Friday Night Lights: Top Prospects Preview
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ALLEY: First Friday Commitment In! | Live Updates
One of the most anticipated recruiting nights of the year is upon us as Florida hosts their annual Friday Night Lights Camp. Since 2005 this has been one of the premiere college camps in the nation, hosting a multitude of top high schools prospects, who went on to be college, and even NFL superstars.
Here is a partial listing of some of those we expect to go under the lights tonight.
To start things off the Gators are expecting (but there's no guarantee) to have seven of their verbal commitments on hand. The lone commit who is likely to actually take part though is Davidson (N.C.) Day Rivals100 quarterback Will Grier, who will throw at the event.
Others, who are expected to be on hand to watch (and perhaps recruit a little themselves) are Cross City (Fla.) Dixie County Rivals250 cornerback Duke Dawson, Miami (Fla.) Central Rivals100 running back Dalvin Cook, Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna Rivals250 defensive tackle Khairi Clark, Immokalee (Fla.) Rivals250 cornerback J.C. Jackson, Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines offensive guard Travaris Dorsey and Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Northridge two star tight end C'Yontai Lewis.
One of the biggest uncommitted visitors will be Gardena (Cali.) Junipero Serra five star cornerback Adoree' Jackson, who is making his first visit to Gainesville. This visit is vital for UF's chances to secure a fall visit and then perhaps eventually land the nation's No. 9 overall prospect regardless of position. One of the biggest factors that will go into the 5-foot-10, 172-pounders decision will be track, so expect Jackson to get a chance to meet with UF track coach Mike Holloway at some point while in town. The Gators are looking to use this Rivals100 member either on defense as a cornerback or could even see time on offense playing wide receiver.
Another big name prospect expected in attendance Friday is Northridge (Ala.) Tuscaloosa County Rivals100 athlete Bo Scarbrough. This is the four star rated back's second trip to Gainesville this summer. At this time it still seems the Gators are in an uphill battle to flip this Alabama commitment, but Scarbrough continues to keep the door open for other programs like Georgia and Florida, with UF likely the only other school legitimately in contention. One thing to monitor this weekend is if this four star hangs around longer than just for the camp.
Rivals100 wide receiver Ermon Lane was one of the biggest targets expected this weekend at the wide receiver position, but now will not be able to make it. While Lane may not be in attendance two other wide outs to keep an eye on to show out on Friday night are West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman Rivals250 wide receiver Travis Rudolph and West Palm Beach (Fla.) Dwyer Rivals250 wide receiver Johnnie Dixon. This is Rudolph's first trip back to Gainesville since April, who has UF among standouts with Alabama, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Miami. Dixon is an interesting name to watch for to show up, as he recently has named Alabama, Miami and Ohio State as the teams leading for his services.
A few other top south Florida prospects expected on Friday are Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School Rivals250 cornerback Quincy Wilson and his University School teammate, four star linebacker Richard Yeargin III as well as Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Plantation four star athlete Chris Lammons. None are expected to actually work out, but all have high interest in the Gators.
The offensive line position has been one point of emphasis in 2014 and the Gators look to host one of the best from the southern part of the state. Miami (Fla.) Central Rivals250 offensive tackle, and Miami commitment, Trevor Darling. A source close to Darling told Inside the Gators that the South Florida big man is highly interested in the Gators and has been hearing recruiting pitches from his Miami Central teammate and UF commitment Dalvin Cook.
An interesting mid week addition to the Friday Night Light's roster is Winter Park (Fla.) three star defensive end Trent Harris. The Gators already have defensive end Justus Reed committed in the 2014 class, and likely will not take any other at the BUCK position besides five star defensive end Lorenzo Carter.
Two other names to keep an eye on Friday are Gainesville (Fla.) Rivals250 running back Tony James and St. Petersburg (Fla.) Admiral Farragut three star fullback Cortavius Givens. Both seem to be lower down the board, but still on the radar.
In recent years Florida's Friday Night Lights camp has been a tool used to evaluate the up-and-coming underclassman in the nation. This year is no different as many talented prospects from both the 2015 and 2016 cycle are expected to be in attendance.
Glen St. Mary (Fla.) Baker County 2015 defensive end CeCe Jefferson is one of the top prospects of his recruiting class in attendance. Jefferson had originally planned to attend Ohio State's Friday Night Lights, but those plans fell through. The Gators are on top early and look to widen their lead with Jefferson on campus yet again.
One big target for the 2015 class on the offensive side of the ball that is expected to show up Friday is Apopka (Fla.) offensive tackle Martez Ivey. The Gators are an early standout for him, but other big fish are starting to bite for the talented big man.
Two 2015 members that are expected to make their early commitments before the summers end are also expected at Friday Night Lights: Miami (Fla.) Central 2015 wide receiver DeVonte Phillips and Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian 2015 linebacker Jeffery Holland. Both have the Gators high on their list and Phillips is someone to keep an eye on for tonight.
A few other 2015 names to keep an eye on are Seffner (Fla.) Armwood defensive end Byron Cowart (who has been on and off as to whether he will attend), Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln wide receiver John Burt and Albany (Ga.) Westover School defensive tackle Trenton Thompson.
A few names in the 2016 class that are worth mentioning that will be at FNL are Crawfordville (Fla.) Wakulla quarterback Feleipe Franks, Dade City (Fla.) Pasco wide receiver Nate Craig and Buford (Ga.) tight end Isaac Nauta.
All three currently have an offer from the Gators.
This is not meant to be a complete listing of those who are scheduled to attend. Nor will all those listed actually make it in as expected.
Follow along in the Alley as Blake Alderman, Bryan Holt, Robert Lopez, Jesse Simonton and Kynon Codrington report live from the Swamp and then tune in after the event for the wrap-up (stories, interviews, notebooks, analysis, photos and more).