Gators pledge Derek Wingo, several UF targets land in the new Rivals100
A flurry of rising seniors saw their stocks either rise or fall in the updated Rivals100 rankings that were revealed on Tuesday.
One of the most significant jumps by a player came from Florida commit Derek Wingo, who now checks in as the 35th-ranked prospect in the 2020 cycle. Prior to the release of the new rankings, Wingo was tabbed as the 150th-ranked recruit in the nation.
Wingo's jump is not necessarily a surprise as he made appearances at both the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge and The Opening Finals in Frisco (Tx.) a few weeks ago.
At the Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta (Ga.), the St. Thomas Aquinas product took home the linebacker MVP award following the event.
Noticeably absent from the updated rankings was UF commit Gervon Dexter, who had previously made the cut in June. Fellow Gators pledge Leonard Manuel was just outside of the Rivals100 earlier this summer, but did not make his way back onto the list this time around.
Aside from Wingo, several Florida targets made appearances in the new Rivals100 as well.
E.J. Smith, son of former Gator great Emmitt Smith, fell just one spot and now checks in at No. 96 in the rankings. The dynamic athlete will utilize an official visit to UF during the weekend of Florida's Homecoming game against Auburn, which is on Oct. 5.
Alabama commit Timothy Smith also fell one spot to No. 88. The coveted defensive tackle participated in Florida's Friday Night Lights camp shortly after committing to the Crimson Tide, so the next step for UF will be to secure an OV from Smith down the road.
A notable target who did see a small bump was Fort Washington (Md.) offensive lineman Aaryn Parks. Parks, who is former teammates with current Gator William Harrod, rose from No. 67 to No. 60.
Another prospect on UF's radar in the Rivals100 is Oregon pledge Avantae Williams. The highly touted safety fell 14 spots to No. 50 in the updated rankings. Like Smith, Williams ventured up to Gainesville just over a couple of weeks ago for the FNL event.
A new entrant on the list was Donell Harris, who reclassified from 2021 to 2020 in June. The 49th-ranked recruit on Rivals received an official offer from the Gators, and GT's Corey Bender recently reported that Harris will take an OV to the Swamp this fall.
The last noteworthy Florida target in the Rivals100 is the one prospect most Gator fans have at the top of their wish list: Demarkcus Bowman.
Bowman kept his five-star status, but dropped eight spots to No. 24. The Clemson commit is locked in with the Tigers, but Dan Mullen and company are not yet going to let up on their pursuit of the Polk County running back.
The Rivals250 rankings will be released on Wednesday and the position rankings are going to be revealed on Thursday.
Stay tuned to GatorsTerritory.