A Battle for the Hearts and Minds - Recruiting

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

In the last 18 months, no school has been a biggerthorn in the side of Florida coaching staff (as it relates torecruiting), than the University of Miami. Randy Shannon has done apretty good job of convincing top-level talent in the Miami-Dade andFt. Lauderdale areas to stick around and play for the hometownHurricanes, and that is something that Urban Meyer and his staff wantto change. The Gators scored several victories on the recruiting trailover Miami last year, and now they want to translate that on to thefootball field.

The stakes have never beenhigher. Almost every big-name recruit in the state is planning to be inGainesville on Saturday. Meyer is pinning his hopes on a big win toimpress the masses. After Saturday, he wants to be able to look arecruit in the eye, and tell him “Son, do you want to be a part of awinner, or do want to be a part of a team that wants to be a winner?”
With so many big-name recruits at the game, we are going to focus hereon the 2009 prospects of whom Florida and Miami are going head-to-headagainst on the recruiting trail, and of whom are expected to be inattendance on Saturday night:
(Jason Pughe contributed to this report)

OFFENSE:
QB/ATH DENARD ROBINSON (6-0, 180, Deerfield Beach, FL): Anincredible athlete who has run the 100m in 10.72 seconds, Robinson is avery intriguing prospect at the quarterback position. He couldpotentially give the Gators a Pat White-type at QB or potentially moveto wide receiver if it doesn’t work out for him behind center. Miamihad some interest in him as a defensive back earlier in the process,but never offered in writing. Robinson is set on having a shot at theQB position. Florida looks to be in very good shape here.
RB TRENT RICHARDSON (5-11, 225, Pensacola, FL Escambia):Richardson is currently committed to Alabama, but is still open, takingvisits, and considering his options. LSU and Florida are widelybelieved to be the two teams with the best chance of stealingRichardson from Alabama. However, Miami has tried to enter the picturein recent weeks and Richardson is using the game as an opportunity tocheck out two schools on his short list live and in living color.
WR JHERANIE BOYD (6-2, 185, Gastonia, NC Ashbrook): Boyd wasthought to be leaning towards Clemson as late as last week, but withthe terrible performance on national television by the Tigers lastSaturday, the UF staff certainly hopes to make a big move with Boydthis weekend. He is said to be waiting on a Miami offer but with anOctober decision looming for Boyd, he may not be able to wait longenough. It is no secret that Boyd is the top “big WR” on the board forthe Gators in the 2009 class.
WR ANDRE DEBOSE (5-11, 172, Sanford, FL Seminole): Unlike histeammates Ray Ray Armstrong and Dyron Dye, Andre DeBose seems poised tomake his own decision. Miami and LSU took a lead on Florida towards theend of the summer but the Gators have made a big move back into his topthree along with the Tigers and the ‘Canes. Simply put, DeBose islightning in a bottle and proved it again with a 4-TD performance lastFriday night. In terms of his position on the board and the fact thatUF and Miami are two of his top three schools of choice, there may notbe another prospect on the board for whom a big win could go furtherwith than DeBose.
TE ORSON CHARLES (6-2, 225, Tampa, FL Plant): Florida has fadedfor Charles, who became notorious in recruiting circles afteraccidently breaking Florida’s 2006 National Championship trophy at theOrange & Blue game. Florida is still high on the athletic TE/H-Backprospect out of Plant, but Charles seems to be looking strongly atMiami and FSU at this point. It will certainly be interesting to see ifthe staff can make any headway with Charles following this weekend.
OL XAVIER NIXON (6-6, 265, Fayetteville, NC Jack Britt):Possibly the top offensive tackle in the nation, both Miami and Floridaare on Nixon’s short list of schools, which also includes Clemson, LSU,North Carolina, N.C. State, and Notre Dame. Nixon will be one of twoprospects on an official visit this weekend, so a great trip for Nixonis even more vital for Florida’s chances. The one good thing here isthat Nixon is truly a luxury in this class and not a necessity.However, you simply can’t say no to one of the best offensive lineprospects in the nation, no matter how many you have on the rosteralready.
OL JARED WHEELER (6-4, 300, Plantation, FL American Heritage):Wheeler seems to have faded on the board for the Gators but he has madeseveral visits this year to the Florida campus. If the Gators were toturn up the heat at some point, you would have to think he might bereceptive to the pitch. For now, he’s a guy the staff is keeping aclose eye on while a number of schools like Miami are after himtremendously hard. That just goes to show you just how good theoffensive line situation for Florida currently is.
DEFENSE:

