Rivers' son pledges to Billy D.

Austin Rivers, the 15-year-old son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, has committed to the Florida Gator basketball team, the Orlando Sentinel reported today. Rivers, a 6-foot-3 rising sophomore guard at Winter Park High, averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists a game for a 28-2 team as a freshman. According to the Sentinel, he is the youngest player ever to commit to Florida coach Billy Donovan.

Austin Rivers' older sister (Callie) plays volleyball for the Gators.

Doc Rivers (shown left, photo by Associated Press) coached the Orlando Magic from 1999-2004. He departed for Boston in 2004, but his children have continued to call Central Florida home.

Austin Rivers is thought to be among the top-rated players in the Class of 2011.

"He really knows how to play," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer told Gatorbait.net. "He's got a maturity level to his game that you don't see in a lot of college players. He's got the size and the skill to make all the plays and he's a true combo guard that excels at both the point and shooting guard positions. He's one of the best guards, if not the best guard, that I've seen in the 2011 class."

SEC schools among nation's best in recruiting

At least six SEC schools finished among the Top 25 in the final analysis of each of the three major recruiting services, with Nick Saban's Alabama team finishing the best among the league's teams.

Okay, let's face it, the rankings are subjective. But really, the only people who completely dismiss them are those who didn't fare well. Even Urban Meyer admitted he can't help but check the rankings during recruiting season.

The SEC had six teams finish in the Top 25 with Scout.com and ESPN.com, while seven finished among the Rivals.com list.

Here is a breakdown:

Rivals.com

1. Alabama; 3. Florida; 6. Georgia; 11. LSU; 20. Auburn; 22. South Carolina; 24. Mississippi

Scout.com

1. Alabama; 4. Georgia; 6. LSU; 12. Florida; 19. Auburn.

ESPN.com

3. Alabama; 4. Florida; 5. Georgia; LSU 11; Arkansas 18, Auburn 19.

Meyer happy despite drop in rankings

So much for that No. 1 recruiting ranking.

With the loss of two key former oral commitments, Florida dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the Rivals.com national rankings behind Notre Dame and Alabama. The Gators fell to No. 12 on the Scout.com list.

Early Wednesday, Lakeland offensive lineman Ricky Barnum changed his mind and decided to sign with Michigan. And Melbourne Palm Bay defensive back Ramon Buchanon is expected to announce withing the next 30 minutes that he's going to Miami. Both were 4-star commitments according to Rivals.com.

Meyer said although he glances at the rankings, he's not all that concerned with them overall and that he's happy with the class the Gators put together.

"We closed really well,'' he said. "Not that I'm into rankings but every time I visited a site like Rivals.com and see where we were ranked I was concerned myself.  We were not ranked very high (in early January) and then seven recruits later and you are.  I think at one point we were No. 1.  I saw that some teams are signing like 35 players and we have 22.  I am not concerned about rankings, but a part of me likes to check.  When you start adding people like Omar Hunter and T.J. Lawrence, who came in late, it became a good day for us.''

2008 recruiting class complete

Here's a list of Florida's 2008 recruiting class:

POSITION     NAME                                 HOMETOWN/SCHOOL
CB              Adrian Bushell                      DeSoto, Texas 
RB             Jeffrey Demps                      Groveland
DB             Dee Finley                            Auburn, AL
LB             William Green                      Hoover, AL
WR           Frankie Hammond, Jr.          Hallandale
S              Will Hill                                Jersey City, NJ
WR           Omarius Hines                     Corsicana, Texas
DT            Omar Hunter                       Buford, Ga.
DB            Janoris Jenkins                    Pahokee
DT            Byran Jones                         Jacksonville
WR           T.J. Lawrence                      Lakeland Kathleen

LB             Lerentee McCray                 Dunnellon
LB             T.J. Pridemore                   Buford, Ga.
OL            Sam Robey                          Louisville, KY.
OL            David Young                        Edwardsville, Ill.

