Cue Clapton: Gators got the Sharrif

SAN ANTONIO – The hot rumor going into the week was that Sharrif Floyd was going to announce for Ohio State when he made his public commitment on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Urban Meyer is one of the best closers in the business.

Using a strong push from the Florida head coach and interim head coach Steve Addazio, the Gators closed the deal on arguably one of their biggest grabs of the recruiting process, landing a commitment from the 6-4, 310-pound Floyd at halftime of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, in front of a crowd of thousands in attendance, and millions watching on television on NBC.

Floyd will provide a physical presence on the defensive line for Florida. He was one of the top performers in attendance for the East squad, and got the start at defensive tackle alongside Jeff Whitaker. He is ranked as the sixth-best defensive tackle in the country by Scouts, Inc. of ESPN and the No. 70 player overall in the ESPNU 150 rankings.

Scouts Inc. evalution: Floyd is a big kid who plays on both sides of the ball in high school. He is one of those kids who actually looks a little bigger bulk wise on film then what he is listed at. He is a solid guard prospect and we would not be surprised to see him get some looks at that position. He is active enough on defense, we believe he will play there in college. If that does not work out, he could always move to guard. He has a solid get-off and can be tough to move off the ball. He is able to come out of his stance, generate some power and does a pretty good job at taking on and even defeating double teams. He will flash the ability as a big man to be able to turn his hips, get skinny and slip past a blocker. He moves well for a big man and can be disruptive, but really seems at his best eating up blockers and pushing forward. He does need to work on using his hands to separate and being able to work across the face of a blocker. As a pass-rusher he is a bull rush guy. On offense, he can create push and moves his feet well enough to reach the defender. Does a solid job of being able to work up to the second level. Floyd is a good prospect on both sides of the ball and that gives some added value. If defense does not work out, you could still get production from him on offense.