The Rich Get Richer

#126
#126
Gators get DE commit for 2009

By Edward Aschoff
Special to The Sun
Published: Monday, November 17, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 12:43 a.m.
Florida added yet another verbal commitment to its 2009 recruiting class Monday night.
Broomfield, Co., Legacy defensive end chose the Gators over the University of Colorado to become the Gators 13th commitment this season.
Kasa is a four-star prospect and a member of the Rivals.com Rivals250. He is also the fifth-best strongside defensive end prospect according to Rivals.
Calls placed to Kasa were not immediately returned, but when asked in a text message if he did commit to the Gators, he replied “Yes that is true.”
The 6-foot-7, 245-pound lineman becomes the ninth four-star recruit the Gators have gotten a verbal commitment from in the 2009 class and he’s the third defensive lineman the Gators’ class.
During his sophomore and junior seasons, Kasa recorded a total of 19 sacks.
 
#127
#127
He will get the bends when his mountain air giganticized lungs hit that low altitude in Gainesville.

Oh, and Scout has Kasa at 5*.
 
#128
#128
Florida flexed its national recruiting muscles when it landed a commitment this week from four-star defensive end Nick Kasa of Broomfield (Colo.) Legacy. He picked the Gators over Oregon and Colorado, but he also had offers from Kansas State, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, California and others.
"The game-day atmosphere and the game in general at Florida was amazing," Kasa said after he took his official visit to Gainesville on Oct. 10 for the game against LSU. "It was better than the NFL games I've been to. It is ridiculous how into they get. You have all these people tailgating. Everywhere you look, there are drunk people and people cheering for both teams. It is pretty sick how much they get into it.
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Nick Kasa was impressed with the Gators on his visit to Gainesville."The style of play – it was a lot faster and quicker. You can't really see it on TV, but it's pretty amazing."
Florida is one of only a few teams in the nation that can go outside of its traditional recruiting base and pull in a national recruit like this. While the Gators' base always will be Florida and the Southeast, Florida still is able to lure in some of the best players in the nation regardless of their location.
Of the Gators' 13 commitments, six are from out of state and all are from players who were recruited nationally.
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read the last sentence
 
#131
#131
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Look at this kid, he's a monster............
D.J. Fluker, Bama's first commitment in the class of 2009 (will sign in Feb). He is 6' 6", 330 lbs and wears size 22 shoes. He will play in the NFL one day. He plays for Foley (AL) High School and was a teammate of Julio Jones.
Next year, Bama will be able to play with four linebackers and five defensive back and just two down linemen, D.J. and Mount Cody . It will take a running back four seconds to get around the end, plenty of time for our defensive backs to come up and make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.

 
#132
#132
Fluker has played both sides of the ball this year and will play on the OT at bama. Rivals added a 5th star, and have him as the #2 OT in the nation.

I believe Cody should stay another year at Bama. He has gotten significantly better as he lost weight and should work on conditioning before going to the NFL. Additionally, he could learn alot from Saban. But I really don't see too many other jr and sr DTs who are better. If he can go top 10, he would have to go.

Bama is stacked at LB for the next 4 years. Rolando McClain is the best in the SEC IMO, and the 08 and 09 class is stacked with 5 stars. I hate to say it, but if I was a top DB, bama is where I would go hands down. Not only is Saban going to make you a pro, but you would be playing with one of the best future secondaries in the nation. Thats why I don't expect to get Myles or Gordon unless our newcoach is awesome.
 
#133
#133
SIAP: Jelani Jenkins on his Florida visit...(link)Reply Gators set bar high for Jenkins

Mike Farrell
Rivals.com Football Recruiting

Olney (Md.) Good Counsel linebacker Jelani Jenkins took his first official visit to Florida this past weekend. After seeing more than 20 different schools on an unofficial basis, how did the first official trip go for the five-star linebacker?


Jenkins loved his official visit to Florida.
"We had a great visit," said Maurice Jenkins, Jelani's father. "Jelani was hosted by Joe Haden and we've known him and his family for a long time and everything about the visit was nice."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, who is ranked as the No. 3 player overall in the nation, saw everything he needed to see on the trip.

"We really liked the area, it reminded me of Charleston, S.C. where I grew up," said Maurice. "The team will compete for years to come. I think the average player is a sophomore there and they're playing for a national title. They have a Heisman winner playing there and you could see when we watched practice how fast and talented the team is."

Jenkins was also impressed with the coaching staff.

