The Back Alley Archives

nice wes...thanks...would love to hear some of our thoughts on the signings...thanks.

LOIs received:

3* DB Chris Johnson
3* CB Valdez Showers
2* FB Hunter Joyer
4* OL Tommy Jordan
4* CB Jamari Gorman
4* Marcus Roberson (rumored right now, waiting on confirmation)

Recruits to watch through National Signing Day

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Football, Recruiting | January 31, 2011

Updated: Feb. 1 at 9:45 p.m.

Sixteen members strong, the Florida Gators 2011 recruiting class could look totally different – or exactly the same – at the end of the week. With the vast majority of uncommitted high school football players announcing their decisions on National Signing Day this Wednesday, a handful of others may wait a few days to make their intentions known. Below OGGOA breaks down who Florida is still waiting to hear from, when they might learn of their decision and some of the latest insights on each player.

Linebacker Curtis Grant (Richmond, VA)
Accolades: No. 2 player in the country (No. 1 linebacker) according to Rivals; No. 46 player in the country (No. 3 linebacker) according to ESPNU
Leaders: Florida, Ohio State
Contenders: Virginia, North Carolina
Skinny: Though his hometown school and a regional choice are both in the picture, it is believed by most that this is a two-horse race between UF and OSU. The Gators have sent head coach Will Muschamp (two weeks ago) as well as defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, linebackers coach D.J. Durkin and tight ends coach Brian White (last week) in-home to see him. With Florida’s staff only coming together recently, Grant may feel more comfortable elsewhere. Then again, the press put on by UF may have impressed him and he would likely have the opportunity to play relatively early.
Announcement: NSD at 1:50 p.m.

Linebacker Stephone Anthony (Wadesboro, NC)
Accolades: No. 1 linebacker (No. 32 player in the country) according to ESPNU; No. 3 linebacker (No. 24 palyer in the country) according to Rivals
Leader: Clemson
Contenders: Florida, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State
Skinny: It appears that Anthony is favoring Clemson and Virginia Tech with the Tigers edging. In fact, almost every recruiting analyst predicting where Anthony will eventually declare tabs Clemson.
Update: Anthony eliminated UF on Monday.
Announcement: NSD at 11:30 a.m.

Defensive tackle Tim Jernigan (Lake City, FL)
Accolades: Consensus No. 2 defensive tackle in the country, listed at No. 17 on the ESPNU 150 and No. 29 on the Rivals 100
Leaders: Florida State, LSU
Contenders: Florida, Tennessee
Skinny: As OGGOA has previously reported, the Gators have put a full-court press on Jernigan. Assistant defensive line coach Bryant Young visited him in-home during his first day on the job, and he has also met personally with Muschamp and Quinn. Florida was thought to have a legitimate chance, but Rivals affiliate VolQuest reported that Jernigan loved his visit to UT over the weekend and it may have supplanted UF in his top three. Always in the back of Jernigan’s mind, however, may be that he and his family have been long-time Gators fans and his home is just 45 miles from The Swamp.
Update: The Orlando Sentinel reports that Jernigan is no longer considering UF.
Announcement: NSD at 10 a.m. on ESPN

Learn about eight more 2011 recruits…after the break.

Defensive tackle Jonathan Jenkins (Perkinston, MS)
Accolades: No. 6 JUCO recruit according to Rivals
Leaders: Florida, Georgia
Contenders: Oklahoma State, Auburn, Miami
Skinny: One of a handful of players to take their last official visit to UF, Jenkins – by all accounts – had a good time. He was committed to Oklahoma State but decided to open things up and has since been really interested in Georgia, which is considered to be his most likely destination. That being said, the trip to Gainesville may have swayed him.
Announcement: TBD – Saturday, Feb. 5

Defensive back Marcus Roberson (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Accolades: No. 2 cornerback (No. 37 player in the country) according to Rivals; No. 9 safety (No. 112 player in the country) according to ESPNU
Leaders: Florida, USC
Contenders: Auburn, Texas Tech
Skinny: A lot has changed for Roberson over the last week. Originally committed to Texas Tech (his uncle is the cornerbacks coach there), he changed his mind and switched his pledge to Auburn on Monday. That is why Roberson was not on this original list. Tuesday news broke that Roberson either decided not to play for Auburn or AU pulled their offer. Either way, Roberson is now available and Florida has been in the mix from the beginning. Rivals reports that he took a “surprise” visit to USC over the weekend, so they are very much in play as well. It would be strange for him to re-commit to either of his previous choices but not entirely impossible.
Announcement: NSD

