Rivals Five-Star Challenge Florida Gators Prospect Preview

This weekend many of the nations top prospects will make their way to Atlanta (Ga.) to take part in the Rivals Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour. Florida will have several of their top targets on hand this weekend to compete.

Inside the Gators breaks down some of the names the Gator Nation should keep an eye on over the next several days.

Florida has but one commitment competing in the Georgia Dome - Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas quarterback Jake Allen. He has been solid with the Gators since pulling the trigger last summer. Look for Allen to be in the ear of the many other UF targets this weekend.

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One of more talented position groups this weekend will be the wide outs.

Three of the attendees are five-stars who the Gators are involved with. At the top of that board the Gators have Donovan Peoples-Jones out of Detroit. Peoples-Jones has visited Gainesville twice in the past and is looking to return again sometime before the end of summer. The Gators will also be hosting a Satellite Camp in his area on Sunday, the day Peoples-Jones returns home from Atlanta.

The other two five-stars the Gators are at receiver are Trevon Grimes and James Robinson. This past spring Robinson named the Gators his leader with his connection to Florida assistant, and Lakeland native, Torrian Gray. Grimes on the other hand has Ohio State sitting in-front, but the Gators are in his top six.

Rivals100 wide receiver Jerry Jeudy will also be on hand competing this weekend after visiting Gainesville last weekend. Alabama and Miami are also in the mix for him.

California tight end Jimmy Jaggers will also be in Atlanta this weekend and plans to visit Florida’s campus immediately following the Five-Star Challenge. He will be in Gainesville from June 12-13th.

Turning to the offensive line, a couple of top Florida targets are due to compete this weekend. Pensacola (Fla.) Washington offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood is arguably the Gators top target at the position this cycle. Despite his commitment to Alabama, he’s kept the Gators in play, taking quite a few trip to campus in the past. Another top target for the Gators is Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert. The Gators have been the team to beat for Herbert for most of his recruitment thus far, but in the last couple of months Michigan has moved in and closed the Gators once wide gap.

A few other prospects the Gators have targeted, but aren't in quite as good of shape with include Miami commit Navaughn Donaldson, four-star Obinna Eze, Peach State tackle Tony Gray, and IMG linemen Robert Hainsey and Cesar Ruiz.

At this time Florida isn't much of a factor for any of the defensive linemen competing this weekend.

However, at the linebacker position the Gators have two targets on hand.

Headlining the group is the Gators top target at the position, Rivals250 linebacker K.J. Britt. At this time Georgia and Auburn lead for his services with the Gators running in third. Britt is so highly coveted by the Gators that Jim McElwain himself has been involved in his recruitment.

The other target the Gators have competing this weekend is Rivals250 linebacker Tyler Taylor. This four-star visited Gainesville earlier in the spring when the Gators held their spring football game. Georgia and Tennessee seem to have an edge currently.

Once again this cycle Florida is in a position of needing to secure a handful of defensive back signees. The good news for the Gators is that their secondary board is perhaps the deepest of any position.

This weekend there are a few defenders the Gators have high interest in. Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake corner AJ Terrell will represent his hometown this weekend looking to back up his recent bump in the rankings to five-star status. The Gators have been rumored as the team to beat here since he took a visit to Gainesville earlier in the spring.

At the safety position the Gators have their eyes on Rivals100 safety Devon Hunter out of Virginia. The four-star visited Florida’s campus earlier in the spring and has a good relationship with Florida defensive back coach Torrian Gray dating back to his time at Virginia Tech. The Gators are in the mix along with Clemson and Virginia Tech.

A few targets the Gators have in the 2018 class are wide receiver Brian Hightower, linebacker Teradja Mitchell, and defensive tackle Timaje Porter. The Gators have offered all three and have hosted Hightower and Porter on campus recently.

On Sunday the focus will turn to the Rivals Underclassmen Challenge presented by Under Armour. Many prospects for the upcoming 2018 and 2019 class will take to the field to showcase their talents. A few that will be on hand have the Gators in the mix early in their recruitment.

Arguable the top target for the Gators competing Sunday is five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The Peach State signal caller visited Florida for a few days when the Gators held their spring football game. In that visit Lawrence was informed of how high he is on their board for the 2018 class. Georgia and Tennessee are also heavily involved with Lawrence as well.

Another quarterback competing that has an offer from the Gators is Franklin (Ga.) Heard County four-star Emory Jones. Earlier this spring Jones visited UF to check out one of the Gators spring scrimmages. Tennessee, Georgia, and Ohio State are also in play for him as well.

One of the Gators top targets at the wide receiver position in 2018 will be on hand as well in Seffner (Fla.) Armwood wide receiver Warren Thompson. The four-star has visited Florida a few times this spring and is very high on Miami as well. The Gators hope to continue their success at Armwood high school here.

A few other targets the Gators have that will be in attendance are offensive tackle Marcus Jenkins, athlete Trey Dean, wide receiver Jermaine Eskridge, defensive lineman Stephon Wynn, offensive tackle Curtis Dunlap, and defensive back Chamarri Connor. All have early offers from the Orange and Blue.