"Charlie Strong is a good guy and he and Jelani related to each other well. He liked coach Strong quite a bit," said Maurice. "And Urban Meyer is impressive and the way he relates to his staff from the coaches down to the people helping out to host a recruit, he treats people with respect and they respect him. There were some interactions we saw where you just couldn't fake that, it was genuine. He relates to people very well."

And the facitilies really impressed Jelani and his dad.

"It is state of the art," Maurice said. "We've been to so many schools and that new building of theirs is about as impressive as anything we've seen. And from the video equipment to the sports medicine area, everything is top notch. That kind of dedication to the program makes players better and the better the players, the better the competition. You can't help but get better there."

Finally, Jenkins fit in well with the players on the team.

"Jelani got to meet a bunch of the younger players and he had a great time," said Maurice. "I can tell when he feels comfortable and when he doesn't and he was fitting in well. The only regret is that Tim Tebow wasn't there because he was at the Heisman presentation. We would have loved to meet him because we've heard what a great role model he is and how he has the same intensity on the field as Jelani but the same values off the field. We heard how competitive he is."
 
#134
#134
When the updated Rivals.com player rankings were released for December, LSU catapulted up the charts to No. 1. The Tigers have 20 commitments – including newly minted five-star prospect Janzen Jackson – and narrowly lead USC in points, 2,343-2,336. But it's also a narrow lead LSU might not give up because plenty of high-profile players are still on the Tigers' board.
The biggest name is the nation's No. 1 player, wide receiver Rueben Randle of Bastrop (La.) High. Randle told Rivals.com on Monday that he's going to take official visits to LSU and Alabama; he already has visited Oklahoma.
He isn't willing to tip his hand, but all signs point to a Tigers-Crimson Tide battle. The school that misses out on Randle likely will sign four-star receiver Kendall Kelly, of Gadsden (Ala.) Gadsden City. Kelly is the nation's No. 120 player.
Another player who surely will help keep the Tigers near the top is Aldine (Texas) Eisenhower five-star safety Craig Loston. He has been widely rumored to be a silent LSU pledge.
The Tigers also appear to be in solid shape with five-star athlete Andre Debose of Sanford (Fla.) Seminole, and the Tigers also are holding out hope they can somehow steal five-star offensive lineman D.J. Fluker and five-star running back Trent Richardson away from the Tide.
Throw in four-star linebacker Barkevious Mingo from West Monroe (La.) High - and maybe four-star top 100 linebacker Jarvis Jones - and this Tigers class could rank as one of the best in recent history. For that to happen, all the dominoes would have to fall right. Still, even if they don't, it's going to be tough to stop Les Miles from having the nation's best class on National Signing Day.
 
#135
#135
The Georgia Bulldogs picked up a big-time commitment Sunday night when five-star cornerback Branden Smith chose the Bulldogs over a host of other top programs. "All four of the schools are good schools, good coaching staffs and good academics," said Smith, who is rated the fastest and best athlete in Rivals.com's cornerback rankings, during ESPN's live broadcast of the Under Armour All-America Game. He then choose Georgia.
 
#138
#138
Montez Robinson of Avon, Ind., ranked No. 32 among the nation's defensive end prospects, has picked the Bulldogs over Alabama.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Robinson, who lived in Alabama before moving to Indiana, had decommitted from Auburn following the coaching change. He also holds offers from Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville and Cincinnati.

He told ESPN affiliate Web site TotalUGA.com, "The coaches are phenomenal. I feel real comfortable with them and the players. I didn't know where I was going to go until I took my official visit for the Georgia Tech game. After that, I knew that's where I wanted to go."

Robinson continued, "I'm excited to join the Bulldog family and they can expect greatness from me. I want to help them win a championship and make the fans and coaches proud of me."
 
#140
#140
Sure, the losses of Valdosta, Ga., Lowndes cornerback Greg Reid, Deland running back Mike Gillislee and Broomfield, Co., Legacy defensive end Nick Kasa hurt, but there is still just under a month left of recruiting and winning it all can only help this team in the coming weeks.

UF now has two national titles in three years. That's tops in the country, and with quarterback Tim Tebow coming back, this team is on course to compete for yet another title next season. Who wouldn't want to live in Gainesville for the next three or four years?

There aren't that many spots left in this class, but UF coach Urban Meyer said Friday after BCS championship that it's all about quality, not quantity, as Signing Day approaches.

"We only have four left, five left, so we expect to close this thing," Meyer said.

"We just want to make sure it's the right four because usually recruiting classes are made with your last four or five that you pick up. That last week has been really good for Florida and recruiting."

