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Published Sep 14, 2017
Two Team Battles: Florida a finalist for five-star
Inside the Gators
Staff

This week Rivals analysts Adam Friedman, Adam Gorney, Chad Simmons and Woody Wommack have broken down the top five recruiting battles from across the nation region by region.

Four of the battles include prospects Florida is in the running to land. In two of the four battles, Florida is considered one of the top two contenders. In the other two, Florida is still in the running, but isn't considered in the lead duo.

READ ALL THE BREAKDOWNS: Southeast | Mid-Atlantic | West Region

FLORIDA VS. LSU  

Chase surprised many when he committed to Florida during the summer, especially since most believed his battle was down to LSU vs. TCU. However, the Gators' push did a great job of selling him on a chance to be a star in Gainesville and was enough to convince him to pull the trigger. But as expected, LSU hasn’t given up on Chase and he was on campus again this weekend in Baton Rouge. Can the Tigers steal him away? That remains to be scene but this battle will likely continue all the way up until Signing Day.

JALEN HALL: USC vs. FLORIDA  

The five-star receiver said this summer he soon planned to release a top list of schools, but that hasn’t happened a few weeks into his senior season. More than a half-dozen schools have been mentioned by Hall in recent months and there are a few reasons to think the Gators and the Trojans might be battling it out for his services. If the Long Beach Poly standout plans to stay home – and join his former Los Angeles Hawkins teammates – then USC makes a lot of sense. Plus, Hall has been close with the Trojans’ coaching staff and a lot of players there for a long while. If he decides to leave town, then joining Long Beach Poly four-star quarterback Matt Corral in Gainesville might make sense.

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. NORTH CAROLINA  

Even though Sandidge lists a top seven, it really seems like the Tar Heels and Gamecocks will be the two major players. Sandidge has visited both schools numerous times and will take plenty more visits later this season. There is a tremendous amount of family pressure to attend South Carolina, but Sandidge also has strong relationships in Chapel Hill.

OHIO STATE VS. NEBRASKA  

Parsons recruitment is about as tricky as any in recent memory. First, he was a lock for Penn State and then he decommitted and seemed like a shoe-in at Ohio State. Suddenly, Nebraska made a big splash during his offseason visit to Lincoln and the Cornhuskers become major contenders. After Parsons' official visit to Ohio State over the weekend, it sounded like he was Ohio State's to lose, but his public remarks about Ohio State quarterbacks

J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins have apparently rubbed some Buckeyes the wrong way.

Parsons will visit Penn State this weekend for an unofficial visit, has an official visit to Nebraska scheduled for the first weekend in October. Other visits are in the works, but this should come down to Ohio State or Nebraska.

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