TE CJ Hawkins flips commitment to the Stanford Cardinal

Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley standout CJ Hawkins will not be playing for the University of Florida after all.

On Thursday evening, the 2022 tight end went to Twitter to announce that he is flipping his commitment to Stanford University. The Pac-12 program hosted Hawkins for an official visit in late June and had been generating momentum behind the scenes when many believed the three-star completely shut down his recruitment.

Not only was Hawkins committed to the lone SEC school in his home state, but UF is also his mother's alma mater; however, when it was all said and done, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior simply couldn't pass up Stanford's top-notch academics, although he was recently in Gainesville for the Alabama game. Hawkins becomes the 19th commitment for the Cardinal.

As for the Gators, it will be interesting to see where they go from here. Jaleel Skinner is set to reveal his decision on Friday and has UF in his top six, but there is significant buzz surrounding the Crimson Tide roughly 24 hours out, although UF has made up ground after hosting him on Sept. 17.

Will they try to flip Mason Taylor from LSU? It will be interesting to track over the next three months.

Other than Kemore Gamble, the Gators will be returning Keon Zipperer, Nick Elksnis, Gage Wilcox and Jonathan Odom for the 2022-23 class. It's not the most experienced group, but Zipperer will likely be the go-to option. Elksnis made a splash during spring football, so a lot is expected of him in the coming years as well.

Stay tuned to Gators Territory.