Rivals100 WR Raymond Cottrell teams up with Florida, his dream school

There hasn't been much recent drama surrounding the recruitment of Raymond Cottrell, a Rivals100 wide receiver from Milton (Fla.) High.

After earning an offer from UF last month, the 2023 prospect immediately labeled the SEC school as his leader and then wasted little time scheduling a visit as well

Cottrell is a lifelong fan of the Gators who was brought to tears once the offer was made official, and after setting foot on campus for Friday Night Lights, the rising junior is now a commit for the University of Florida as well. He nearly committed after the Elite Individual Camp on June 25 but settled on Friday evening as the perfect time to reveal his decision to the world.

"When I first got it, I didn't believe it at first, so I decided to call them to see if it was true," Cottrell told Gators Territory shortly after receiving the offer. "When coach Gonzales told me, 'Yeah, we're going to offer you,' there were a lot of things going through my mind. That changed my whole mindset when he said that. It made me want to go even harder because that's my dream school; that's where I really want to go, to be honest.

"When he first told me, I teared up a little bit because it's like a dream come true. I've been wanting this offer since I was kid. I always grew up a fan and have been watching since maybe I was five or six. My dad has always been a fan as well."

As expected, Cottrell's father was left nearly speechless once the offer was made official as well.

"He was excited," Cottrell said. "He looked at me said said, 'Dang, bro, you finally got it.' We were both excited and can't wait to go up there in the summer, like really excited."

Checking in as the 87th-ranked prospect in the 2023 class, Cottrell hauled in 29 receptions for 360 yards and five touchdowns during his sophomore campaign.

In addition to the Gators, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Cottrell is armed with offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Auburn, Notre Dame and Tennessee among others.

"It was great. I love the atmosphere. I can see myself playing here. Everything, like the indoor facility, the way the coaches treat their players," Cottrell told GT following last month's visit. "There is a person here from my city, Jacob Copeland. He showed me that anybody can make it out of our city, and not a lot of people do that. We got to chop it up a little bit about real stuff, man. We talked about here, getting to the next level, what I have to do and all that stuff. It feels good. It really humbled me even more.

"I love coach G. Everything I thought of, he was that. I love him," Cottrell added. "If I got here right now and he said, 'Hey, let's do this.' I'll be like, 'OK, let's do it.' His coaching style fits me. I know that I can build off his expectations."

Stay tuned to Gators Territory.

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