It’s finally Miami week, a week that Gator and Hurricane fans have been looking forward to for quite some time now.
Gator Country is going to have several unique features this week for this game and first up is a look at the top five recruiting battles between the two schools.
When you just think about that idea you’d believe that there are a ton of good battles in recent history but in all honesty, that isn’t the case.
That is slowly changing now as Will Muschamp and his coaching staff look to continue going into South Florida and picking up more recruits.
Enough talking, here are the top five recruiting battles between the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes.
1.) Wide Receiver Andre Debose
Debose had two of his teammates end up at Miami but when it came to make his decision, the five-star receiver chose Florida in front of a national TV audience. Despite making his commitment to Florida in January, Debose kept Florida fans and coaches uneasy until February when he signed his LOI.
2.) Wide Receiver Quinton Dunbar
The Booker T. Washington prep star committed to Miami very early in his recruitment but decommitted in the spring of his junior year. Following his decommittment, Urban Meyer convinced both Dunbar and fellow high school teammate Lynden Trail to commit to Florda.
3.) Cornerback Tracy Howard
Florida fans are probably still bitter about Howard signing with the Canes, as both he and his mother both publically called the Gators the leader for Howard. In fact, the Miramar prospect even gave cornerback coach Travaris Robinson a silent commitment during his official visit. To make matters worse, Howard’s mother repeatedly said that Miami was out of the race up until a last minute trip to Miami sealed the deal.
4.) Defensive tackle Jay-Nard Bostwick
Bostwick kept his recruitment very low key during the 2012 football season and continued to do so until the month of January of 2013. Miami fans and reporters believed that Bostwick was a lock to the Canes up until an official visit to Florida in January. Following that official visit Bostwick was a lock to Gainesville.
5.) Defensive tackle Khairi Clark
While Clark hasn’t officially signed with Florida yet, it’s still a huge win for the Gators to have his verbal commitment right now, as many believed Clark was a solid lock to Miami. Following a visit to Florida, things changed for Clark and he later committed to the Florida Gators.