Hello Demarcus Christmas

Maxpreps.com

Position:  Defensive Tackle

Hometown/School:  Bradenton, FL - Manatee

Height/Weight:  6'3/285

• 247Sports gives Christmas four stars and gives him a grade of 97 in their early 2014 ratings.  They list him as a top DT (2nd) in the class of 2014, fifth in Florida, and 26th overall in the nation.
• Currently holds offers from Florida, Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, North Carolina, Florida State, Miami, and USF.
• Christmas was at Florida's FNL camp last month and has also camped at Auburn, USF, and Mississippi State.
• Played a big role on Manatee, the #1-ranked team in MaxPreps 2012 Preseason Xcellent 25 Football list and Class 7A Florida State Champions.
• Here is a great excerpt from a quote from Rivals.com's Chris Nee on what he sees from Christmas($):   "Watching him in the state title game, I walked away thinking this is an SEC-style defensive tackle. He's dominant at the point of attack. He's excellent at finishing plays. And he's surprisingly quick laterally."
• Here is his HUDL profile.

Gator Recruiting News - 8/2

Tom Luginbill heads ESPN's recruiting which we discuss below.  Nice watch, bro.

Well, there is really nothing going on in the world of Gator recruiting except little tidbits here and there. So I'll cover those tidbits real quick right now.

#2.  ESPN updated their class rankings for 2013 and Florida moved up to second behind USC.  Here is what they had to say about it:

The Florida Gators continue their climb up the rankings, sliding past Michigan for the No. 2 spot. Will Muschamp bulked up his defensive line by adding two four-star defensive ends, including ESPN 300 prospect Jordan Sherit. He will join ESPN 150 DTCaleb Brantley as Muschamp builds a defensive line able to compete in the SEC.

That's good to hear.  However, if you ain't first your last, right?  Good news, Zach Abolverdi of Gator Prospectus believes Florida will take over the top spot in the future.

#Gators class now No. 2 on ESPN. If they get DeMarcus Walker and Marcell Harris, which I expect them to, they should take top spot from #USC
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) August 2, 2012

Besides the Gators, four other SEC schools are in the top 10; Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and LSU.

2014 OG Offered.  After standing out at Friday Night Lights, the Gators offered Jacksonville OG Travaris Dorsey($).  The Gators are one of two early offers for Dorsey along with North Carolina.  The guy sounds like an athlete.  He is 6'3/295 and can run a 5.2 40-yard dash according to 247Sports.  Impressive.

I guess this article must be good.  Twitter really liked this article by SB Nation Recruiting.  The article talks about coaches recruiting younger and younger prospects.  The article is really long, but it must be decent.  If you have the time, read it.

Hello Corey Holmes

Position:  Wide Receiver

Hometown/School:  Fort Lauderdale, FL - St. Thomas Aquinas

Height/Weight:  6'1/175

• Holmes has offers from Michigan, Ruters, Florida, USF, Florida State, and Wisconsin.
• Michigan seems to be the leader at the moment.  Florida and Florida State are high on his list but still behind the Wolverines.  Holmes has stated that he grew up rooting for Michigan and his getting an offer from Michigan was a dream come true according to Tremendous.
• Has camped at both Michigan and Florida over the offseason.
• Here is a lengthy article by DetroitNews.com discussing Holmes and what the Michigan offer meant to him.
• Holmes has been described as a great route runner with ability to stretch the field for the offense.
• Here are some of his highlights from his sophomore year at Aquinas.

Hello Marlon Humphrey

Position:  Cornerback

Hometown/School:  Hoover, AL - Hoover

Height/Weight:  6'0/170

• Humphrey is a 5-star recruit for the class of 2014 according to 247Sports.  They also rank him 2nd at his position and 8th overall in the nation.
• Has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Michigan State, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi State.
• As of now, Alabama, the nearby school is the favorite.
• Humphrey's father was once an excellent running back for Alabama.
• He started varsity last year for the national powerhouse, Hoover Bucs (remember this team being on MTV for that show a while back?).
• Last year he recorded 33 solo tackles and 5 interceptions.  He also blocked 2 punts and had 3 TD returns according to Scout.
• Was First Team All-State according to the ASWA.
• Humphrey is a speedster.  He is a star on the Hoover's track team and won the 110m hurdles AAU National Championship.  On that performance, he broke a national record for the 15-16 age group. Not too shabby.
• By all accounts, Humphrey is a likeable and coachable kid.