And despite the three deflections, it was a good week for the Gators in recruiting. The loss of Reid is the biggest hit, but you have to give the kid credit for wanting to look around before he makes a major career decision. It's no given, but I see Reid ending up in this class.

Gillislee and Kasa are probably out for good. While both are good prospects, neither has the value of Reid. Kasa staying close to home is no surprise because the depth chart at defensive end was not in his favor and for some reason, his relationship with UF kind of slowed during the fall. Depth is pretty much the same factor for Gillislee, who even texted me the night of the championship - the night of his apparent de-commitment - that he was all Gator. Man, these kids sure do love to play the game.

Honestly though, UF is on such a roll that it's hard for kids not to think about the orange-and-blue when deciding on a future home.

"You've got to be out of your mind - I'm not sure if I'm legally - you're out of your freaking mind if you don't play for the Gators," Meyer said shortly after the BCS win over Oklahoma. "I'd go."

Out of your mind? Yes. I'm sorry, but yes. UF has the academics, the powerhouse image and the social scene.

"I don't think anyone wouldn't want to go to Florida right now," New London, Conn., New London quarterback Jordan Reed, and current UF commit, said.

These next two weeks will be huge for UF, as some of the top talent is expected on campus. The Jan. 16 weekend lineup currently stands at Reid, Gadsden, Ala., Gadsden City cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama running back pledge Trent Richardson, of Pensacola, Tampa Plant tight end Orson Charles, Irvington, N.J., athlete Joshua Evans, Gaithersburg, Md., Quince Orchard defensive back Travis Hawkins, Columbus, Ga., Carver linebacker Jarvis Jones, Miami, Gulliver Prep linebacker/safety Frankie Telfort and Fort Pierce, Westwood defensive tackle Luther Robinson.

Sit back Gator fans; the next two weeks will be chock-full of drama.
 
#141
#141
Having been to Gainesville more than once, I can honestly say that I would not want to live there 3-5 years no matter how good the football team is.
 
#145
#145
Quiet on the recruiting front
Usually following a big visit weekend in Gainesville, lots of things start popping for the Gators. Not this time. After entertaining nine prospects in the biggest recruiting weekend of the year, there has been little news - and no commitments for Florida.

In a way, this was expected because the Gators already have 16 commitments and now are targeting some of the nation's elite prospects, most of whom are waiting until signing day (or later) to make their decision known.

Of the nine who visited last weekend, one (DeLand athlete Mike Gillislee) is already committed to UF. Of the other eight, the Gators look to be in good shape with linebacker Jarvis Jones, but he could be the only other commitment to eventually come from the weekend.

Tight end Orson Charles is telling everyone he had a great visit, but UF has trailed with him throughout the process. Now that Miami is trying to move back in on him, it appears doubtful he'll fall Florida's way. He could end up at Georgia, where high school teammate Aaron Murray is already enrolled.

Dre Kirkpatrick, the stud corner from Alabama, is seriously considering Florida, but even he admits it's hard for a top prospect in Alabama to leave the state. Many will be shocked if he doesn't sign with the Tide.

Greg Reid, the long-time Gator fan and the first commitment for the class of 2009, looks like he's completely cooled on the Gators after de-commiting a few weeks ago. Reid's visit was so-so, and the Gators can't offer him the promise of early playing time with young starting cornerbacks Joe Haden and Janoris Jenkins solidly entrenched. Reid wants to play right away, and he doesn't see that happening in Gainesville. Georgia could be the benefactor here.

Pensacola Escambia tailback Trent Richardson, a five-star recruit, seems enamored with the Gators following his visit, but he's been committed to Alabama for months and that's the school he's expected to sign with on Feb. 4.

Luther Robinson, the defensive tackle from Fort Pierce, remains a solid Miami commitment after his visit, and that likely won't change.

Jawanza Starling, the star safety from Tallahassee, is a longtime UF fan, and the Gators still have a chance, but he is favoring Florida State and Georgia at the moment, so this is a reach.

Frankie Telfort, the undersized linebacker out of Miami Gulliver Prep, is said to be down to UF and Southern Cal, but he's visiting Ohio State this weekend, so this one is far from settled.

Overall, it's been a quiet week, and it could be more of the same next week.

Only five prospects are expected in this weekend, and two of them (wide receiver Andre Debose and defensive tackle Gary Brown) are UF commitments. As for the other three (Memphis wide receiver Marlon Brown, Irvington, N.J., athlete Joshua Evans and cornerback Adrian Witt), the Gators' best chance appears to be Evans.
 