Already enrolled

LB            Brendan Beal                      Bethlehem, Pa.
DB           Jeremy Brown                     Orlando
DT            Troy Epps                          Coffeyville (Kansas) CC
WR           Carl Moore                         Sierra, Calif.
DE            Earl Okine                          Gainesville
OL            Matt Patchan                      Seffner
K              Caleb Sturgis                      St. Augustine

Four signed letters are in

Four members of the Gators' coveted 2008 recruiting class have sent in their signed letters of intent:

CB Janoris Jenkins, Pahokee High

CB Jeremy Brown, Boone High School

K Caleb Sturgis, St. Augustine High

DE Earl Okine, Gainesville High

Florida still in running for several top name recruits

Although the Gators have 21 oral commitments heading into today's signing day, several big-name players are set to make announcements today, with Florida still in the mix.

Among those is Ramon Buchanan, the 5-star Melbourne Palm Bay athlete who committed to Miami, then decommitted and gave his word to the Gators. But Buchanan took a visit to Miami this past weekend and is now torn. He will choose between the Gators and Miami today at 1 p.m.

Here is a list of other top names to watch:

Lakeland Kathleen WR T.J. Lawrence is still considering  UF, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Michigan. He'll announce at 12:30 p.m.

WR Julio Jones of Foley, Ala.. The nation's No. 1 receiver will choose between UF, Alabama, Florida State and Oklahoma at 12:30 p.m.

CB T.J. Bryant of Tallahassee Lincoln is considering UF, Alabama, LSU and Southern Cal.

Miami Booker T. Washington CB Brandon Harris is considering Florida, Miami and Ohio State.

RB Milton Knox of Lake Balboa (Calif) Birmingham is still considering UCLA, Notre Dame and Florida and will announce at 7 p.m.

NCAA finds no violations in recruitment of Moore

GAINESVILLE - After reviewing information gathered during an in-house investigation, the NCAA has not found any violations at the University of Florida in the recruitment of  junior college transfer receiver Carl Moore and gymnast Maranda Smith.

Florida athletic officials met with NCAA representatives Tuesday to review an in-house inquiry that began last month after potential minor allegations about telephone calls during the recruitment of Moore were brought to the university's attention.

"Allegations about impermissible telephone calls by the football staff have been reviewed by the NCAA and University, and at this time, the information does not indicate any violations of NCAA rules occurred,'' said Steve McClain, UF's assistant athletics director for sports information.

Among the issues under review was whether Meyer committed an NCAA violation by telephoning Smith, Moore's girlfriend, during his recruitment, whether the Gator coaching staff contacted Moore in excess of the time allowed by the NCAA, and whether Meyer violated rules when he allowed quarterback Tim Tebow to talk to Moore following the Dec. 7 Heisman ceremony.

Signing Day information

With intense interest in national signing day, the University of Florida has set up several ways fans can find information on Wednesday.

The general public may obtain the updated list of Florida signees to a National Letter of Intent after 2 p.m. by calling 1 800 344 2867 (toll-free) in the state of Florida or (352) 375-4683 outside the state.
The caller must wait for the telephone's automated system to answer. When answered, callers with a touch tone phone should press six (6) to get the Signing Day Hotline. Callers with a rotary phone can only access the Signing Day Hot¬line during normal working day hours (8 a.m.- 5 p.m.) and must wait for a switchboard operator to answer and then ask for the Signing Day Hotline.

Fans can also watch live, streaming video of coach Urban Meyer's press conference at 2 p.m. on GatorVision Online. To watch, fans must be a subscriber to GatorVision Online and can click on the link on www.gatorzone.com to sign up. GatorVision Online will also have on-demand video highlights of early Florida enrollees.

You can also check this website for updated information as it becomes available on Wednesday.

Gators pick up another four-star commitment

After losing one of its defensive prospects to academic casualty on Monday, the Gators rebounded Tuesday with another highly-touted player.

