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.

2013 Recruiting: Cameron Dillard

Position:  Offensive Guard

Hometown/School:  Canton, MI - Canton

Height/Weight:  6'3/285

Rivals - 247Sports - Scout - ESPN

Other Offers:  Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Oregon

Report:  Dillard committed to the Gators last April.

Dillard started every game at offensive tackle in last year, but he is projected to play either guard or center in college.  Everyone but ESPN lists Dillard as a 3-star recruit (ESPN has him as a 4-star).  Scout, who lists him as a center, says he ranks him 3rd at his position.  The others, who list him as an offensive guard, rank him from 17-23 nationally.

In Dillard's sophomore year, he helped his team finish with an 8-3 record.  Dillard racked up a ton of awards after the season including being named to the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team.

Although he lived in Michigan, he is not a native of the state.  He moved in from North Carolina around six years ago.  He has said that he was a Gators fan growing up in the South.  However, he does have strong ties to the Michigan program.  He lived not too far away from Michigan Stadium and worked out with several Michigan players in the offseason.  He visited Michigan, but Brady Hoke and the staff never offered.

Here is a brief excerpt from ESPN's analysis:

Dillard is a tenacious and physical O-Line prospect. He possesses good size and looks to have a thick build and displays good upper and lower body playing strength.

On his ESPN profile, they list run blocking, strength, and physicality as his main strengths.  Here is what Touch the Banner, a Michigan recruiting site, said about Dillard:

Dillard plays in a run-oriented offense that might leave him susceptible to pass protection weaknesses early in his career, but he has a nasty attitude and good enough athleticism to overcome those issues with some work on fundamentals.

 Here is his answer to what his strengths and weaknesses are in an interview with MGoBlog, another Michigan fansite:

I'd say that my aggression on the field, my physicality, you just can't teach toughness. Also, run blocking is a big thing of mine that I believe I'm doing real well at. I'd say my weakness—which isn't really a weakness, it's becoming more my strength now—is my pass protection. I've got to keep working on that and getting better at it.

According to Scout, he can bench over 315 pounds, squat over 465 pounds, and can deadlift over 325.  Also, at the Army Combine, he ran a 5.25 40-yard dash.  Decent measurables.

Besides football, Dillard is very involved with the community.  He likes to volunteer some of his time to help with different organizations.  He also finds academics very important and wants to major in History according to Scout.

Videos:

David Dawson Close To Decommitting For Florida?

David Dawson will be in Florida for camp. (Freep.com)

The #1-ranked offensive guard in the country according to ESPN may be on the brink of decommitting.  David Dawson committed to the Michigan Wolverines back in February but signs are showing that it may not be solid anymore.  Here is what he said to Tremendous, a Michigan football recruiting blog, last Sunday:

What I know about David Dawson: Last Sunday, David told me he was going to camp at Florida. I asked him what the coaches would think. He told me they didn't get upset when he camped at Alabama last month (if you remember, the Cass crew was in the area for a 7v7 tourney) and that he was definitely going to camp down there. It's worth keeping an eye on.

And then today a current Michigan recruit told ESPN that Dawson "has been talking about decommiting".

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

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