Muschamp, Gators looking to make up ground on recruiting trail
By BRADY ACKERMAN
Florida Gators Football Sideline Reporter
There is some good news surrounding Florida's football program this week, fans still care. Florida just finished its worst season in 20 years, but Gator fans still want to see more in the Outback Bowl. The University announced that Florida has sold its allotment of tickets for the New Year's Day game. I realize much of this may be influenced by the fact that it will be Urban Meyer's last game on the Gator sideline, but it is still impressive.
Florida is not guaranteed to look any better on offense than they did down the stretch and Joe Paterno has 17 New Year's Day wins. The fact that the game is in Tampa also helps considering UF did not sell all its tickets last season for the Sugar Bowl, which is a BCS game.
This past weekend the FHSAA Finals have been going on inside the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, with much of the state's top talent on display. It is interesting to see the spike in commitments to arch-rival Florida State and coach Jimbo Fisher. FSU may end up with the number one class in the country according to all the recruiting services. There wasn't one team in the finals that didn't have a kid committed to the Seminoles.
Florida's new coach, Will Muschamp, has a lot of work to do to salvage a top ten class this recruiting season. Florida needs to make up some ground and win some battles before February. Here are four kids that UF will target.
-Kelvin Benjamin, WR Belle Glades Central
-Tim Jernigan, DT Lake City Columbia
-Curt Maggitt, DE Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer
-Marcus Roberson, DB St. Thomas Aquinas
The Gators had a recruit weekend this past weekend and will be able to secure most of the mid-year early entry kids. AC Leonard is one of those prospects who re-affirmed his commitment to Florida after meeting with Will Muschamp. Leonard is a top rated tight end out of Jacksonville, Florida. Five star quarterback Jeff Driskel also kept his commitment with a visit from Muschamp this past week.
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