Hello Andrew Brown

Position:  Defensive Tackle

Hometown/School:  Chesapeake, VA - Oscar Smith

Height/Weight:  6'4/290

• 247Sports give Andrew Brown a 5-star rating.  They also list him as top defensive tackle in the nation along with being the second-best overall player in the country.
• Brown has dozens of offers from schools around the nation.  Here are the schools that Brown has a "warm" interest in: Clemson, Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Penn State, Virginia, and West Virginia.
• Brown plays DT in high school but has been described as quick enough to play DE at the college level.
• Ran a 4.9 40 last April but wants to approve on that.
• Here is a great Rivals.com article including what expert Mike Farrell had to say about Brown.
• Previously attended Indian River but is transferring to Oscar Smith.
• Had the second-best performance for defensive linemen at the Rivals100 Challenge.
• Brown is extremely athletic for his size.  He was a starter last year on Indian River's soccer team.

Hello Travonte Valentine

Position:  Defensive Tackle

Hometown/School:  Palm Bay, FL - Bayside

Height/Weight:  6'4/295

• In their 2014 rankings, 247Sports grades Valentine as a 4-star prospect.  They also list him at #3 for DTs and 7th overall in the state of Florida (32nd in the nation).
• Has offers from Florida, Louisville, Auburn, Florida State, USF, Michigan State, South Carolina, West Virginia, and others.
• Was originally committed to the Louisville Cardinals, but decommitted over the weekend.
• After the decommittment, he said he was "an SEC guy" to Rivals.com
• Auburn, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama are the highest on his list according to 247Sports.
• Recorded 80 tackles and 12 sacks last year as a sophomore.
• Will attend Florida's Friday Night Lights camp at the end of July.

Kain Daub Commits to LSU

2014 LB Kain Daub has committed to the LSU Tigers today after he met with Les Miles.  According to 247Sports, Daub is the best ILB in the 2014 class.  Also, they list him as the top recruit in Florida.  Daub had a monster year for Nease in 2011 as he racked up 108 tackles and 12 sacks.

This commitment came out of nowhere.  Daub's decision seems really premature especially for a top prospect like him.   With over 19 months until Signing Day 2014, I'm going to put the odds at 50-50 that Daub stays with LSU the whole way through.

Does Daub stick with LSU or end up somewhere else?  Comment below.

Hello Tyler Harris

Position:  Quarterback

Hometown/School:  Blackshear, GA - Pierce County

Height/Weight:  6'3/205

• 247Sports lists Tyler Harris as the top pro-style QB for 2014 right now.  He is also the 2nd-best prospect in the state of Georgia and 15th nationally.
• No offers right now.  However, it looks like Bama, Georgia, Auburn, and Florida are the favorites as he has camped at or visited all of those schools.
• Harris attended Florida's spring game.  Harris said he liked the atmosphere and Brent Pease's offense he said in an interview with Gator Country.
• He has been described as having a "monster arm" and "howlizer" in this article.
• Doesn't have great accuracy according to scouts but rather a big-time arm.

Bo Scarbrough Will Decide on July 23rd

Bo Scarbrough, a 2014 running back from Tuscaloosa, will announce his college choice on the morning of July 23rd.  247Sports grades Scarbrough as a 5-star recruit and the 7th-best player overall in 2014.  Scarbrough's will decide between Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Florida.  According to al.com, Scarbrough rushed for 928 yards and 13 TDs.  Also, Scarbrough racked up 280 yards and 4 TDs as a receiver too.

It is going to be pretty tough for the Gators to get Scarbrough especially with him being from Tuscaloosa.  I'm going to say Scarbrough ends up at the hometown school.

Hello Isaiah Wynn

(espn.com)

Position:  Offensive Guard

Hometown/School:  Saint Petersburg, FL - Lakewood

Height/Weight:  6'3/270

• 247Sports grades Wynn as a 4star.  They also list him as the 10th-best player in Florida and the best offensive guard in the country (2014).
• Here are his highlights via HUDL.
• Right now Wynn doesn't hold many big offers, but that will change in the future.  USF, Ohio, and Youngstown State are his only offers.
• Was All-Conference last year as a sophomore.
• Was selected as U.S. Army 2014 offensive MVP at a Big County Preps (BCP) combine.
• Got to go against teammate DE Dante Fowler in drills at practices.