Gator Country

Friday was the opening day for ‘The Opening’ in Oregon. The 150 prospects spent the day competing in the SPARQ challenge.

The top 10 finalist competed Friday night on ESPNU with Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian Academy linebacker Mike Mitchell (6-4, 216) taking home the top prize of the event.

None of Florida’s seven commitments made it to the finals, but one of its targets did in Tampa (Fla.) Hillsborough defensive end Jordan Sherit (6-5, 234).

In the finals, Sherit posted a time of 4.69 seconds in 40-yard dash, threw the power ball 46 feet (which was the top score among the 10 finalist), ran a 4.56 in the shuttle and jumped 35.2 inches in the vertical leap.

Florida’s top commitment was Bushnell (Fla.) South Sumter safety Keanu Neal (6-1, 203), who finished in 16th place.

Neal posted a 4.59 in the 40, a 4.12 in the shuttle run, jumped a 36.9 in the vertical leap and tossed the power ball 38.5 feet.

Here is a list of how the rest of Florida’s verbal commitments finished:

Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian safety Nick Washington (6-0, 183) finished 39th. Washington had a 4.59 in the 40, a 4.22 in the shuttle run, jumped a 32.9 in the vertical leap and threw the power ball 37 feet.

Crescent City, Fla., defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (6-3, 304) finished 56th. Brantley posted numbers of a 5.39 in the 40, 4.70 in the shuttle, 26.7 in the vertical jump and threw the power ball 42 feet.

Belle Glade (Fla.) Glades Day running back Kelvin Taylor (5-11, 216) finished 59th. Taylor had a 4.63 in the 40, 4.59 in the shuttle, 31 inches in the vertical jump and threw the power ball 39.5 feet.

Tre Bell, Ahmad Fulwood and Quinton Powell did not finish in the top 95.

Saturday will mark the start of the 7-on-7 competition as well as the OL vs. DL competition.

On Friday night, they had a draft to select the teams for the 7-on-7 competition.

On team Alpha Talon, Nick Washington will be the starting safety and Kelvin Taylor is the starting running back.

On team Super Bad, Tre Bell will be the starting cornerback and Keanu Neal will be the starting safety.

On team Alpha Speed, Quinton Powell will be the starting linebacker.

On team Land Sharks, Ahmad Fulwood will be the starting receiver.

About the author

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.

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