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Gators Pick Up Nice Early Commit

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

News of the 2008 football recruiting season has gotten off to an extremely slow start for the Florida Gators, as only one commit (Earl Okine out of Gainesville HS) stayed on the board for quite some time.  Today brought very good news, however, as Dee Finley, the No. 1 defensive prospect on the '08 ESPN Watch List, committed to Florida.

Finley happens to be out of Auburn, Alabama, so news of this verbal commit doesn't exactly tell us that he'll be on the Gators' signee board come NSD.  I'm sure that the Tigers and Crimson Tide will be pushing hard to change his mind over the next several months.  Several other schools (including LSU) will more than likely be contacting him -- a guy that highly rated is going to be showered with attention, no matter what school has received his verbal commitment.

LSU and Auburn were said to be the other two schools in his top-three.

Finley is listed a safety prospect by Scout, but comes in at a size that may translate into being a linebacker in college.  He is listed at 6-3, 205 by the nationwide recruiting site.  In high school he also returned kicks and played a little wide receiver on offense.

The relatively slow start to this recruiting season has not worried me too much; I have full faith in Coach Meyer and his staff on bringing another good recruiting class to Gainesville for 2008 after two great classes.  Today's news out of Auburn seems to be a great starting point for a surge in bringing in talented verbal commits from around the country.

Go Gators!

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2007 Recruits: Special Teams

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Chas Henry (K/P)
Dallas, GA (East Paulding)
6-4, 200
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

A versatile athlete rated the No. 1 punter in the nation by Scout.com...Was the varsity punter and kicker since his freshman year at East Paulding High School...Became the starting quarterback during his sophomore year...During his junior campaign, Henry averaged 46 yards per kick and broke the school record for longest punt with a 66-yard effort...Established another school mark for longest field-goal made with a 52-yard conversion in his junior season

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2007 Recruits: Defensive Backs

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Major Wright
Ft. Lauderdale, FL (St. Thomas Aquinas)
6-1, 204 - 4.5 40
Scout.com Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

A hard-hitting safety ranked second in his position and sixth among Florida's Top-100 prospects according to Rivals.com... Rated 90th on the ESPN150 list of top prospects... Helped lead St. Thomas to the state title game in 2006...Started for the East in the U.S. Army All-American game and was nominated for the National U.S. Army Player of the Year Award...Started at safety for St. Thomas for three years...First-team all-county and all-state selection during both his junior and senior seasons...Completed his senior season with 72 tackles, three interceptions, four tackles for a loss and two blocked kicks

Jerimy Finch
Indianapolis, IN (Warren Central)
6-2, 200 - 4.6 40
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Rated the No. 1 safety in Indiana and in the nation by Rivals.com... As a senior, he helped lead Warren Central to its fourth-consecutive Class 5A state title, the first high school football team to accomplish that feat in the state of Indiana... Recorded a team-high 11 tackles, returned an interception 42 yards and had a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown in the state title game his junior year... Earned Class 5A All-State honors in both his senior and junior years... Ended his junior season with 98 tackles, 10 interceptions, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries

Ahmad Black
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
5-10, 170 - 4.5 40
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Helped Lakeland extend its winning streak to 45 games, as the squad claimed its third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and second-straight USA Today national championship in 2006...As a senior, he made 82 tackles, totaled four interceptions and broke up eight passes...Recorded 75 tackles, six interceptions and 11 passes broken up as junior for the Dreadnaughts...As a sophomore, made 71 tackles and intercepted 10 passes

Moses Jenkins
Lauderdale Lakes, FL (Boyd H. Anderson)
6-2, 175 - 4.5 40
Scout Ranking: 3* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

Rated No. 54 among cornerbacks in the nation by Scout.com...As a senior, he collected 48 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and broke up 12 passes...Was an All-Broward County and all-state selection in 2006... As a junior, Jenkins recorded 43 tackles and one interception... Also runs track at Boyd Anderson

Steven Wilks
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
6-2, 195 - 4.7 40
Scout Ranking: 3* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

A hard-hitting defender who helped lead Lakeland to its 45th consecutive victory, third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and second-straight USA Today national championship in 2006... Rated 58th among safeties by Scout.com...Recruited as a linebacker... As a senior, he collected over 136 tackles, averaging 9.1 tackles a game, seven interceptions, two blocked punts and a blocked field goal...Scored two touchdowns, including one after he forced a fumble in the state championship game...Was chosen as a member of the Class 5A all-state team selected by the Florida Sports Writers Association... Had over 100 tackles, six interceptions, two blocked punts, two sacks and six fumble recoveries as a sophomore

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With all the losses in the secondary from 2006, the Gators needed a strong recruiting class in this area.  Well, it looks as if the mission was accomplished, picking up big time commits from Major Wright and Jerimy Finch.  They also picked up players in Black, Jenkins and Wilks who can play anywhere in the secondary if called upon.