Linebacker Curt Maggitt (West Palm Beach, FL)
Accolades: No. 3 linebacker (No. 63 player in the country) according to ESPNU; No. 12 linebacker (No. 198 player in the country) according to Rivals
Leaders: Florida, Tennessee
Contenders: Wisconsin
Skinny: Maggitt has long been expected to eventually pick the Gators, and he gave the team the benefit of the doubt by scheduling his final official visit there over the weekend. With three former teammates already enrolled (safety Matt Elam, tight end Gerald Christian and wide receiver Robert Clark committed in 2010), he seems to have always favored Florida and may be the most likely player to commit this week. Then again, Tennessee and Wisconsin have both made strong pushes for him recently.
Update: Maggitt committed to Tennessee on Tuesday.
Announcement: TBD – Thursday, Feb. 3

Defensive end Jermauria Rasco (Shreveport, LA)
Accolades: No. 8 defensive end (No. 168 player in the country) according to Rivals; No. 17 defensive end (unranked nationally) according to ESPNU
Leader: LSU
Contenders: Florida, Florida State, Texas
Skinny: Murmurs coming out of Rasco’s weekend visit to Gainesville, FL are that the Gators may have done enough to turn him away from his hometown Tigers. That, however, is going to be difficult considering how well LSU (like Texas) hangs on to in-state recruits. Muschamp has been recruiting Rasco for years and has developed quite a relationship with the young man. That is why Florida, which was not recruiting Rasco heavily to begin with, received the visit and remains in the hunt for his services.
Announcement: NSD at 2 p.m.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett (West Palm Beach, FL)
Accolades: No. 3 quarterback (No. 75 player in the country) according to Rivals; three-star recruit and No. 25 quarterback according to ESPNU
Leaders: Miami, Wisconsin
Contenders: Florida, Washington
Skinny: Originally offered a (insulting) greyshirt by then-head coach Urban Meyer, no other player has been more heavily pursued by new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. After one visit, Weis called Muschamp and offered Brissett a scholarship. Since then the coaches have visited him on at least two other occasions and even convinced him to come up to Gainesville for an unofficial visit. However, it appears as if Brissett is further along with other programs and will likely be headed elsewhere…probably Miami. It should be noted that he is best friends with Elam and does want to play basketball in college.
Announcement: TBD – Friday, Feb. 4

Wide receiver/tight end Junior Pomee (Moreno Valley, CA)
Accolades: No. 23 wide receiver (No. 194 player in the country) according to Rivals; No. 13 tight end (unranked nationally) according to ESPNU
Leader: USC
Contenders: Florida, Utah, UCLA, Arizona
Skinny: A former UCLA commit, Pomee was also teammates with Gators defender Ronald Powell at Rancho Verde High School. Believed to be a serious USC lean who recently took an official visit, Florida and Utah have emerged as legitimate options for him. The Gators flew across the country to visit him in-home over a week ago.
Update: Pomee’s father said Monday night his son has committed to USC though, according to Rivals, Pomee himself denied his father’s statement.
Announcement: NSD

Defensive tackle Elkino Watson (Miami, FL)
Accolades: No. 23 defensive tackle according to Rivals; No. 75 defensive tackle according to ESPNU
Leaders: Florida, Louisville
Contenders: Miami
Skinny: Formerly teammates with Gators freshmen Lynden Trail and Quinton Dunbar, Watson is giving Florida plenty of consideration. Always interested in Miami, their former defensive line coach recently joined Charlie Strong’s staff at Louisville and is doing his best to pull Watson. According to various reports, it may be working.
Announcement: NSD at 9 a.m.

Defensive end Tevin Westbrook (Coconut Creek, FL)
Accolades: No. 45 defensive end according to Rivals
Contenders: Florida, South Florida, Connecticut, Purdue, North Carolina
Skinny: The best thing the Gators have going for them in Westbrook’s recruitment is, simply put, they’re the biggest name. Muschamp has been after him recently and, like some of the others above, Westbrook gave UF his final official visit over the weekend. Whether or not he will pull the trigger for the orange and blue remains to be seen.
Update: Westbrook committed to UF on Tuesday.

Offensive tackle Jacob Fisher (Traverse City, MI)
Accolades: No. 42 offensive tackle acc. to Rivals; No. 82 offensive tackle acc. to ESPNU
Leaders: Michigan, Michigan State
Contenders: Florida, Oregon
Skinny: A Michigan commit, Fisher decided to open up his recruiting process after head coach Rich Rodriguez was fired. He checked out UF a week ago and took his final official visit to Oregon. Nevertheless, with both Michigan and Michigan State firmly after him, it will take a lot to pull him out of the state.
Announcement: NSD at 8 a.m.

