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Florida football recruiting: DE Eric Mitchell decommits from the Gators

Another expected parting of the ways.

By Andy Hutchins
Student Sports

Early Thursday, Miami Central defensive end Eric Mitchell announced his decommitment from Florida on Twitter, making two decommitments in as many days for the Gators.

Mitchell committed to Florida in Februrary, just hours after his teammate, linebacker Vosean Joseph, committed — the story I was told is that both players were in the same car when Joseph committed, prompting Mitchell to follow suit.

Mitchell is a 247Sports Composite three-star player from the same school that produced Florida freshman Keivonnis Davis, who played remarkably well during the final month of the season after a spate of injuries forced him into service on the Gators' defensive line. But while his pedigree may be okay, he was one of Florida's lower-rated commits — and with the Gators still pursuing big fish like Brian Burns and Jordan Woods to add to their crop of defensive linemen in the 2016 cycle, Mitchell had been casting eyes elsewhere, likely seeing the potential for being pushed out of Florida's class.

The decommitments of Mitchell and JaQuan Bailey on consecutive days could scarcely make Florida's aim to clear brush while seeking timber more obvious. And there may yet be more of that to come.