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2007 Recruits: LBs

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Lorenzo Edwards
Orlando, FL (Edgewater)
6-2, 221
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

A versatile athlete who was ranked as the number one recruit at weak side linebacker by Scout.com and the No. 14 recruit at safety by Rivals.com...As a senior, he recorded 81 tackles and earned a spot on the East Team for the 2007 U.S. Army All-American game...One of 13 linebackers ranked in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100...As a junior, Edwards recorded 120 tackles (97 solo), five interceptions, five sacks and had three fumble recoveries

Brandon Hicks
Jacksonville, FL (Nathan Bedford Forrest)
6-2, 205
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

A two-way player who played both wide receiver and linebacker for Forrest....Rated No. 16 among Florida's Top 100 prospects by Rivals.com...Named to the All-American Offense-Defense Bowl...As a senior, Hicks collected 40 tackles, nine sacks and three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown...He also had four receiving touchdowns...During his junior year, he accumulated 220 yards and two touchdowns, while recording 88 tackles and 12 sacks

John Jones
Sarasota, FL (Booker)
6-3, 205
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

A two-way player who is rated eighth among middle linebackers according to Scout.com...Played as a combination linebacker/end and a wide receiver for Booker...Was chosen as a member of the second-team all-state defense in Florida...On defense, Jones recorded 70 tackles, 23 sacks and five fumble recoveries in his junior year...During that season, he had 33 receptions for 484 yards and scored six touchdowns

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LB was a position that the Gators needed to stock up on this recruiting season because of the losses from the 2006 campaign.  I'd expect to see any of these three seeing playing time next season due to the loss of Siler, Crum, Everett and Demps in 2007.

Edwards is the prize recruit in this LB class, having participated in the Army All-American game and putting up some pretty absurd defensive numbers in HS.  To go along with Edwards the Gators picked up two LBs in Jones and Hicks that were able to produce results on the offensive side of the ball as well.

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2007 Recruits: DL

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Torrey Davis (DT)
Seffner, FL (Armwood)
6-4, 285
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 5*

Gatorzone:

A quick-stepping defensive tackle who is rated the No. 1 prospect in Florida by Rivals.com...Five-star prospect for Scout.com, as well as the No.2 overall player in Florida... During his senior year, he recorded 72 tackles and 16 sacks... Was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American... Davis finished his junior season with 60 tackles and nine sacks... Also qualified for the state track championships in the shot put and discus

John Brown (DT)
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
6-1, 285
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Rated No. 3 among defensive tackles by ESPN.com and No. 5 by Scout.com...Helped lead Lakeland to its 45th consecutive win, third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and its second-straight USA Today national championship with 11.5 sacks, 53 solo tackles and 94 total tackles during his senior season...Was chosen as the Lakeland Ledger's 2006 Defensive Player of the Year after a crucial tackle in the final minutes of overtime to secure his team's victory

Justin Trattou (DE)
Ramsey, NJ (Don Bosco Prep)
6-4, 250
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Helped lead Don Bosco to a perfect 12-0 record and its first state title since 2003 during his senior year with 82 tackles and 17 sacks...Rated No. 4 among New Jersey's Top 30 prospects by Rivals.com... Rated fourth among defensive ends by Scout.com... Selected to be on the ESPN150 list...Was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American and was also honored at the High School Heisman ceremony...Named all-state during both his junior and senior years...Led Don Bosco to the state finals his junior year by recording 96 tackles and totaling 11 sacks

Carlos Dunlap (DE)
Fort Dorchester, SC (Fort Dorchester)
6-6, 240
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 5*

Gatorzone:

An athletic defense man rated 15th on ESPN'S 150 and second among defensive ends... Also rated first among weak side defensive ends and fifth among all prospects according to Rivals.com...During his senior year, Dunlap recorded an outstanding 105 tackles, 35 tackles for loss and 24 sacks...Was chosen to participate in the annual Offense-Defense All-American game after his senior season...As a junior, Dunlap recorded 103 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and scored four defensive touchdowns... Also returned kicks for his team

Duke Lemmens (DE)
Westlake Village, CA (Oaks Christian)
6-5, 238
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

Rated the No. 5 defensive end in California by Scout.com and 55th among California's top-100 players by Rivals.com...Named Co-lineman of the Year among Ventura County's small schools...Selected as Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year by the Ventura County Coaches' Association... Contributed 52 tackles, seven sacks and one fumble recovery in his senior season... As a junior, Lemmens was selected as an All-CIF player by recording over 90 tackles and 10 sacks

