Florida coach Will Muschamp did not sign any players from Tampa in his first two recruiting cycles with the Gators.
That changed last year with Vernon Hargreaves III and Jordan Sherit, and he’ll likely continue the trend in 2014.
Tampa Jefferson athlete Deiondre Porter spent this past weekend officially visiting UF, which offered him a scholarship last week.
He will announce his decision Monday at 6 p.m. ET on Bright House Sports Network. His other finalists are UCF and USF, the school he decommitted from Thursday.
“I had a real good visit to Florida,” Porter said. “I learned a lot. It’s a high-powered program. They built a dynasty in the 1990’s and won two championships not too long ago, so I just wanted to see what all the hype was about. I definitely saw it.”
The highlight of Porter’s trip was seeing The Swamp for the first time.
“Standing in the stadium was ridiculous,” he said. “I’ve never been to a game before, so I was just picturing all the fans screaming and going crazy.”
The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder was hosted by Hargreaves, who talked to him about the honesty of UF’s coaches.
“He let me know that whatever the coaches are telling me is the truth, and if they say I’ve got an opportunity then I do,” Porter said. “He told me I can trust them and that they’ll give me a chance to prove myself. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The Gators are recruiting the consensus three-star prospect for multiple positions. Porter added that’s he not bothered by the Gators making a last-minute run at him.
“The coaches told me they’re going to try me out everywhere — quarterback, receiver, corner and safety. Maybe kicker if I can do that, too,” Porter said laughing.
“I don’t care that Florida came in late. I’m just happy they came, and that I have a choice to go to one of the top universities in the country.”
To watch Porter’s senior season highlights, click HERE.
Hope we can figure out the numbers. I guess it’s a good problem to have but it looks like we’ve got too many prospects who want to commit that we want.
Wish we could give him a Scholarship regardless. Love Players that are ALL GATOR!
three stars down to UF, usf and ucf- a sign of the times
Sheriff…we have had no stars walk ons that have done very well…Kerwin Bell comes to mind as well as Chris Doering to name a few….even Brandon James was not a many starred recruit and he did well…it is about heart and desire too..a willingness to work hard
I know of some 4 and 5 star busts too
Porter seems like a great kid, terrific attitude. These late-breaking offers make me wonder if our coaches are hedging their expectations for the several five star guys remaining and if two or three of the current commitments aren’t as solid as we might think. More likely, though, we lose two current commitments, add three of the four and five stars, and three from among Porter, McWilliams group. It’s going to be a terrific incoming class.
Mizzou was very successful last season with a bunch of 3 star recuits. It’s how you coach them up that matters.
Man, that kid looks tiny!
This kid can play multiple positions and is very athletic. He flew under the radar all season. He is a legitimate 4 star if he had attended all the camps. Hope he is a Gator.
Percy was tiny too. ATH usually means the dude can ball wherever you put him, people get so caught up in stars. Muschamp knows how to recruit, everybody can’t be 5 stars anyway. Come on board, Porter!
no doubt the stars mean little. more importantly is we shouldnt be batting USF and UCF for recruits. Not too many recruits Bama is after are considering Troy, Samford etc
Yea, he doesnt have enough stars so dont bother….I hope this kid comes to Fla and is a break out athlete. He has something to prove and has the heart and desire to prove it. I wish him the best! Go Gators!
The kid made UCF and USF his final schools because they are close to home. He has been recruited by all of the Big schools he was the MVP of the FIU camp he went to state for Track if he really wanted to go that route he could be the best hurdler in the state. This kid can play WR,CB,KR,QB.. I’m a witness of him single handling beating all of the schools in the Hills county area.
Percy?!? Really? Maybe this kid is a gem in the rough or turns out to be our version of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, or somewhere between that and a Wondy Pierre-Louis (tall, skinny), but do Porter a favor and don’t make any comparisons to Percy Harvin. There’s just no comparison whatsoever. Also, Percy was never “tiny.” By his Jr year he was benching 400 pounds and was noticeably more muscular in his high school photos than Porter.
per rivals he has offers from wisconsin rutgers and cincinnati. not bad but two weeks before signing day would rather be talking about adoree and others as possible commits
Shariff…..
Don’t believe Troy and Samford have ever been to the Fiesta Bowl or play in a major, BCS conference. UCF to the Fiesta this year and USF played in a BCS conference. Just so you know your analogy was oranges vs. peanuts.
And I believe South Florida beat FSU just a few years back.
Kid comes in….redshirts…..gains 20 to 30 pounds and muscle working out….and he can be a special player. Very athletic and obviously. Great attitude and desire, obviously.
yeah and I believe USF was horrendous this year, and UCF played nobody this year and isnt a program we should be battling for recruits – thus why he is announcing- he was thrilled to get an offer from the gators. Donovan is not only getting the w’s but his incoming classes this year is much more impressive than muschamps- good defensive class coming in but offensive recruits is a bit shaky which is not surprising
with Porter and not counting Angus we will be at 21. Grades could be an issue on one or two others. If we have 5 spots left who do we sign. I am hoping for Mckenzie. Adoree and Carter would be nice along with Prince and Mike. Jones and Scott at rb are still out there. What about Harris? any news on his visit?
i was wondering same thing- none of the sites have anything on harris or other top recruits. the biggest news this weekend was Porter?
Didn’t UCF beat Louisville and Charlie Strong this year? I know two Florida Teams that couldn’t do that.
Porter is making his decision today, so he is the biggest news happening today.
which is pathetic and a bad mark on muschamps resume to get blown out by louisville in sugar bowl
This kid has a lot of potential, if anyone here can remember a little known 2* kid named Brandon James.
I’d try Porter out at WR and KO and punt returner to begin with.
brandon james was unique. not every small “athlete” is going to be brandon james. it is wishful thinking but isiah mckenzie would be a “small athlete” that is much more likely to be at least as valuable as brandon james and play more of a role on offense than James did
Why is anyone engaging that troll?
Sheriff come on dude don’t be that guy. We’re not going after Porter because we have to. We’re going after him because he’s impressed the coaches and we want to. Don’t be so ignorant as to only look at 1 players star rating and assume we’re not doing well. We have a top 10 class right now and have a great shot for many very highly rated recruits wanted by every team in the country. That list includes adoree Jackson, dampen prince, Lorenzo carter, treon harris, Eric Lauderdale, etc. Sign of the times? Yeah like the fact that Florida is a tremendous program despite 1 down year and our coaches can recruit with anyone in the country
Don, 6′-1″, 170 is pretty thin. He’ll put on some weight once he gets in college. I like the fact that he has some length.
This kid reminds me of a lighter weight Jarred Fayson. Same town and everything.
i graduated from jefferson high school 2 years after bubba caldwell . went to a few games and this kid is a stud. very athletic very quick and is a smooth runner..i would try him at slot but also keep him as a 3rd qb cuz i never know in the sec. this class will be very good and shock alot of people.. the offence will be alot better for the simple fact that it cant get any worse..but porter is a flat out baller and always showed up in the big games in the playoffs..GO GATORS and GO DRAGONS!!!!
[…] stopped by Jefferson to see athlete Deiondre Porter, who flipped to the Gators last Monday after an officially visiting UF. Coach Muschamp Just came through ! Ready to get up to Gville man GatorBoy […]