In the SEC, the games are won in the trenches especially with great defensive linemen. The SEC has been the home to stellar defensive linemen in recent years like Nick Fairley, Terrence Cody, Fletcher Cox, Michael Brockers, and many more.
Will Muschamp has taken note. Muschamp and the rest of the Florida Gators coaching staff has made the defensive line a priority in recruiting and it is starting to pay off. Over the weekend, the Gators picked up three defensive line commitments.
The weekend got off to a great start when DE Antonio Riles committed to Florida. Not many saw the 3-star recruit choosing Florida, but I'm sure Will Muschamp is happy that he did.
On Saturday, DE Jordan Sherit finally committed to the Gators. It was well known that Sherit loved the Gators and it was thought that he was a lock to commit to UF. He made it official over the weekend. Scout, Rivals, ESPN, and 247Sports all agree that Sherit is a 4-star recruit and Rivals list him as a top 100 player overall.
Yesterday, the Gators got their second commitment of the 2014 class. Former Louisville commit, Travonte Valentine, decided Gainesville is the right place for him. The defensive tackle is a 4-star prospects according to 247Sports.
It was a great weekend for Florida Gators recruiting. They picked up 5-star Vernon Hargreaves on Thursday and then added three defensive linemen in three days. The Gators now have four defensive linemen in their 2013 recruiting class. However, they may not be done with the linemen.
4-star DE DeMarcus Walker has been on Florida's radar for a long time. He has narrowed down his choice to Alabama and Florida. According to reports, Walker already has chosen where he is going to play in the future. His announcement will come in late August.
Another possible future Gator is New York DE Ebenezer Ogundeko. Ogudenko has narrowed it down to three schools; Florida, Notre Dame, and Syracuse. He has delayed his announcement a couple times and isn't sure when he'll finally decide.
In a league where defensive linemen might be the most important position, Will Muschamp is doing a great job of recruiting them.
According to several reports from Florida's Friday Night Lights camp, DeMarcus Walker has set a decision date (August 24th). Walker pushed back his decision date so that the event can be televised. According to Amy Campbell of FOX Sports NEXT, Walker already has chosen his school. The battle for the 4-star DE is between two SEC schools; Florida and Alabama.
So what do you think, will Walker end up in Gainesville or Tuscaloosa? Comment below.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Gators picked up their 19th commitment in the 2013 class today. 3-star Georgia DE Antonio Riles called Will Muschamp earlier today to break the news. Rivals, Scout, and 247Sports all give Riles three stars while ESPN gives him four. Riles had many other great offers including Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, A&M, and Tennessee.
The Gators have now picked up two commitments in the past day (Vernon Hargreaves and Antonio Riles). Expect another by the end of tonight as Florida hosts their annual Friday Night Lights camp.
Other Offers: Miami, USF, Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Vanderbilt, USC, Michigan, and many, many more.
Report: Vernon Hargreaves III has been on Florida's radar for quite some time. After naming Florida his favorite a week before, VHIII committed to Florida after a visit to Gainesville in July.
The battle for VHIII's services seemed like it was between Florida and the hometown USF. Florida is the better program, but VHIII's dad is a coach for the USF Bulls. However, after visiting USC earlier in July, he named them the leader. But USC was left out his top 5 list and he committed to Florida a week later.
Hargreaves is without a doubt one of the best players in the 2013 class. All of the four recruiting services all agree that VHIII is a 5-star prospect. Rivals ranks him 2nd for cornerbacks in the class of 2013 while the others (Scout, ESPN, and 247Sports) all list him as the best. He is a consensus top 10 overall player in the nation.
Hargreaves racked up 49 tackles last year for Wharton including a sack. High school quarterbacks tend to not throw VHIII's way. With that being said, Hargreaves still ended the season with a pair of interceptions. He also plays a little bit of offense. He caught 13 passes at receiver last year, averaging 24 YPC and scoring 3 TDs on offense.
Scouting reports? Scouting reports.
Chad Simmons, one of the main scouts for Scout, had this to say about Hargreaves.
He can cover on or off the line, he really explodes out of his breaks, and he can flip his hips with the best of them. There are not a lot of concerns about his game. He can improve his open field tackling, but other than that, he looks much like a college corner. He is very advanced in technique and he will contribute very early in his college career.
SB Nation's recruiting analyst, Bud Elliott, has put together a greatscouting report. Here is just an excerpt from it.
It's difficult to put together a scouting report for Hargreaves because he does pretty much everything at an elite level. His father is the defensive backs coach for the USF Bulls, and it is clear that he has absorbed much of the advanced coaching he's received since he was a little kid. Hargreaves could start for many BCS programs as a 17-year-old.Hargreaves seems to always be in the right position, thanks to his instincts and years being around the game. He does break on the ball quite well, but if you watch closely, you'll see that he doesn't have as far to go to get to the spot as many corners because he's positioned himself better before the time comes to close on the football. There aren't many false steps in his game.Hargreaves shows the ability to be quite physical and is a very good tackler. He can excel in man or zone coverage, with his smooth hips and quick feet.
It is very difficult to find projected college corners who actually play the position fulltime in high school and possess a vast understanding of both zone and man concepts with the talent to execute them at a premier level. Hargreaves III is that kind of prospect. He has very good speed, great closing burst and range at the position in a well-built frame that is deceptively stronger than it appears, especially when it comes to functional strength; jamming, pressing and supporting the run. Extremely quick to recover, fluid in his change-of-direction and athletic in his ability to play the ball in the air, it will be difficult for Muschamp to keep this young shut-down corner off the field as a true freshman. It’s a position that can hold back even the most talented high school corner prospects from making an impact early at the BCS level due to the learning curve and technique required to succeed at the position, but Hargreaves is ready.
Hargreaves is arguably the best defensive back in the nation. He is ready to contribute from the moment he steps on a college campus due to both his physical and mental approach to the game of football. Hargreaves possesses good size in both height and build. He has continued to add good weight and strength over past year while continuing to retain his athleticism. He has good speed, handles change of direction very well, and is very good at springing off the ground at full speed. He does an excellent job of getting his hands on balls whether he wins them in the air or shows his range and quickly darts in front of the intended receiver. He has a special aptitude when it comes to playing his position that sets him apart from his peers.
I'm sure that there are more scouting reports out there, but I think the four above do an excellent job of evaluation Hargreaves.
Expect the 5-star cornerback to make an immediate impact for the Gators. Like ESPN said, it will be hard for Muschamp to not play Hargreaves in his freshman year.
If you don't live in Florida, you will get your chance to see Hargreaves play live in early January. He will be participating in the Under Armour All-American Game where ESPNU also televises their practices.
This is a huge pickup for Will Muschamp and the Gators. After it is made official on National Signing Day, Hargreaves will be the prize recruit of the 2013 class.
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.
Today, Scott Pagano decided that he was going to announce today instead of waiting until August like he previously stated. As the title reads, Scott Pagano chose Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers. It seemed like the decision came down to LSU and Florida, but Clemson and Alabama were also in his final four. Most recruiting experts (including me) didn't see this coming at all. Clemson seemed to be the dark horse candidate.
Pagano said that he grew up a Florida fan and even had a Florida Gators wall photo covering his Facebook page.
Pagano is listed as a 4-star recruit according to everyone but 247Sports (3-star). The 6'3/280 Hawaii'n DT will play in the Army All-American Bowl in early 2013.
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.
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.
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.