Jerry Howard (DE)
Orlando, FL (Jones)
6-5, 230
Scout Ranking: 3* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Rated ninth among defensive ends by ESPN.com... Played both defensive end and linebacker in high school...During his senior year, Howard had 80 sacks, 15 tackles and four fumble recoveries...As a junior, he collected 116 tackles, including 20 for a loss, and totaled 10 sacks... Also played basketball in high school and led Jones to the Class 3A state title

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Very good defensive line class, filling in at positions that were severely depleted with departures this season.  Florida once again stocked up with tall, athletic ends (Dunlap ran back kicks!) and big defensive tackles.  This is a great trend considering the success of the D-Line over the last couple of years.

This is the strength of the class, and I'm looking forward to every one of them in action for the Gators.

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2007 Recruits: OL

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

James Wilson
St. Augustine, FL (Nease)
6-5, 305
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 5*

Gatorzone:

Rated the No. 1 offensive guard and No. 2 overall prospect by Rivals.com...Rated second among offensive guards according to Scout.com...Rated 44th on the ESPN150 list... The Scout.com five-star offensive guard chose Florida over Southern California and Notre Dame... In 2006, he was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American... A member of the Class 4A All-State Team after leading Nease to a 14-1 record with District and Regional Championship wins... Helped Nease win the state championship in 2005 by collecting 69 pancakes and 51 downfield blocks...Also plays basketball for Nease and was a state weightlifting qualifier in '06

James Pouncey
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
6-5, 298
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Rated among the nation's top offensive guard recruits according to Scout.com (7th) and Rivals.com (31st)...As a senior, he  helped lead Lakeland to its 45th consecutive victory, third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and second-straight USA Today national championship in 2006...Was an integral part of an offensive line that blocked for a 4,000-yard rushing team as a senior...One of 16 offensive linemen in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100...Earned all-state honors as a junior

LaShawn Pouncey
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
6-4, 287
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Rated among the nation's top offensive guard recruits according to Scout.com (15th) and Rivals.com (15th)...As a senior, he helped lead Lakeland to its 45th consecutive victory, third-consecutive Class 5A state championship and second-straight USA Today national championship in 2006...Part of an offensive line that blocked for a 4,000-yard rushing team as a senior...One of 16 offensive linemen in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100...Earned all-state honors as a junior

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The offensive line class got a huge boost from the commitment of James Wilson, who had previously been committed to USC before changing his decision to Florida.  The Pouncey Twins were both recruited heavily, but chose Florida very early in the recruiting process.  They both blocked for Gators RB commit Chris Rainey at Lakeland Senior HS.

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2007 Recruits: WRs & TEs

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Deonte Thompson
Belle Glade, FL (Glade Central)
5-11, 186 - 4.28 40
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

An explosive wide receiver who helped lead Glades Central to a Class 3A state championship in 2006 with 30 receptions for 504 yards and eight touchdowns...Rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns, including a 22-yard run, in the state title game...Sat out five games during his senior season due to a foot injury...Was selected as a U.S. Army All-American...Rated the third-best wide receiver prospect by Scout.com...Named the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's High School Athlete of the Year...Was a Class 3A all-state selection...Had 35 receptions for 767 yards, averaging 21.9 yards per catch, as a junior...Also had 12 kick returns for 515 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 42.9 yards per return...Caught 21 passes for 375 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore

Paul Wilson
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
6-1, 175 - 4.45 40
Scout Ranking: 3* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

senior with 13 receptions for 268 yards (20.7 average) and two touchdowns in a run-oriented offense...Caught 36 passes for 489 yards and four TDs as a junior...During his sophomore season, Wilson pulled in 42 catches for 629 yards...At the Army Combine held in January 2006, he finished second out of 600 athletes in the 40-yard dash

Joe Haden***
Fort Washington, MD (Friendly)
5-11, 195 - 4.4 40
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

A high school quarterback who is rated third among athletes by Rivals.com...Set Maryland public school record with 7,371 career passing yards and tied the career mark for touchdown passes with 80...Passed for 2,783 yards and 38 touchdowns as a senior and rushed for 899 yards and 13 TDs...Had a chance to play receiver for the first quarter of a game as a senior, making five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns...Later moved back to quarterback for the remainder of the game, he threw for 117 yards and three scores and also ran for a TD...Chipped in defensively in that contest with an interception playing safety

Aaron Hernandez
Bristol, CT (Bristol Central)
6-4, 235 - 4.57 40
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Rated the No. 1 recruit at the tight end position by both Scout.com and Rivals.com...Earned a spot to play on the East team in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl after collecting 67 receptions for 1,807 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior...Also recorded 72 tackles, including 42 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four blocked kicks as a member of the defense

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The WR class was an up and down one rumors-wise this recruiting season, as much speculation had the likes of Terrance Toliver and Ahmad Paige committing to UF.  As it turns out, those two things did not happen, but overall everything was fine in the end.  Late in the day on NSD Deonte Thompson faxed in his LOI, announcing that he was attending UF -- a move that just put the icing on the cake for this season recruiting class.