William Green, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end out of Hoover (Ala.) Spain, orally commited to the Gators Tuesday evening.

Green chose the Gators despite a late push by Alabama. He had 118 tackles and six sacks as a senior. He expected to take some ribbing from classmates today, since Hoover is in the heart of Alabama country.

"I'll probably get cussed out a little bit,'' he told rivals.com. "I have random people calling me sometimes and cussing me out (for leaning to Florida)."

Gators lose 4-star commitment to academics

Florida will be without one of its star defensive commitments when national signing day takes place next week.

Savannah four-star defensive back Chaz Sutton told Rivals.com the Gators have rescinded his scholarshp offer because he will not meet Florida's academic requirments.

"There's some different stories running around,'' Sutton told Mark Wheeler, Gatorbait.net editor. "I talked to coach (Greg) Mattison about it. It was kind of crazy. I don't know what is really going to happen yet. What happened at Florida is I was on my visit and on Sunday before I left they said the Admissions people said I wouldn't have a good enough test score to go with my grades until June.

"When I got back to Savannah there was all kinds of commotion. They said they wouldn't have a scholarship for me to sign. They said I should try to go to Hargrave or something."

Florida will not allow a player to sign a letter of intent if he isn't projected to meet the school's academic requirements. Sutton said his grades are close, it's his test score that needs improvement.

He has a visit to South Carolina scheduled this weekend.

Florida takes over No. 1 ranking by Rivals.com

With its signing of Omar Hunter on Tuesday, the No. 2 defensive tackle in the nation, Florida has moved into the No. 1 spot in the national rankings, according to Rivals.com.

The Gators currently have 2,691 points, 11 more than No. 2 Notre Dame and 212 more than No. 3 Alabama.

Of the Gators'  22 commitments, four are 5-star rated, 13 are 4-star athletes and three are ranked with 3 stars. Florida began the month of January ranked No. 16 by Rivals.com, but a surge in top-notch recruits over the past three weeks catapulted the Gators to No. 1.

"It seems like it's all coming together late, but these relationships are built after months, and months, and months (of recruiting),'' said Mark Wheeler, editor of Gatorbait.net. "Recruiting is about relationships and these coaches have been forming relationships with these young ment over months.''

Gators land nation's No. 2 defensive tackle

Florida's big-time January push in the recruiting wars moved into a whole different stratosphere Tuesday afternoon when the Gators landed arguably their biggest recruit of 2008.

Omar Hunter, considered by several recruiting services to be the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle has orally committed to the Gators.

Hunter, 6-foot-2, 297 pounds, is from Buford, Ga. He is No. 17 on the Rivals.com Top 100 list. He decommitted from his previous oral commitment to Notre Dame.

"He's phenomenal,'' said GatorBait.com editor Mark Wheeler. "He moves Florida's class from No. 3 to No. 2, and potentially No. 1 in the nation.''

National signing day is Feb. 6.

Florida picks up four-star Melbourne linebacker

Ramon "Cookie' Buchanan, a 6-foot linebacker out of Melbourne Palm Bay, orally commited to the Gators on Saturday evening, he said Sunday.

Buchanan played linebacker at Palm Bay, registering 100 tackles in his senior season, including 70 solo. He has the ability to play wide receiver and safety as well.

Buchanan orginailly committed to Miami last summer, but started to have a change of heart in the past few weeks. He was among a handful of big-time recruits who visited the UF campus this past weekend, a trip that included an overtime basketball game against Kentucky at the O'Connell Center.

Buchanan joins a list of former standout players from Palm Bay High, including center Mike Degory, defensive lineman Joe Cohen and safety Reggie Nelson.

Gators pick up 4-star Texas athlete

DeSoto, Texas receiver/defensive back Adrian Bushell orally committed to the Gators on Thursday.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Bushell played receiver, tailback and cornerback at DeSoto High School. He runs a 4.4 forty, rushed for 239 yards (six touchdowns) and caught nine passes for 107 yards in his senior season. He also had 25 tackles and five interceptions.

