Previewing the Florida Gators targets at the Opening

The Nike Opening Finals has become an annual event in Beaverton, Oregon that attracts the best of the best in regards to prospect. The event is held at the Nike World Headquarters at will take place from June 28th– July 3rd this year.

To start the event, prospects will take participate in the Sparq challenge, which consist of the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, agility, and the power ball toss.

The following two days the prospects will be divided into six teams to participate in a 7-on-7 tournament while the linemen participate in a linemen challenge.

Florida has several big targets in the event and will also send athlete commit Amari Burney to the event.

GatorCountry.com is going to break down the six teams and which guys you should watch for each team.

 

Team Alpha Menace

Quarterback Matthew Corral- The Gators are one of the teams that Corral has mentioned as being interested in after he decomitted from USC this month.

Receiver Kearis Jackson- Jackson has mentioned the Gators some but looks to be heading to Georgia.

Offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer- Salyer says he’s planning to visit Florida in July as he talks about Florida, Georgia, Clemson, and Ohio State as possible official visits.

Offensive lineman Trey Hill- Hill also says he wants to visit Florida in July but the Gators are battling Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, and Florida State for his signature.

 

Team Hyper

Receiver Anthony Schwartz-Schwartz has a lot of speed and calls Florida his leader right now. The biggest question regarding Schwartz is whether he will run track in college or play both sports.

Tight end Kyle Pitts-Pitts is a Florida lean after taking a three-day visit to Gainesville in June with his mom. Pitts is planning to announce while out at the Opening.

Linebacker Channing Tindall-Florida has been hard after Tindall for months now and the linebacker visited this spring. Tindall plans to return in July and right now it looks like a three race with South Carolina and Georgia joining Florida.

Cornerback Tyson Campbell-The corner is one of the Gators top targets but he looks to leaning towards Ohio State at the moment.

Cornerback Pat Surtain Jr.-Surtain is an LSU lean after his father was born in New Orleans but the Gators continue to recruit Surtain hard.

Offensive lineman Richard Gouraige-Florida has really picked up steam for Gouraige since Brad Davis was hired this winter. Gouraige and his mother have visited Florida twice this spring and liked the visits.

Offensive lineman Rasheed Walker-The Maryland native is someone that JaJuan Seider has been recruiting but right now Penn State is the team to beat.

 

Team Mach

Quarterback Justin Fields-Fields is and has been the Gators top target at the position. The battle for Fields will likely continue throughout the summer with many teams still in the race.

Offensive lineman William Barnes-Barnes has had Florida and North Carolina near the top for a while now and that still seems to be the case. Barnes is a big target for Florida.

 

Team Savage

Quarterback Jarren Williams- Florida has been recruiting Williams for a while now despite his recommitment to Kentucky this spring. Williams would likely visit Florida if the Gators ask him too.

Receiver Justyn Ross-The Alabama native has Florida in his top group of schools but Alabama and Clemson are the schools talked about the most.

Receiver Mark Pope-Despite being committed to Miami, Pope visited Florida this summer and continues to talk to the Gators staff a lot.

Cornerback Josh Jobe-The Miami commit has been a top target for Florida but the Gators haven’t been able to get him on campus yet. Florida is trying to change that this summer.

Defensive end Azeez Ojulari-Ojulari picked up an offer this spring and likes Florida and linebackers coach Tim Skipper a lot.

Defensive tackle Nesta Silvera-Despite his commitment to Miami, Silvera says he plans to visit Florida in July and possibly even taken an official to Florida. Florida is gaining steam with the tackle.

 

Team Untouchable

Defensive end Micah Parsons- Parsons decomitted from Penn State and has talked about visiting Florida but has been unable too. Ohio State has gained a lot of steam for the defensive end recently.

Athlete Amari Burney- The lone Gators commit is on this team and Burney will tasked with recruiting for Florida will out in Oregon.

Defensive tackle Dante Stills-Stills has Florida as one of his top schools with West Virginia right now. Stills says he wants to visit Florida but no date has been set yet.

Defensive tackle Rick Sandidge- Sandidge visited Gainesville this spring and plans to return in July. Florida, South Carolina, Florida State, Miami, and Georgia are all in the mix.

 

Team Vapor Speed

Linebacker David Reese- Tim Skipper has made up a ton of ground for Reese this spring and the Gators are now in the thick of things with Miami and Florida State.

 

Stay Tuned to GatorCountry.com for coverage of The Opening.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.