The Gators will be adding even more explosiveness to their WR core with this group, as Haden, Thompson, Wilson and Hernandez (TE) use a combination of speed and agility to make things happen on the field.  Also, as you can see, Haden can be lined up at QB and not miss a beat -- similar to what we see from Jarred Fayson and maybe Cameron Newton in the future.

***: Rivals.com has Haden listed as an ATH, as opposed to a pure WR.

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2007 Recruits: RBs

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Chris Rainey
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Senior)
5-9, 156
Scout Ranking: 5* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

He is rated fourth among all-purpose backs and 17th among Florida's Top-100 by Scout.com...Also rated 34th on the ESPN150 list of top prospects...Was chosen as a U.S. Army All-American during his senior year...Broke the school record with 32 touchdowns and 2,478 yards rushing as a senior...Of those 32 touchdowns, 15 were of runs of 50 yards or more...Established another school mark with 326 yards in a single game

Bo Williams
Oakland Park, FL (Northeast)
6-0, 205
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

Finished his senior season with 1,033 yards rushing and scored 12 touchdowns...One of 14 running backs in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100...Rated nationally as the No. 16 running back recruit by Rivals.com and No. 21 according to Scout.com

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Florida is losing their key RB on the roster in DeShawn Wynn next season, and as of right now who will get the most PT is up in the air.  Currently Kestahn Moore, Markus Manson and Mon Williams will more than likely be battling for the spot, but either of the above mentioned recruits could see the field in 2007 if no one on the roster cements themselves as "the guy."

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2007 Recruits: QBs

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

John Brantley
Ocala, FL (Trinity Catholic)
6-3, 195
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 5*

Gatorzone:

Threw for 2,766 yards and 41 touchdowns in his final prep season...Established a Trinity Catholic career passing record with 6,802 yards...Was an all-state selection in Class 2B...A Scout.com five-star passer who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp

Cameron Newton
Atlanta, GA (Westlake)
6-5, 225
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 4*

Gatorzone:

One of nine quarterbacks in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Super Southern 100...As a junior, Newton completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns...Threw just nine interceptions and rushed for 638 yards and nine TDs...Chose Florida over Georgia, Maryland, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech

Bryan Waggener
Glendora, CA (Citrus) (JUCO)
6-4, 226
Scout Ranking: 4* Rivals Ranking: 3*

Gatorzone:

Played for Citrus College in Glendora, Calif., where he threw for 1,558 yards on 140-for-243 passing (57.6 percent) and 10 touchdowns with 12 interceptions as sophomore...Named second-team All-Western State Conference following that season after helping the Citrus College Fighting Owls to their fourth-straight WSC Southern Division Championship

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The Gators got one heck of a quarterback class for the 2007 season, all of which are highly rated and ready to compete for playing time on next year's team.  They, of course, will be behind Tim Tebow on the depth chart, but have seen Urban Meyer use the two quarterback system quite a bit in 2006.  Really, any of these guys could get a shot based on how they perform in practice.

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NSD Just About Over on the Gators Front

Tiny by FLATigersFan on in Recruiting

Wow.  What a day for the Gators recruiting class.  There were several question marks coming into today regarding current commits and if they would go through with their signing at UF.  As it turns out, there weren't too many surprises -- which brings nothing but good news to Gainesville on NSD.

The Gators got a NSD signee as well:  WR Deonte Thompson.  He was recruited by several major schools, including the big 3 in Florida, and signed with the Gators today.  It was unknown where Thompson was going to end up, but this turns out great for the Gators -- who lost WR recruits Terrance Toliver and Ahmad Paige to other schools.


This guy can do anything he wants.

There were some tense moments today, including wondering whether or not DE Carlos Dunlap was going to sign with the Gamecocks as opposed to UF.  That didn't happen.  There was also speculation that DE Jay Howard may switch his commitment to FSU today.  That didn't happen either.

Congrats goes out to the coaching staff that put so much time into the recruiting effort this year. It paid off for the second year in a row.

I'll have more later on the NSD recruits the Gators snagged this season. Stay tuned. Until then, please check out the recruit bios brought to you by Gatorzone.com. GatorCountry also has a list of recruit bios to check out in the meantime.

Go Gators!!!

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