Gator Country

After a crazy couple of weeks which took me from Gainesville to Orlando (for the Florida High School Athletic Association state championships) to Titusville (for the holidays) back to Orlando (for the Under Armour All-America Game and Underclassmen Combine) then to Miami (for the BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma) and finally back to Gainesville to celebrate Florida’s second national championship in three seasons under Urban Meyer, it’s time to take one last look at the Class of 2009 board in the final weeks leading to National Signing Day on Feb. 4.

At this time of recruiting season, it’s as much about keeping the guys committed happy as it is trying to put the finishing touches on another top-five class. These last couple of week often require a lot of fire prevention. Some fires have popped up, and the Florida staff has done its best to extinguish them by fighting perceptions and negative recruiting from other schools.

In the past two weeks alone, there have been three de-commitments and the threat of another when he was told wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales was leaving for Tennessee, which turned out to be false.

Of the three de-commitments, it appears Florida has pacified one (running back Mike Gillislee of DeLand) and is attempting to turn the tide with another (athlete Greg Reid o f Valdosta, Ga., who will visit this weekend). But it appears the Gators have lost the battle for the third, defensive lineman Nick Kasa, who decided he wanted to stay closer to his home (Broomfield, Colo.) by attending Colorado in Boulder, which is 15 minutes from Kasa’s Legacy High School.

Losing Kasa and Seffner Armwood’s Ryne Giddins, who has decided to attend South Florida, doesn’t make or break this class. Both players are extremely talented and will excel at the next level. But Florida still has 16 commitments and only about 6-7 spots remaining before signing day.

In the latest ESPN recruiting rankings, Florida is fifth. Other recruiting services have the Gators ranked lower. Tom Luginbill, who has years of experience evaluating talent at the high school, college and pro levels, is the head of ESPN’s national recruiting efforts. So let’s go into the Briefing Room and examine Florida’s updated recruiting board. The number in parentheses next to the prospect’s name is where that prospect is ranked in the latest ESPN 150 recruiting list.

QUARTERBACK

Committed to Florida: Jordan Reed (140), 6-3, 230, New London, Conn. (New London) .

In play: Denard Robinson (101), 6-0, 179, Deerfield Beach, Fla. (Deerfield Beach).

Keep an eye on: Raymond Cotton, 6-4, 216, Fort Meade, Md. (Meade); Rob Henry, 6-2, 190, Ocala, Fla. (Trinity Catholic) com mitted to Purdue.

Notes: The main focus down the stretch will be Robinson. He is far and away the biggest remaining target on the board and will have the full attention of the Florida staff down the stretch. Much is made about his athletic ability, which is second to none. Robinson also has the potential to play other positions down the road. Robinson, though, brings something else to the table – dynamic playmaking ability and a big-league arm. Robinson will have every opportunity to play behind center at Florida.

As for other potential targets, Raymond Cotton and Rob Henry are still there but really the heat is on Robinson right now to get him to pull the trigger and end up as a part of Florida’s 2009 signing class.

One other quick note on Robinson: Photographer Tim Casey and I visited him at practice for the Dade-Broward All-Star Game this weekend, he certainly has a big-time arm. While his size isn’t the greatest (even 6-0 might be a little generous), Robinson is an incredible athlete and deserves every opportunity to play the position on the next level.

One interesting dynamic could be his teammate, defensive back Adrian Witty, who will visit Florida on the weekend of Jan. 23. Kansas State is offering the pair the chance to play together on the next level, and Michigan may follow suit. If that happens, especially in the case of the Wolverines, it will be interesting to se e if the temptation to play alongside his high school teammate proves too much for Robinson to pass up. That said, I still feel Florida is the team to beat here.

RUNNING BACK

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