Gator Country

Safety Jonathan Dowling of Southeast High School in Bradenton, who has given a verbal commitment to Florida, is the No. 7 prospect in the ESPNU 150 list of high school football prospects for 2010./Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

Florida is feeling the love or at least the Gators’ Class of 2010 verbal commitments is.

While the Gators are heading into the season ranked as the consensus No. 1 football team in the country, Florida’s recruiting class for 2010 could be in the mix for a similar ranking come Feb. 3, National Signing Day. Nine of the Gators’ 17 verbal commitments are ranked among the first ESPNU 150 players released Wednesday morning amid much fanfare.

A new feature for the ESPNU rankings this year is the inclusion of a star ranking in addition to a number grade for each prospect evaluated. Leading the way for the Gators is Bradenton (Fla.) Southeast safety Jonathan Dowling, who was the only Florida commitment to earn five stars from ESPN. Dowling, the overall No. 7 player in the rankings, is rated the top safety in the country.

The first six players in the rankings, led by defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, a 6-5, 225-pound defensive end for Plano (Texas) West High School who is the No. 1 player, are all undecided about their college choice. Jeffcoat is considering Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Southern California, Arizona State and Houston. Ohio outside linebacker Jordan Hicks (No. 2), California defensive end Ronald Powell (No. 3), Minnesota offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson (No. 4) and inside linebacker Jeff Luc (No. 5) of Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie all have Florida among their top five school choices. Arkansas prep running back Michael Dyer (No. 6) does not.

Among the other committed Gators ranked in the ESPNU 150 are 6-1, 180-pound safety Demar Dorsey (No. 11) of Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes; 6-0, 205-pound safety/athlete Matt Elam (No. 25) of Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens; and 6-0, 171-pound cornerback Jaylen Watkins (No. 47) of Cape Coral. Dorsey is the No. 2 safety behind Dowling, Elam was the No. 4 athlete rated and Watkins was the fifth best corner prospect in the country. Dowling and Dorsey are among the 12 prospects that received five stars from Scouts, Inc.

Florida’s third-highest ranking is 5-11, 185-pound running back Mack Brown (No. 16) of Martin Luther King High School in Lithonia, Ga. No. 21 on the overall list is 6-5, 256-pound offensive tackle Ian Silberman of Fleming Island High School in Orange Park. Elam’s teammate at Dwyer, 6-3, 230-pound tight end Gerald Christian, moved up to No. 30 overall after solid performances in the ESPNU 150 camp and the Gridiron Kings tournament where he took offensive MVP honors.

Making a big move up the board, coming in at No. 69 overall, was defensive tackle prospect Leon Orr (6-4, 315) of Gulf High School in New Port Richey. Orr recently received and accepted an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-American Game in Orlando on Jan. 2. Also playing in the Under Armour All-American Game are Brown and Silberman.

Wide receiver Solomon Patton (5-10, 170) of Murphy High School in Mobile, Ala., is the ninth Gator verbal commitment ranked in the top 150, coming in at No. 75. He is also committed to the Under Armour All-American Game.

After a performance at Friday Night Lights that can only be described as electrifying, Pahokee High School wide receiver Chris Dunkley (5-11, 170) told anyone within earshot that he deserved five stars. Though he fell just short, he is the No. 13 overall prospect and the second-best wide receiver.

Other Florida targets who made the ESPNU 150 list include 6-4, 220-pound Lake Howell linebacker Christian Jones (No. 26); 6-3, 240-pound defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa (No. 37) of David Douglas High School in Portland, Ore.; 6-2, 200-pound quarterback/athlete Christian Green (No. 50) of Tampa Catholic; 6-6, 290-pound offensive lineman Chaz Green (No. 62) of Tampa Catholic; 6-4, 230-pound defensive end Corey Lemonier (No. 92) of Hialeah; 6-0, 200-pound wide receiver Kadron Boone (No. 97) of Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala; 6-1, 170-pound wide receiver Ivan McCartney (No. 113) of Miramar; and 6-6, 220-pound defensive end David Perry (No. 116) of University School of Nova Southeastern.

THE CLASS OF 2010
The following high school football prospects have given verbal commitments to the University of Florida that they will sign national letters of intent on Feb. 3, 2010. Included are the prospect (with his overall ranking in the first ESPNU 150 ranking released Aug. 5), the grade (numerical and number of stars) the prospect received, the position of the prospect (and his ranking among all players at that position), height, weight, hometown and school:

1 (7). Jonathan Dowling (86, 5 stars), S (No. 1), 6-3, 180, Bradenton, Fla. (Southeast)
2 (11). Demar Dorsey (85, 5 stars), S (No. 2), 6-1, 180, Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. (Boyd Anderson)
3 (16). Mack Brown (84, 4 stars), RB (No. 3), 5-11, 185, Lithonia, Ga. (Martin Luther King)
4 (21). Ian Silberman (83, 4 stars), OT (No. 2), 6-5, 256, Orange Park, Fla. (Fleming Island)
5 (25). Matt Elam (83, 4 stars), ATH (No. 4), 6-0, 205, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Dwyer)
6 (30). Gerald Christian (83, 4 stars), TE (No. 2), 6-3, 220, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Dwyer)
7 (47). Jaylen Watkins (82, 4 stars), CB (No. 5), 6-0, 171, Cape Coral, Fla. (Cape Coral)
8 (69). Leon Orr (81, 4 stars), DT (No. 5), 6-4, 290, New Port Richey, Fla. (Gulf)
9 (75). Solomon Patton (81, 4 stars), WR (No. 12), 5-10, 175, Mobile, Ala. (Murphy)
10. Trey Burton (79, 4 stars), ATH (No. 26), 6-3, 204, Nokomis, Fla. (Venice)
11. Gideon Ajagbe (79, 3 stars), OLB (No. 22), 6-2, 201, Coconut Beach, Fla. (Ransom Everglades School)
12. Neiron Ball (79, 3 stars), OLB (No. 27), 6-4, 200, Jackson, Ga. (Jackson)
13. Victor Hampton (78, 3 stars), CB (No. 23), 5-10, 167, Darlington, S.C. (Darlington)
14. Jordan Haden (78, 3 stars), S (No. 40), 5-11, 195, Fort Washington, Md. (Friendly)
15. Michael McFarland (40), TE, 6-5, 230, Tampa, Fla. (Blake)
16. Travon Van (82 in 2009), ATH, 5-11, 195, LaMesa, Calif. (Helix H.S./Milford Academy, N.Y.)
17. Stephen Alli (NR), WR, 6-5, 205, Toronto, Ont. (Proctor Academy, N.H.)

OTHER STORIES ON THE ESPNU 150

The ESPNU 150 list for 2010

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/espnu150?&season=2010

How Scouts, Inc. determined its rankings

http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4376883

The new “star” system for ranking players

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4376071

Which state had the most players in the rankings?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4379361

Where the stars shine the brightest?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/columns/story?columnist=shurburtt_jc&id=4378412

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