OGGOA PREDICTIONS: Last year we were perfect on our commitment projections in this very post [Ten recruits to watch on National Signing Day]. This year things are not as clear-cut with Florida trying to overcome a coaching change and playing catch-up to some other big programs. In fact, a lot of commitments may depend on the decisions of other players. Maggitt, for example, is considering declaring after NSD. He could be waiting to see what Grant and Anthony decide to do. Westbrook may be the 2011 version of Kitchens, someone UF pulls if they do not get Rasco. OGGOA prognosticates Maggitt, Watson and Westbrook wearing orange and blue when the dust settles. Grant, who may be an undisclosed silent commit, is the most likely (if any) of the top three on the Gators board to head to Gainesville.

Read more: http://www.onlygators.com/01/31/2011/recruits-to-watch-through-national-signing-day/#ixzz1CoGq8H11
ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive

3* DE Tevin Westbrook sent in his LOI

nice wes...thanks...would love to hear some of our thoughts on the signings...thanks.

No problem bro.

I like the way this class is shaping up, personally. I think we'll end up missing on some of the big guys we were in it with for a while, but I also think this class, for a transition class, will solidly fill our needs.

4* WR Ja'Juan Story sent in his LOI.

LOI's according to GC:

Ja'Juan Story, wide receiver, 6'3", 190 lbs., Brooksville, Nature Coast HS, ESPNU 4-star (#6 WR)
Tevin Westbrook, defensive end, 6'5", 235 lbs., Coconut Creek, North Broward Prep School
Marcus Roberson, safety, 6'0", 170 lbs., Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas Aquinas HS, ESPNU 4-star (#9 S, #112 overall)
Jabari Gorman, safety, 6'0", 180 lbs., Miami, Monsignor Pace HS, ESPNU 4-star, #8 S, #86 overall)
Tommy Jordan, offensive tackle, 6'5", 280 lbs., Ridgefield, Conn., Ridgefield HS, ESPNU 3-star (#122 OT)
Hunter Joyer, fullback, 5'11", 249 lbs., Tampa, Tampa Catholic HS, ESPNU 2-star (rated #7 at FB)
Valdez Showers, cornerback, 5'11", 180 lbs., Madison Heights, Mich., Madison Heights HS, ESPNU 3-star
Chris "Juice" Johnson, safety, 5'10", 193 lbs., Ocala, Trinity Catholic HS, ESPNU 3-star

Gotta make an airport run, will update in a few hours.

Ha ha ha...FSU lost Tony Steward to Clemson. He was supposedly committed to FSU for a year. CJ Spiller all over again. LOL

So, recruitheads: was this a good or a disappointing day for the Gators?

SEC did well...the west did extraordinarily well so it seems

Seemed like an O.K. day, although all our rivals had good days.

I heard the interview with Muschamp who said that he always answers when asked how he feels about this class "to ask me in a few years because there is no way to tell how these players are going to end up in three years". True.

I heard the interview with Muschamp who said that he always answers when asked how he feels about this class "to ask me in a few years because there is no way to tell how these players are going to end up in three years". True.

agreed...though i'll say that we have no choice but to think that way...if we were number 1 (and we have been in recent past so we should know) you know for shit sure we'd be chirping about how important having great classes are and how it indicates how great it is to play for UF...great marketing tool....but not as great as having a MNC

^^^Also true.

Looks like we might be adding 4* QB Jacoby Brissett out of Dwyer. He'll be announcing tonight at his HS basketball game. http://www.onlygators.com/02/04/2011/report-qb-brissett-set-to-commit-to-gators/

would be a surprising commit IMO. Kid is confident that he'll win a starting job. We'll see. Weis looks to have his pick of signal callers for the next few years.

would be a surprising commit IMO. Kid is confident that he'll win a starting job. We'll see. Weis looks to have his pick of signal callers for the next few years.

His coach says he wants competition. There's probably no better young QB to compete with than Driskel. The other top schools for Brissett are Wisc and the U...we definitely provide more competition, IMO.

From what I've read Brissett thinks his deep ball gives him an edge.

you mean another 3 years of a 2-QB system?!?!?!!? mackingheadagainstthebrickwall:

you mean another 3 years of a 2-QB system?!?!?!!? mackingheadagainstthebrickwall:

Doesn't mean that at all. I like the idea that we'll have passers.

you mean another 3 years of a 2-QB system?!?!?!!? mackingheadagainstthebrickwall:

I don't think I've ever seen Weis rotate QBs. Have you?

I would hope that as with anything else, competition will be a good thing. I seem to remember when Brock Berlin was recruited and we thought he was the second coming of Wuerffel, and then what happened? Rex Grossman is what happened.

anyone else find it odd that clemson got a kick ass class?