Before moving to Texas, he plaed at Miami Pace High and was expected to make an official visit to Miami this weekend before committing to the Gators.

Dunnellon linebacker chooses Florida

Dunnellon linebacker Lerentee McCray orally committed to Florida Wednesday afternoon, bringing to 20 the number of oral recruits for the Gators.

McCray chose Florida over in-state rival Florida State in a live broadcast on ESPNU. He originally committed to Miami, but later changed his mind.

"It felt like home every time I went up there,'' McCray said of Gainesville.

McCray took an official visit to Florida State last weekend, but said he never wavered on his decision.

"It just felt like (Florida) was where I needed to be,'' McCray said Wednesday. He is listed as a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com.

The Gators now have 10 defensive oral commitments.

Speedy Demps latest UF recruiting get

Since his first day at Florida, football coach Urban Meyer has made the recruitment of speed a top priority.

On Wednesday, he might have landed his fastest player yet.

Jeffrey Demps, an all-purpose running back from Groveland South Lake, has committed to the Gators over Tennessee and Kentucky according to a report posted at Gatorcountry.com. Demps (5-foot-8, 162 pounds) arguably is the state’s fastest recruit, and is considered among the country’s fastest.

Demps won the Florida Class 2A state championship in the 100-meter dash last spring with a time of 10.37 seconds. Rivals.com ranks him as the state’s 50th best prospect.

Demps is UF’s 17th commitment.

Trattou, Finch Are In

  GAINESVILLE - The defense stepped up first.

  Florida kicked off national signing day with two letters of intent early Wednesday morning from two of its top defensive commitments.

  Defensive end Justin Trattou and safety Jerimy Finch were the first two to make their intentions official today.

  Finch was a huge pick up for the Gators Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound safety out of Indianapolis Warren Central is the 37th-rated prospect by rivals.com.

VanDyke Back With the Hurricanes

GAINESVILLE - Pace defensive back Demarcus VanDyke is wavering again, and most likely is signing with Miami on Wednesday, not the Gators.

VandDyke orally committed to the Hurricanes last June, but later changed his commitment to Florida after former Miami coach Larry Coker was fired.

But on Tuesday, his coach told CaneSport.com that VanDyke is expected to sign with Miami and he has notified the Gator coaches. He finished his senior season with 56 tackles, seven interceptions and also cause 21 passes for 417 yards.

Florida is still awaiting word from Moses Jenkins of Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson, who took an official visit to UF two weeks ago, but hasn't said where he will sign.

Ponte Vedra Nease cornerback Justin Grant may also be wavering on his oral commitment to the Gators.

National signing day is tomorrow, Feb. 7.

Keep Up To Date on National Signing Day

  GAINESVILLE - Fans wanting to keep up-to-date on recruiting on signing day will have several options to do so.

  Fans can watch live, streaming video of Urban Meyer's press conference at 5 p.m., Wednesday, on GatorVision online. to watch, fans must be a subscriber to GatorVision online and can sign up by going to www.gatorzone.com. There will also be on-deman video highlights of early Florida enrollees.

  The general public may also obtain the updated list of Florida signees who have signed their letters of intent by calling 1-800-344-2867 (toll-free) or (352) 375-4683, then wait for the automated system and press 6 to get the signing day hotline.

 

Parade All-America Linebacker Commits

GAINESVILLE - He had planned to wait until national signing day to make his annoucement, but in the end linebacker Brandon Hicks couldn't wait until Wednesday.

  The four-star prospect from Jacksonville Forest announced live on local televison Sunday night that he will sign with Florida on Wednesday. He chose the Gators over Miami.

  Hicks, 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, had nine sacks and intercepted three passes his senior year for Forrest.

  On Sunday, he was named among six Parade All-America linebackers.

  While Florida scored big with Hicks, they lost out on Michigan receiver Ronald Johnson. The nation's No. 2 cornerback chose USC.

