Manuel now a member of the Florida Gators recruiting class

The Florida Gators recruiting class picked up a big commitment on Tuesday when defensive tackle Shavar Manuel (6-3, 310, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) committed to the Gators over Florida State and South Florida.

“First off, I would like to thank God for giving such a great opportunity with the path he has giving me throughout my high school career,” Manuel posted on Twitter. “After taking my time, listening to my heart, and thinking things over, I would like to take the time to say that I have officially committed to the University of Florida.”

Manuel is a big defensive lineman that grew into a defensive tackle this fall after gaining weight, but there’s some thought that Manuel could slim down enough to play both defensive end and tackle.

The defensive tackle had a solid showing at the Under Armour All-American game and was praised by fellow Gators commit Antonneous Clayton throughout the week.

“Shavar is a really good defensive tackle,” Clayton said. “He had a lot of moves going inside, beating the 3 technique and as far as, he’s been a really dominant player. I’m really impressed with his performance this week.

With Manuel committing to Florida the Gators now have one defensive tackle committed to go along with defensive ends Antonneous Clayton, Jachai Polite and Jordan Smith.

Manuel has been defensive line coach Chris Rumph’s top target at tackle, and right now he looks as if he will be the lone tackle in the class.

Manuel is also the 26th commitment in the class of 2016 and he’s scheduled to officially visit Florida on January 22nd. It’s unclear if he will take his official visit to Florida State on January 29th or not.

Stay tuned to GatorCountry.com for much more coverage on Manuel’s decision to commit to Florida plus the latest news on official visit schedule as we head into the month of January.