As Early Signing Day nears, who is winning the battle for South Florida’s best recruits?
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MIAMI — It’s no secret that Florida is a hot bed of recruiting talent. Over at 247sports, they’re tracking some 374 Sunshine State prospects for this year’s class. Only Texas (476) and California (455) have more. And South Florida has its share of that talent, which is why the SEC has thrown its hat into the ring in hopes of plucking some of the nation’s best players in this class.
Calvin Ridley (Alabama) and Sony Michel (Georgia) are but two of the latest big catches by SEC programs from an area that includes Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The stakes were raised even higher when former Georgia head coach Mark Richt returned to Miami, and boy is he taking advantage. Last season, in his first year at The U, Richt hauled in seven of the top 20 recruits from the South Florida area. And this year, as early signing starts Dec. 20, Richt has already procured verbal commitments from eight of the top 4-star and 5-star recruits from the area.
That’s not good news for SEC schools. Only Alabama and Florida, among SEC programs, were able to sign players from among last year’s top 20 in South Florida, as rated by 247sports.
Florida signed six, while Alabama nabbed three, including 5-star WR Jerry Jeudy, who played in all 12 games for the Tide this season. Jeudy ranked second on the team in receiving, behind Ridley, with 13 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns.
But what about this class?
This year there are 65 4-and-5-star recruits in Florida. Of those, 28 are from South Florida. While Miami continues to lead the way, Georgia and Auburn have entered the fray, joining Alabama and Florida, from among SEC schools vying for that select few.
But a lot is still to be determined. Seven of the 28 are still undecided, including a pair of 5-star athletes. No SEC school has gotten a verbal commitment for 2018 from a 5-star recruit out of South Florida.
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It’s going to be a horserace to the finish line to see which SEC school gets the best of the recruiting war in South Florida. Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida have secured two verbal commitments each from among the top 28. That equals the most from any school in the country not named Miami, and ties with Notre Dame and Louisville.
So far, among SEC schools, Georgia has the highest rated recruit from the Sunshine State. Running back James Cook (5-11 1/2, 181 pounds), from Miami, is rated the state’s No. 6 recruit. (Yes, he’s Dalvin Cook’s younger brother.) The Bulldogs also have a commitment from the No. 33 rated recruit in the state: WR Elijah Moore, a 5-11, 181-pounder from Fort Lauderdale.
Salute 2018 #ArmyBowl RB James Cook (@thegreat__4) on his commitment to the University of Georgia. #GoDawgs ? #ATD pic.twitter.com/qtud7KVee3
— All-American Bowl (@AABonNBC) October 27, 2017
Alabama has verbals from the state’s No. 23 and No. 27 ranked recruits in WR Xavier Williams (6-0, 190 from Hollywood) and CB Nadab Joseph (6-1, 180 from Miami).
Auburn has received verbal commitments from No. 43-ranked Jamien Sherwood, a 6-2, 195-pound safety from Jensen Beach, and from No. 62-ranked Shaun Shivers, a 5-7, 169-pound all-purpose back from Hollywood.
With the coaching change at Florida, the Gators have fallen behind last year’s total but still have verbals from No. 54-ranked David Reese, a 6-2, 213-pound outside linebacker from Ft. Pierce, and from No. 56-ranked Tyquan Thornton, a 6-3, 165-pound wide receiver from Miami.
The door remains wide open for SEC schools to still reel in the bigger catches in the South Florida area as 2018 recruiting classes begin to firm up.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