  Also, Panama Cith receiver/cornerback Bert Reed, who previously orally committed to the Gators, is expected to change his mind and sign with Florida State.

Lakeland's Brown chooses Florida

GAINESVILLE - The pipeline from Lakeland High School to Gainesville just keeps producing.

On Thursday, Lakeland defensive tackle John Brown orally committed to the Gators, the seventh player from Lakeland High to commit to Urban Meyer. He chose Florida over Alabama.

The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder is the rated No. 15 in the state of Florida, and the No. 10 rated defensive tackle in the nation by GatorBait.net.

He will join Lakeland teammates Paul Wilson, Ahmad Black, Steve Wilks, Chris Rainey, Maurkice Pouncey and Micheal Pouncey who are currently committed or enrolled at Florida.

Meanwhile, five-star receiver Terrance Toliver of Hemptstead, Texas, is still deciding between Florida and LSU.

With less than a week before national signing day (Feb. 7), Florida has what many experts believe is the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.

Major Wright chooses Florida

GAINESVILLE - Major Wright, the No. 2 safety in the nation according to Rivals.com, orally committed to the Gators on Tuesday.

Wright, a 6-foot, 200 pounder from Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, chose Florida over Ohio State, Miami and Notre Dame.

"It just came down to a gut check,'' Wright told rivals.com. "I went with my gut feeling.''

No. 1 safety considering UF

GAINESVILLE - Jeremy Finch, the No. 1 safety in the nation, said Monday night Florida is among the two schools he's considering.

Finch, a 6-foot-1, 203 pound safety from Indianapolis (Ind.) Warren Central, orally committed to Indiana earlier this month, but took an official visit to Florida this past weekend.

He told GatorBait.net he rates his visit to Gainesville as a "10".

"I'll probably announce my decision a couple days before signing day,'' he said. "I'd say it's 50/50 right now, but I am still committed to Indiana.''

Sidell Corley Eliminates UF

   GAINESVILLE - Highly-touted defensive end Sidell Corley has decided not to come to Florida afterall, his father said Sunday night.

  Corley orally committed to Florida very early in the process, but has been saying for the past few weeks that he would continue visiting other schools and debating his options. His father told BamaOnline.com Sunday night his son has eliminated Florida.

   "Sidell told Florida today that we are de-committing and cancelling his visit,'' Sidell Corley, Sr. said. "They are out. Sidell talked to Coach (Charlie) Strong and Coach (Urban) Meyer and they've tried to talk us out of it but Sidell's mind is made up. They've decided to take more defensive ends than we were led to believe so we've decided to go in another direction. There are no hard feelings but we felt it was best to just move on.''

  Corley is 6-foot-4, 260 pounds and ranked by rivals.com as No. 4 at his position.

Notre Dame Commitment Switches to UF

  GAINESVILLE - Justin Trattou, a 6-foot-4, 230 pound defensive end from Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco, orally committed to coach Urban Meyer late Thursday night.

  Trattou had prevsiously given an oral commitment to Notre Dame. He played in the U.S. Army All American game with James Wilson, who has orally committed to the Gators, and UF early enrollee Aaron Hernandez.

  "I committed to Florida,'' Trattou told rivals.com. "Coach Weis was in (Wednesday) and coach Meyer was in (Thursday) and I just feel I fit better in Florida's system. To see what those defensive ends can do and how they play at Florida is more of my style of play."

  He told rivals.com the decision to choose the Gators over Notre Dame was difficult.

 

Gators pick up top-notch recruit

GAINESVILLE -  James Wilson, one of the most highly-touted offensive linemen in the nation, decommitted from Southern Cal late Wednesday night and orally commited to Florida.

Wilson, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive guard from St. Augustine Nease, is the No. 2-ranked offensive guard in the nation by scout.com, and a five-star prospect.

He told Gator Country Wednesday night that although he orally committed to USC, he had second thoughts after he spent a week in San Antonio participating in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Wilson's decision means he will be reunited with former teammate Tim Tebow.