#147
#147
The University of Alabama capped off another official visit weekend in Tuscaloosa with the Tide staff hosting numerous players from across the region. Several recruits on the Tide's wish list were visiting other schools including a few commitments.

<!-- GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> <!-- /GRAY BOX ARTICLE CONTENT--> Ruben Randle, Scout.com five-star wide receiver from Bastrop High School in Louisiana was hosted this weekend in Tuscaloosa by wide receiver Julio Jones. Randle will take an official visit to LSU this weekend.
Jonathan Atchison, three-star strongside linebacker from Douglass High School in Atlanta was one of the Tide's commitments in Tuscaloosa.
Atchison had heard the news last week about coach Lance Thompson leaving for Knoxville. Atchison had switched his commitment from Auburn to Alabama after Tommy Tuberville departed his coaching position.
'At first I was surprised because it was spur of the moment,' Atchison said. 'I wasn't expecting coach Thompson to leave.
'From past experiences I know coaches leave. You have to look at the school not the coach. You never know what is going to happen.'
Atchison remains solid with his committed to Alabama and will not visit any other schools.
Scout.com five-star middle linebacker Nico Johnson from Andalusia High School visited as well. Johnson enjoyed his time in Tuscaloosa and not rethinking his decision with Thompson bolting for Tennessee.
'When I committed to Alabama I've always been 100-percent. That's not going to change,' Johnson said. 'Even if coach Saban left I would still go to Alabama.'
Kellen Williams, Scout.com three-star offensive tackle from Brookwood High School in Snellville, Ga., is another Tide commitment who took his visit to Tuscaloosa.
'The best part about the trip was finally getting to know the coaches a lot better,' Williams said. 'They are always on a minute-to-minute schedule during the season. You have a lot of conversations with them during the official visit. It just solidified everything. I know I am going to get great coaches and great opportunities at Alabama.'
Alabama also hosted other Tide commitments including AJ McCarron, Scout.com four-star quarterback from St. Paul's Episcopal School in Mobile, Darrington Sentimore, four-star defensive tackle from Destrehan High School in Louisiana, Darius McKeller, three-star offensive tackle from Jonesboro High School in Georgia and Anthony Steen, three-star offensive guard from Lee Academy in Clarksdale, Miss.
Petey Smith, three-star middle linebacker from Armwood High School in Seffner, Fla., took an official visit to Alabama. His brother, Eric Smith, is a running back for Auburn.
Trent Richardson, Scout.com five-star running back from Escambia High School in Pensacola , Fla., took an official visit to Florida. Richardson was impressed with the Gators, but remains committed to Alabama. He will travel this weekend to LSU.
Dre Kirkpatrick, Scout.com five-star cornerback from Gadsden City High School, joined Richardson in Gainesville as an official visitor. Kirkpatrick will take an official visit to Texas this weekend.
Alabama commitment Kevin Norwood, Scout.com three-star wide receiver from D'Iberville High School in Biloxi, Miss., took an official visit to Southern Miss. Pat Patterson, Scout.com five-star wide receiver from Noxubee County High School in Macon, Miss., visited the Golden Eagles as well. Patterson visited Alabama last weekend and will visit Ole Miss on Friday and Tennessee on Jan. 30.
Brandon Moore, Scout.com four-star offensive tackle from Carver High School in Montgomery, took an official visit to Auburn. He had trimmed his list to Alabama and Florida before the visit to The Plains.
'Auburn is nice, but it's just not the place for me,' Moore said.
Moore was expected to announce his college choice Jan. 22, but will delay the decision. He will visit Alabama this weekend.
Several other Alabama prospects were visiting other schools this weekend as well. Kendall Kelly, Scout.com four-star wide receiver from Gadsden City High School, took an official visit to Clemson. He will visit LSU this weekend.
One of Alabama's targets, Chad Bumphis, Scout.com four-star wide receiver from Tupelo High School, Miss., committed to Mississippi State.
 
#149
#149
Five-star linebacker Jelani Jenkins of Olney (Md.) Our Lady of Good Counsel has narrowed his list to five apparent finalists &#8211; Florida, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC and Stanford &#8211; but sources continue to say it's between the Gators and Nittany Lions, with Florida in the lead. Florida coach Urban Meyer and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong are scheduled for an in-home visit with Jenkins and his family on Wednesday night. Jenkins won't announce his decision until National Signing Day, but his in-home visit with Florida could end up sealing the deal for the Gators.
 
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