Whew, so much to catch you up on today in the frenetic world of Gator recruiting.
Firstly, the Rivals 250 was unveiled at noon. Unlike yesterday’s Rivals 100, which featured just one Florida verbal commitment, this list is teeming with Gator pledges. Texas leads the way with 12 verbals on the Rivals 250, followed by Florida and Florida State with seven each.
The Gator verbals are: 49. Jessamen Dunker, OT; 122. Mike Davis, RB; 157. Matt Jones, RB; 197. Colin Thompson, TE; 218. Jeremi Powell, LB; 225. Dante Phillips, DT; and 240. Latroy Pittman, WR.
Some prominent UF targets on the list include: 126. Raphael Kirby, LB; 128. Marcus Maye, S; 150. D’Vario Montgomery, WR; 160. Cyler Miles, QB; 164. Malcolm Lewis, WR; 177. Adam Bisnowaty, OL; 181. Kyle Kelley, DE; 190. Sean Price, TE; 192. Jarontay Jones, DE; 199. Patrick Miller, OT; 232. Dillon Lee, LB; 245. Marvin Bracy, WR; and 247. Deaysean Rippy, LB.
While the list is exhaustive, Gator fans should remember it’s just the collective opinions of one scouting service AND it’s early. Rivals will re-rank its top 250 throughout the fall.
I can already hear the chatter about Seffner, Fla., Armwood running back Matt Jones, who could be the state’s best running back. He’s a battering ram, not a gazelle, which might explain where he landed. Still, he’s rated the 16th best back in the nation by Rivals. Florida fans should also feel good about the high ranking of Stone Mountain, Ga., Stephenson RB Mike Davis (12th best RB overall), who has risen steadily this spring as he backs up his claim to be the best running back in Georgia.
Speaking of Georgia, the state is packed with talent again this year, and Florida is on the prowl. Perhaps UF coach Will Muschamp has dusted off his Rolodex from his years in the Peach State, or maybe Gator coaches are just going where the talent commands. Whatever the case, Rivals analyst Keith Niebuhr recently reported that Florida has made 20 offers to Georgia prospects in the class of 2012.
A Pennsylvania Gator
Last week, I wrote all about Warminster, Pa., tight end Colin Thompson, who made his verbal commitment to Florida on Thursday. I thought you all might enjoy watching the video of his announcement. In it, you can see what a nice, thoughtful and excited young man he is as he dons his Gator hat, does a quick chomp and talks all about his decision.
[youtube m_4SzYKO5BM 590]
your doing a good job at this recruiting thing , i didnt think anyone can do this but Ed , but your doing a good job keep it up man.
We really need to get this kid Noor Davis. Just take a look at his film. He will be five star by NSD. We could use three or four linebackers in this class. Also we need to be applying serious pressure od Dorial Green-Beckham. He is also a must have to be honest he should be our number one target.
Good job Jeff! Gatorbread, I agree about Davis. His film jumped out at me and becuase I am a dork I have seen a lot of film. He looked like a five star and it appears he is very mature and smart.
Check out Noor Davis’ breakdown of his top 5. I’ve posted it on the GSMB: Click here
Colin Thompson seems like a great kid. That’s the kind of student athlete we need on board. Really excited about the direction of the program under Coach Muschamp.
Go Gators!
Man Jimbo Fisher is really hauling them in up in Tallahassee according to the Rivals 100 list. Looks like Coach Muschamp and his staff have their work cut out for them to keep up with the Noles. This rivalry is going to get heated again! I hope the coaches are really working hard on getting some good offensive lineman in next year, because we are definitely thin there. Anybody got any info on why Blakely decided to transfer? Having problems with the “Florida Way” already?
@ Gator Rob, Rival’s I believe is run or owned (not sure) by FSU Alumni. If you watch throughout the years as a kid commits to FSU they move up the board and commit to UF they fall. Now they aren’t ridiculous, they won’t drop a #1 to #123 but there will be subtle moves etc. Or higher initial rankings for FSU leans and such. ESPN now that they have deals with multiple conferences will provide a more unbiased ranking of players. Plus, really how much to the stars really mean? I think outside the top 25 players it starts to get more hit or miss, and the players transfer etc. But I still wish the top 20 went to UF every year.
The notion that Rivals has a pro-FSU bias couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, one of my fellow UF Jschool graduates is a prominent analyst for Rivals. They strive for objectivity and do a good job.
I dont think thats necessarily true Bludigal, although weve had alot of commits drop i can still remember guys like Dunlap rising, and recently Easley.
Best article of the new blog, by far and I almost missed it, because I wasn’t expecting more than one story a day. LOVE this Thompson guy, love everything about him. He’s an old school, hard nose tight end. He handles himself better than most, 10 years his senior. Clearly he’s smart, he picked Florida didn’t he. I hope he stays healthy, because I see a big future for him.
Rivals isn’t biased, but their formulas don’t produce accurate results. They only include a certain number of recruits on class rankings. So a team with 15 good recruits could be ranked higher than a team with 25 good recruits. All they look at is the aggregate of the top 15 or 16. A team could fill slots 16 – 25 with 4 star recruits and Rivals doesn’t consider them. Even their player rankings aren’t very good as we can see with Jones and Davis. Jeff defends Rivals by claiming their stock will probably rise as the year progresses, but historically Rivals has got it wrong more than the other big services, Scouts and ESPN.
Don’t forget. “gator rob” is a troll. Go away.