Spivey Senses: Edition 9

Florida’s recent five game losing streak has been hard on fans but with the Gators showing a strong effort on Saturday against South Carolina recruits but commits have noticed the no quit mentality. What the coaches have been selling is the opportunity to play early to help the Gators rebound from a disappointing season.

All the news has not been bad for Florida, however. There has been some good news on the recruiting front as of late and the Gators may receive more good news this week.

To start off this recruiting insider I’m going to post a few tweets that Gators commits posted this weekend during Florida’s game.

Will Grier: “January is coming quickly. I know my boys Quincy Wilson and Ermon Lane are ready to grind can’t wait to ball with you guys,” Grier said on Twitter.

Ermon Lane: “I’m 100% to Florida so I know I can get all their followers on here,” Lane tweeted.

Quincy Wilson: “Next year man #2014,” Wilson tweeted.

Duke Dawson: “Gator Boy 100%,” Dawson tweeted.

Khairi Clark: “Gainesville, my new home in 7 to 8 months #ready,” Clark said.

Now on to the news and rumors around the Florida Gators recruiting class.

Running back: 1 committed (Dalvin Cook, 5-11, 192, Miami, FL Central), 1 more, maybe

Rumors continue to swirl around whether or not Dalvin Cook will flip to Florida State and right now we are all at a standstill with him. Will Grier has told me that he has been exchanging texts with Cook and he has gotten a good vibe from him. Cook will be in Gainesville for the FSU game with several of his good friends as well as all of the Gators commits. Right now I feel like it’s 50/50 between the two schools. Also, I’m told that Cook is no sure fire to be an early enrollee which could prolong his decision.

Receiver: 1 committed (Ermon Lane 6-2, 172, Homestead, FL), 1-2 more needed

JUCO receiver Eric Lauderdale (6-1, 195, Mission Viejo, CA Saddleback C.C) has set up his official visit to Florida for the Florida State game. Lauderdale has been talking to several of Florida’s commits including Grier. Lauderdale really enjoys the south and the thought of playing in the SEC. If all things go well on his visit Lauderdale could leave Gainesville a Florida commit.

Florida offered receiver Ryan Sousa (6-0, 180, Orlando, FL Lake Nona) a few weeks ago and Sousa admits to growing up a Florida fan but he received his Gators offer very late after committing to FSU. While Sousa hasn’t said it on the record, several people close to him say that Sousa is upset that it took Florida so long to offer and that could hurt Florida’s chances to land him.

Offensive line: 3 committed (Dontae Angus 6-6, 330, Philadelphia, PA M. L. King, Travaris Dorsey 6-3, 314, Jacksonville, FL Raines, Nolan Kelleher 6-6, 285, Mt. Pleasant, SC Wando), 1-2 more needed

Offensive tackle David Sharpe (6-8, 275, Jacksonville, FL Providence School) has been the talk of all recruiting followers this recruiting class and on Thursday the wait for his decision will finally come to a close as he will announce at a press conference at his high school. I’m told that Florida feels very confident on landing him and I agree with that. Sharpe is a big body and has a lot of potential but he also needs to add weight before he’s ready to step on the field.

Offensive lineman Jordan Sims (6-4, 348, Homewood, AL High) told me on Sunday that he talks to Florida and offensive line coach Tim Davis the most. Sims plans to be in Gainesville for the FSU game and this visit will go a long way.

Landing both Sims and Sharpe for Florida would be absolutely huge and it would give the Gators a very impressive offensive line class.

Defensive line: 3 committed (Taven Bryan, 6-5, 250, Casper, WY Natrona County, Khairi Clark 6-2, 325, Hollywood, FL Chaminade Madonna, Justus Reed, 6-3, 215, Clearwater, FL Central Catholic), 1-2 more needed.

Defensive tackle Thomas Holley (6-4, 299, Brooklyn, NY Abraham Lincoln) has also set up an official visit for the FSU game. Right now Penn State leads for Holley but the Gators are right behind them. Ohio State no longer has a spot for him.

Florida needs a speed pass rusher in this class and defensive end Lorenzo Featherston (6-7, 215, Greensboro, NC Page) is a big target. Featherston’s coach told me that Brad Lawing keeps in close contact with him and that Florida is very much in the mix. Clemson and Florida State also have made their presence felt. Right now I think Florida needs to get Featherston back on campus again but with Lawing’s relationship with Page’s head coach things could go either way.

Defensive end Lorenzo Carter (6-5, 235, Norcross, GA High) is another huge target and I’m told that right now Georgia is trending up for him in a major way but that Florida is still squarely in the mix. The Carters love Will Muschamp and they will play close attention to what happens in Gainesville over the next month or so. This is a national signing day decision anyway.

Linebacker: 0 committed, 1 needed

On Monday linebacker Nyles Morgan (6-1, 222, Crete, IL Crete Monee) tweeted that he will take an official to Florida for the FSU game. DJ Durkin and Morgan have a great relationship and that has kept Morgan’s interest in Florida high. Vandy and Ole Miss lead for him as of now and it will be tough to beat Ole Miss but the Gators have a need for a linebacker and can show that.

Cornerback: 4 committed (Duke Dawson 5-11, 195, Cross City, FL Dixie County, JC Jackson 5-10, 175, Immokalee, FL, Chris Lammons 5-9, 168, Plantation, FL, Quincy Wilson 6-2, 195, Fort Lauderdale, FL University), 1 more needed

While is everyone is talking about Cook flipping there is also a reason to be concerned about Chris Lammons. I’m told Wisconsin and South Carolina are pushing hard for him and his official to Wisconsin went great. Lammons may also feel left out as he’s one of the forgotten guys in the class.

FIVE Most Likely:

Eric Lauderdale

David Sharpe

Jordan Sims

Adoree’ Jackson

Lorenzo Carter

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.

1 COMMENT

  1. I enjoy your column/post. You know what you are talking about. In fact, you might want to look at exploring sports media writing as a career! Gator Sports.com doesn’t know how stale it is. Joking about you. Not joking about GatoSports.com.

    I have a question about Will Grier. He is being touted by the Vocal Minority part of Gator Nation (I’m one but not touting WG) as the QB who will come in from a high school, go through spring training, become the starting QB as a true freshman and be a Heisman Candidate. What makes people think this. The same thing is done when discussing Kermit Bell as OC. If he’s so good, why is he still a football coach at a junior college which doesn’t do athletic scholarship’s?