Gator Country

The Gators saw huge dividends paid last year when prospects attended premier games in The Swamp. Many of the prospects cited the atmosphere as a reason to eventually commit to the Gators. The Gators will have a huge list of visitors for the Bama game this weekend with 5 of them in on official visits. Read on for the most accurate visit list, anywhere, thanks to our deep insider connections...

The Tennessee and Florida State wins were big visit weekends for the Gators in 2005. The likes of Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow, Jarred Fayson, Bryan Thomas, Brandon Spikes, and more all made a commitment to the Gators after being a part of the atmosphere in the Swamp for those two games. The Gators are hoping to strike gold again with a large group in attendance.

The Gators’ five official visitors include two highly rated prospects from the state of North Carolina. Trinton Sturdivant and Quan Sturdivant are not related but both are from the state of North Carolina and taking official visits to Florida for the Bama game weekend.

Trinton Sturdivant (6-4, 281) of Wadesboro (NC) Anson is a four-star offensive tackle prospect according to Scout.com. He is already committed to Georgia, but will be making a trip to Gainesville to check the Gators out.

Quan Sturdivant (6-3, 218) is a great athlete that projects at linebacker at the collegiate level. Quan is a quarterback and a safety at Oakboro (NC) West Stanly. He has been leaning to North Carolina for quite some time, but now has it down to the Gators and Tarheels. He was seen Friday night scoring a touchdown in his game and celebrating it with the “Gator Chomp”.

Union City (NJ) Union Hill prospect Manny Abreu (6-4, 235) will be making the trek to Gainesville this weekend. Scout.com rated four-stars and the number seven linebacker in the nation, Abreu seems very open in the recruiting process and has the Gators in his top five.

The number one junior college cornerback in the country will make his official visit this weekend in Gainesville. Woodny Turenne (6-1, 185) is originally from Ft. Lauderdale but is currently enrolled in California’s College of the Sequoias. Turenne brings speed and pure corner ability to the table and seems to be favoring the Gators.

The last but not least official visitor for the weekend is super athlete Joe Haden (5-11, 195) from Ft. Washington (MD) Friendly. He is already firmly committed to the Gators and will be joined by his super prospect younger brother, tailback Josh Haden (class of ’08). Haden is a star on either side of the ball and will bring his skills to offense when he enrolls in January at the University of Florida.

I won’t be able to list them all, but there will be hundreds of other recruits expected in the stands for the contest on Saturday. Some other headliners will be among them. Here are some notables.

The line of scrimmage should be well represented on Saturday. Gator commitments defensive tackle Torrey Davis of Seffner Armwood and defensive end Jay Howard of Orlando Jones will be able to double team defensive lineman D’Angelo McCray and help sway the big man back to the Gators after he gave an earlier commitment this year. While they are at it, they can work on Lakeland defensive tackle John Brown who is expected to make his first appearance in the Swamp this season.

On the offensive line it is as impressive a list. Michael Pouncey and Maurkice Pouncey headline the group and are solidly committed Gators. They have a chance to work on USC commitment James Wilson and Georgia lineman Chris Little to try and make the Gators offensive line class one of the best in the country.

Two athletes that could wind up in several positions on a college roster will be in attendance. Gator commitment and do everything running back Chris Rainey will be joined by Panama City Bay wide receiver / athlete Bert Reed. Rainey is making another of several visits to Gainesville since the spring.

Gator commitment and wide receiver Paul Wilson will be coming from Lakeland and he will have a chance to talk to Bell Glade Glades Central wide receiver Deonte Thompson. Thompson will be making his second trip to Gainesville of the season.

Lakeland cornerback Ahmad Black will be in attendance with his six teammates. Black was one of the first Lakeland commitments and is moving up the charts at Scout.com among the cornerback rankings.

The linebackers will be well represented as Lakeland’s Steve Wilks who is already committed to the Gators will be able to try and talk some recruiting to Jacksonville Forrest linebacker Brandon Hicks. Hicks’ team is struggling but he is having a spectacular season so far. Joining them this weekend is super middle linebacker Allen Bailey of Darien (GA) McIntosh County Academy.

The nation’s number one punter and Gator commitment Chas Henry of Dallas (GA) is expected down for the game. In an interview this week Henry scoffed at the notion he may be wavering in his commitment to the Gators and cancelled any visits he may have had to other schools.

The Gators have a great mix of committed and non-committed prospects expected in attendance on Saturday. Last year saw a windfall from the prospects that were at the big games. The Gator staff is hoping for much of the same this year.

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