals or Scout. Urban and his staff have done a superb job at finding that talent…Jeff Demps and Brandon James being fine examples.
Even though a kid may be more interested in playing somewhere besides UF, the smart ones know enough that they can learn a lot from our coaching staff and can only make gains by attending Meyer’s camp. Then, once in awhile, we turn a recruit’s head enough so he switches his commitment, but that pretty much happens everywhere.
Chris Bivins out of Gainesville High School is an amazing athlete. This guy has only been playing high school ball for 2 years! The success that he has had thus far has been absolutely amazing. He has a good size to him and I am watching to see what he does this upcoming season.