Florida Gators recruiting: Auburn WR commit to visit UF

ORLANDO — If you’re a top receiver in the Southeast then chances are you’re on the Florida Gators recruiting board as the Gators coaching staff looks to improve the position at Florida.

Auburn Tigers receiver commit Eli Stove (6-0, 174, Niceville, FL High) is a top receiver in the state. He’s a high priority on the Florida Gators recruiting board and now he has set up an official visit to Florida due to his relationship with the coaching staff.

“I’m going to take an official visit to Florida on January 22nd,” Stove said. “I’m getting to know all of the coaches at Florida now, last year I didn’t really have a good relationship with the coaches. I didn’t really get to know them but now I’m getting to know them.”

Florida Gators receiver coach Kerry Dixon is the coach leading the Florida Gators recruiting efforts of Stove and Dixon reminds the Auburn commit of a family member.

“Coach Dixon is the coach that I talk to the most,” he said. “He’s a funny dude, he reminds me of my uncle that coaches at Bethune Cookman because he’s just real hard on me because he knows I can be great. He tells me that I have a spot open for me at Florida.”

Stove played everywhere on the field at Niceville and is being told by the Gators that he can play everywhere in the Swamp.

“They’ve been telling me that I can play both ways, but I think it will be tough in the SEC,” Stove said of where Florida wants him. “I do it now but college football is a little different and they also want me in the return game. It shows that they really want me bad because they say I’m a smart player on the field.”

When Stove visits Gainesville next month, it will be his second visit to Florida and the first one impressed Stove a lot.

“The visit was amazing, I knew Florida was going to be loud and have a good atmosphere but I didn’t know it was going to be loud like that,” Stove said of his visit to Florida earlier this year. “I like Florida a lot and they’re a good school and an instate school. A lot of my teammates are telling me to go to Florida.”

Stove has been committed to Auburn since last May but he plans to keep his options open until National Signing Day.

“I’m still looking around and I’m not going to count any school out,” he said. “I’m really just looking at Florida and Auburn but I’ll look at some other schools too. Right now I’m going to Auburn on the 15th, Florida on the 22nd and Miami on the 29th.”

INSIDERS TAKE: The Florida Gators recruiting pitch is definitely on the mind of Stove and has the receiver thinking about things a lot. The Gators have always been a school that Stove has liked but it now seems that there is legit chance for the Gators to land the Auburn Tigers commit.