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Florida Football Recruiting Weekly Roundup: Gators Get Five Commitments In Five Days

By LanceDavis
Lockdown corner Vernon Hargreaves III committed to Florida on Thursday. (Bud Elliot/SB Nation)
Lockdown corner Vernon Hargreaves III committed to Florida on Thursday. (Bud Elliot/SB Nation)

News and notes from the week in Florida recruiting.

-- Pretty big week for the Gators. Will Muschamp held his second Friday Night Lights camp and picked up five commitments in five days. In order from Thursday to Monday: Vernon Hargreaves III, Antonio Riles, Jordan Sherit, Travonte Valentine (2014) and Chris Thompson. What's more impressive: five commits in five days or six commits in one day?

More after the jump.

The four commits from 2013 prospects put the Gators' class at 21 members. Early indications had Florida taking 22 or 23 players this cycle, but as ECFIVESTER points out, that number could possibly reach 25. Ideally, Florida would like to add another safety, defensive end, offensive lineman, linebacker and possibly a tight end. Marcell Harris, DeMarcus Walker and Laremy Tunsil are the biggest names remaining for UF. The first two are definite possibilities, while Tunsil seems to be leaning toward Georgia and Alabama.

-- The secondary has turned out nicely for Muschamp. He received early commitments from Keanu Neal and Nick Washington, then followed them up with Tre Bell and Vernon Hargreaves. The last piece of the puzzle is safety Marcell Harris. Harris doesn't do many interviews, but he did a quick one with Gatorsports' Zach Abolverdi. Harris made it to FNL; he didn't participate in drills, but he hung out with some Florida commits. Quinton Powell was one of them.

"Whenever I get a chance to talk to him, I talk about the Gators," Powell said."

Harris is considered a Florida lean, but Texas and Florida State remain in the picture. When will he announce his decision? "Whenever I want to make it, I'll make it," he told Abolverdi. So who knows? Probably some time during his high school football season.

-- Here's a story on Max Staver from GatorNation's Michael DiRocco. The story takes us back to mid-June, when it seemed like quarterbacks wanted to play at every school except Florida (although Gators fans breathed a collective sigh of relief when Tim Boyle picked Boston College over Florida). Staver's trainer Will Hewlett compares Staver to Ben Roethlisberger.

"He's not a dual-threat quarterback, but we teach guys to extend plays in the pocket. He's a big guy. He's not going to take a sack. He does what he has to do with his lower body to put himself in position to succeed."

Florida took two quarterbacks last year: Skyler Mornhinweg and walk-on Jacob Guy, who had offers from UMass, Ohio and Western Michigan. With the addition of Staver, UF has some depth at QB. Whether any of these guys proves to be a decent starting quarterback in the SEC remains to be seen, obviously. The Gators will look to add an elite quarterback in the 2014 class.

-- 2014 defensive tackle Travonte Valentine became Florida's second commitment in the Class of 2014. He committed to Louisville in late May before reopening his recruitment in mid-June. After releasing a few different versions of his top five, he committed to Florida. So you would have a reason to question how long his commitment would last. Welp, his commitment seems pretty solid, judging by his Twitter account.

There are plenty other Florida-positive tweets on his timeline; some of these guys can tweet like no other. The tattoo thing is interesting. Former Alabama commit/current Auburn commit Reuben Foster got the Auburn logo tattooed on his forearm, and I'm sure he's not the first player to do that. But for a 2014 prospect to do it? In the summer of 2013? A lot can change between now and then.

And I've heard it is unbelievably painful to get tattoos removed.

-- Zach Abolverdi caught up with Ahmad Fulwood, Adam Lane and Kelvin Taylor at Friday Night Lights. Check out the videos. Highlight from Ahmad Fulwood, talking about Florida adding verbal from Vernon Hargreaves III: "I was excited. Now I don't have to play against him, now I can play with him." Good point, Ahmad.

FNL: Ahmad Fulwood (via GatorSports)

FNL: Adam Lane (via GatorSports)

FNL: Kelvin Taylor (via GatorSports)