DE DYRON DYE (6-5, 225, Sanford, FL Seminole): At the beginningof the recruiting process, Dye was believed to be Florida’s in with the“Seminole Trio.” However, as Ray Ray Armstrong has become enamored withMiami, Dye has seemed to follow in his footsteps. However, Dye’s fatheris said to be pro-UF, so the Gators have that going in their favor.Landing two defensive ends in this class has become a priority for thestaff, so look for them to really put the heat on Dye from here on out.
DE RYNE GIDDINS (6-4, 235, Seffner, FL Armwood): Giddins isprobably the top defensive player on the board for Florida and theGators have made a tremendous move in recent weeks. Giddins will betraveling to the game with junior teammate Alton Bailey, a 2010prospect to watch. Now that the Florida staff has really locked in onGiddins as a target, look for him to be a high priority recruit all theway until the very end.
DT ANTWAN LOWERY (6-4, 335) Miami, FL Columbus): Lowery seemedall but headed to Miami when he announced he would be making an August1st commitment. Then something funny happened. Lowery decided topostpone his commitment and then Miami gave Curtis Porter the greenlight to commit, which he did. Whereas, in July I would have thoughtPorter would be a Gator and Lowery a Cane, now we could be in for theexact opposite scenario. Lowery is a bit on the heavy side, but he hasrare athletic ability for a kid so big. If he can lose some weight andget that motor running consistently, he could be dominant on thecollege level.
LB JON BOSTIC (6-2, 225, Wellington, FL Palm Beach Central):Bostic has long been at the top of the board for the Gators and Floridais believed to be his favorite. Miami made a real run at him towardsthe end of the spring and at the beginning of the summer but the Caneshave really faded in recent months. LSU now appears to be the topcompetition for Bostic but make no mistake --- Miami would love tothrow a wrench into Florida’s plans of landing the big ’backer prospectand give the Gators a game in hopes of impressing the top LB prospectin the state of Florida.
LB JARVIS JONES (6-3, 230, Columbus, GA Carver): For the longesttime Clemson and Georgia seemed to be the favorites for Jones. They arestill very much in the thick of things but it’s amazing how much Joneshas gone out of his way to say he loves the Gators in recent months.LSU and Miami are very much in the picture, too, but Florida reallyseems to be coming on for Jones who would make for an incrediblepairing with Bostic if they were both to decide on attending school inGainesville.
CB MICHAEL CARTER (5-11, 155, Pompano Beach, FL Ely): The lithe,but athletic defensive back is widely held as the top cover cornerprospect in the state of Florida. Whispers had him heading to Miamijust a few weeks ago but those rumors have proved to be untrue. Miamiand Florida are battling hard for Carter along with Georgia andMinnesota. Carter has family in Gainesville and a great game experienceon Saturday night could have him that much closer to ending up a Gatoron National Signing Day.
ATH RAY RAY ARMSTRONG (6-4, 210, Sanford, FL Seminole): Of allthe prospects on this list, Armstrong would seem the most likely to endup in Coral Gables. Armstrong is such a versatile prospect. The Gatorsare recruiting him as a safety but he could end up at linebacker, tightend, wide receiver or possibly as a defensive end. He can just flat outplay football. Put him on the field and he will find a position toplay. Of all the guys that the staff hopes to influence with a big winover the Canes, Armstrong might be the one that they hope to impact themost.
COMING TOMORROW: An analysis on the 2010 prospects who will bein attendance on Saturday, who are shaping up to be Miami-Floridabattles on the recruiting trail as well.