Six Commits Who Could Flip To The Florida Gators
With the 2017 college football season quickly approaching, Jim McElwain and the Florida Gators are trying to pick up as many commits as possible before camp starts. The Gators currently have fifteen commits and are a top ten recruiting class. The Gators are red hot on the recruiting trail in the last two weeks, including top target Matt Corral, a quarterback from Long Beach, California.
Florida is in good shape with some of the best recruits in the country. Some of those recruits have already made a verbal pledge to their respective schools. Could the Florida Gators steal a commit or two from some of the top schools in the country? Here are six committed recruits that could flip to the Florida Gators.
Four-star DE Andrew Chatfield (Ohio State commit)
In the 2017 recruiting class, the Florida Gators signed three players out of American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. The Gators have a good chance of signing three more from Heritage in the 2018 recruiting class. One of those recruits could be the four-star defensive end Andrew Chatfield. The in-state defensive end recently camped at Florida.
With three of his teammates signing to the Gators last February and a few of his current teammates leaning towards Florida, Chatfield would obviously be comfortable in the Gator locker room. Chatfield is the 158th recruit in the country and the 19th defensive end in the nation according to ESPN. If Jim McElwain were able to pry a top recruit away from the Urban Meyer recruiting machine, it would be a huge boost for the Florida faithful.
Four-star CB Brendan Radley-Hiles (Nebraska commit)
Ever since five-star quarterback Matt Corral committed to Florida, the name Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles has popped up quite often as a potential flip to the Gators. Radley-Hiles is one of the top cornerbacks in the country and a close friend to Corral. The four-star corner committed to Nebraska this past spring.
Bookie plays at IMG Academy, less than two hours away from the University of Florida. With Bookie closer to Florida and a few of their commits knowing him, could the Gators flip the four-star corner? The Gators could pull off this flip if Corral aggressively recruits his close friend. Bookie is a top 10 corner nationally and an Army All-American.
Four-star RB Leddie Brown (West Virginia commit)
The Florida Gators already have a running back committed in their 2018 class with Iverson Clement. But the Gators would like to add another running back in the class. Four-star running back Leddie Brown, out of Delaware, could be the second running back for the Gators. Florida’s running back coach Ja’Juan Seider is heavily recruiting Brown as he did with Clement.
It’s rare to see a commit actively recruit another player in the same position but Clement is doing just that. The four-star commit out of New Jersey was constantly talking to Brown about joining him at the University of Florida. The West Virginia commit is the 12th ranked running back in the country and the top Delaware recruit according to Rivals. West Virginia has a potent offense and is close to the family, so this will be a long-shot for the Gators.
Four-star CB Gilbert Frierson (Miami commit)
The Gators only have one cornerback committed in the class (Divaad Wilson) and would like to at least add one more. Flipping Radley-Hiles might not be as easy as some Florida fans think. But they do have a very solid back up plan. Four-star cornerback and Miami commit Gilbert Frierson is one of the top defensive backs in the country. He’s also a potential flip to the Gators. The Miami Hurricanes have already lost one of their defensive backs to the Gators in Randy Russell, could Frierson be next?
Frierson attended Florida’s Friday Night Lights but was a no show at Miami’s Paradise Camp. This brought up questions about his commitment to the Canes. He has a great relationship with the Florida coaching staff but won’t consider flipping until the season starts. Frierson is the 23rd ranked cornerback in the country.
Four-star DT Nesta Silvera (Miami commit)
The Florida-Miami recruiting rivalry has intensified since last signing day when Florida signed most of Miami’s top remaining targets. The Gators might be able to pull it off again with one of their top commits. Nesta Silvera is a four-star defensive tackle out of American Heritage High School. As said earlier, the Gators have had a lot of success landing recruits from American Heritage. Silvera could be the next American Heritage Patriot to join the Florida Gators and join a few of his old teammates.
The Under Armour All-American defensive tackle took an unofficial visit to Florida with Florida target Anthony Schwartz. Freshman corner and Heritage alumni Marco Wilson is actively recruiting the Miami commit. Flipping Silvera is going to be tough and it might not happen, but McElwain and his staff will recruit him hard until Silvera shuts down his recruitment.
Four-star WR Mark Pope (Miami commit)
When Matt Corral made his pledge to the Gators, four-star wide receiver JaMarr Chase stunned a lot of people and committed to Florida. Could another wide receiver make his way to the University of Florida? Four-star wide receiver and Miami commit Mark Pope could be the next elite playmaker that commits to the Gators. Corral is publicly recruiting the Miami Southridge product on Twitter posting videos of the two of them playing with each other.
While Pope was intrigued, it’s going to take more than just a video to flip Miami’s top wide receiver commit. Pope is the 28th ranked recruit and the seventh ranked wide receiver in the nation. That could really boost Florida’s recruiting class into the top five. The Florida passing game could become lethal with Pope in the Orange and Blue.
Flipping the Script
Getting a top commit is always great for a coaching staff. But getting a top player to change his commitment is a two-fold win. You get his commitment, but you also wreak havoc on an opponent’s plans.
With Florida red hot on the recruiting trail, can they build on their momentum and cause a few of these players to flip their commitments?
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