Florida Gators: Opening targets on defense

The last big national summer camp event will get underway on July 7th in Beaverton, Oregon when Nike will hold its annual Opening event that will bring in 162 of the top prospects in the country.

Starting on July 7th prospects will participate in the SPARQ challenge, which tests prospects in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, power ball toss and shuttle run.

After the SPARQ challenge is over on Tuesday, the prospects will be divided into teams to play in the 7-on-7 tournament and offensive linemen challenge that will take place on July 8th and 9th.

The Florida Gators will have several targets participating in the event and will also have their biggest name commit in attendance when cornerback Chauncey Gardner arrives in Oregon.

Gardner, who is known for being a big talker, will definitely be in the ears of several of the Gators biggest targets next week.

Gator Country will break down Florida’s targets at the Opening in two parts on Saturday we took a look at the offensive side of the ball and now we move to the defensive side of the ball.

 

Defensive line

Dexter Lawrence- will play for team Hypercool. Lawrence is considered one of the best players in the country and he grew up a Florida Gators fan. Lawrence is scheduled to visit Florida in July but North Carolina is the team to beat right now after multiple visits to see the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Antwuan Jackson- will play for team Lunerbeast. Jackson visited Florida in June and just recently named the Gators in his top 10 but right now the Auburn Tigers are the team to beat.

Janarius Robinson- will play for team Mach Speed. Robinson is a solid commit to the Florida State Seminoles at this time but the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gatprs are both still in contention. Robinson is scheduled to visit Gainesville in July.

 

Linebackers

Rahshaun Smith- will play for team Fly Rush. The Clemson Tigers commit visited Florida in June but Smith is very hush-hush about his recruitment. The Florida Gators are in position to potentially get an official visit from the linebacker.

Ben Davis- will play for team Fly Rush. Davis is one of the best linebackers in the country but he’s an Alabama legacy that visited Florida in June. Florida trails Alabama and Auburn in his recruitment but the Gators will still likely get an official visit.

Jeffrey McCulloch- will play for team Hypercool. The Houston native visited Florida in the spring but Texas is the odds on favorite to land the very talented linebacker.

Aaron Hansford- will play for team Super Bad. Hansford as a Washington D.C. native who just recently picked up an offer from the Florida Gators and now says he plans to visit Gainesville soon. The talented outside linebacker has no leader but Ohio State is considered the team to beat early on in his recruitment.

 

Defensive backs

Kristian Fulton– will play for team Alpha Pro. Fulton plans to visit Gainesville in July and has been very pro Florida on Twitter as of late. LSU and Texas A&M are two teams that are in good shape for Fulton right now.

Chauncey Gardner- will play for team Hypercool. The lone Florida Gators commit in attendance this week will definitely be talking up the Gators to anyone that will listen. Gardner should have a good camp against the best players in the country.

Marquill Osborne- will play for team Mach Speed. The Tennessee Volunteers commit was offered by Florida this spring and he says that he will visit Florida this summer. Osborne also says that he talks to defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan a lot and that the two have a good relationship.

Demetris Robertson- will play for team Fly Rush. The once Alabama commit likes the Stanford Cardinals and Georgia Bulldogs a lot but he says that he will visit Florida either in July or in the fall. Robertson admits that Florida is coming on strong with him as of late.

 

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.