At long last, Florida adds wishy-washy running back to 2017 class
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The recruitment of 3-star RB Adarius Lemons has been interesting, to say the least.
After de-committing from North Carolina on July 24, Lemons pledged his allegiance to Florida on the same day. However, he then de-committed from Florida on Aug. 22 before re-committing the very next day.
That would have been quite the saga had it ended there, but it didn’t. Lemons de-committed yet again on Oct. 25 after he was suspended from his high school team.
Finally, though, on National Signing Day, Florida coach Jim McElwain confirmed that the Florida native was indeed a part of the Gators’ 2017 class:
Mac announces Adarius Lemons is in #Gators class. 3-star RB out of Clearwater.
— Andy Olson (@ByAndrewOlson) February 1, 2017
Of course, until Florida fans actually see Lemons in a Gator uniform, there will probably be a healthy dose of skepticism surrounding the commitment.
“I’m proud of him,” McElwain said during his signing day press conference. “When you go through things, you can just say, Hey, I quit. You’re talking about some guys who got something to ’em, some distance, guys who have really committed to getting themselves ready.
“In some of the cases, obviously, there’s still some work to do. Yet, you know, he’s not the only one that’s had some tough things go on. There’s a lot of guys that are coming in that have had some things.
“The key is not feeling sorry for yourself, not using that as an excuse, but rather let’s use it as an avenue, really a drive, to go up and do something great. Obviously to get both running backs is huge. Again, part of our focus was to make sure that we did a good job in that area, that area of the state, and I think we’ve accomplished that.’
According to 247Sports, Lemons is the No. 27 running back in the class of 2017 and the No. 58 overall recruit from the state of Florida.
With the addition of Lemons, Florida has the No. 10 recruiting class nationally and the No. 5 overall class in the SEC.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
