Florida Gators

One of the standouts for the Rising Seniors East offense on the first day of practice was tight end Milan Richard (Savannah, Ga./Calvary Day). The 6-3, 230-pound junior did not get a lot of passes thrown his way this season, but was still able to catch 22 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns, and he enjoyed the added repetitions at Grady Stadium on Friday.

“I think I picked up the terminology well, but my route-running needs to sharpen up,” Richard said. “I am able to stretch the field as a big receiver, but I need to do better in a three-point stance because I am used to working out of a spread.”

The ESPN Watch List selection has double-digit offers, but he said two schools are standing out in his mind.

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After decommitting from Colorado in October, three-star tight end Mitchell Parsons (Parker, Colo./Chaparral) has been all about finding a college home that fits him. Whether that decision comes sooner or later is still the question.

Parsons said that while he is still open with his process, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss are current front-runners. Both schools have offered the 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end, in addition to Arizona State, Cal and Northern Colorado.

“I want it over with badly,” Parsons said of the process, "but I’m going to make an educated choice. It’s stressful, for sure, but I mean, I’m glad I opened it up.”

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ESPN 150 defensive end Elijah Daniel (Avon, Ind./Avon) spent the last two weekends in Mississippi visiting each of the state's BCS programs. This weekend it was Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss's turn to host Daniel, a former Clemson commitment.

"It was good," said Daniel, who returned home from his visit Sunday. "It was pretty cool, really cool, like the walk of champions to being inside the stadium."

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Despite a Twitter posting to the contrary this weekend, ESPN 150 defensive end Elijah Daniel (Avon, Ind./Avon) remains committed to Clemson.

In a telephone conversation Sunday night, Daniel said he is still verbally committed to Clemson while he considers other schools.

"I'm still committed to Clemson," Daniel said.

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Lavon Hooks went to Booneville (Miss.) Northeast to be a basketball player. He'll leave a football player.

"He wasn't on anybody's radar," Northeast head coach Ricky Smithers said.

Now he is. Once a 6-foot-4, 245-pound hoopster, Hicks is now a 6-foot-4, 295-pound defensive tackle.

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Less than two months ago, Ebenezer Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) was ready to pull the trigger and commit. He set up a press conference and was going to pick from a final three.

Now Ogundeko has a top four and only two of his original final three teams remains. Arizona State, Florida, Ole Miss and Syracuse are at the top of the leaderboard for Ogundeko, No. 108 in the ESPN 150 and New York’s top prospect.

The Sun Devils and Rebels are new to Ogundeko’s list of favorites, and now Arizona State will host Ogundeko for an official visit beginning Oct. 16 for its Oct. 18 game against Oregon.

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Though he himself doesn't garner all the headlines, Mason Cole (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake) anchors an offensive line that serves as a catalyst for a high-flying offense.

Teammates like quarterback Pete DiNovo and wide receiver Artavis Scott continue to put up prolific numbers and light up the scoreboard. But as the nature of the position suggests, Cole's efforts aren't necessarily categorized.

He's not looking for that, though. The wins and the good performances are what he's happy about.

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Junior college tight end Beau Sandland (Woodland Hills, Calif./Pierce College) is making the most of his first foray into the recruiting process. A non-qualifier out of high school, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound athlete turned in an impressive showing on the recruiting trail this offseason. Beginning in February, Sandland said it felt as though he collected an offer -- and sometimes two -- each day, through the end of spring. Though things have slowed considerably since then with the end of the spring evaluation period and fall camps starting, Monday proved that it isn’t over completely, as Tennessee stepped forward with a scholarship offer.

“It’s been fun,” Sandland said of recruiting. “This is the first time I’ve ever gone through it, so I didn’t fully know what to expect. You hear stories and see the sophomores from last year, but it’s been a really exciting and fun time. It can get a little hectic, but in a good way. It’s been really humbling talking to these schools and having offers from some of the top programs in the nation.”

Several SEC heavyweights extended offers to Sandland, including Florida, Georgia, LSU and Mississippi, though he took opportunities this summer to get a better feel for programs in other conferences. Pac-12 programs Arizona State, California and UCLA received unofficial visits, while Nebraska was the recipient of an official visit. This weekend, Sandland will travel for Oklahoma for his second official visit.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 safety Priest Willis (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos de Niza) has a top fifteen of Arizona, Arizona State, California, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

On Friday while at Champion Gridiron Kings at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports, Willis spoke about a couple programs still in the mix for his commitment.

“Oregon is a great program,” Willis said, “and LSU is a great school that has put a lot of defensive backs in the league. The coaching staff is all very cool.”

Willis said he plans to take an official to Notre Dame on Sept. 21 for the game against Michigan, to Nebraska on Oct. 26 for the game against Michigan and to LSU on Nov. 2 for the Alabama game. He has no timeline for his decision right now.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The University of Florida, like every school in the country, has had good and bad luck with transfers.

Two, in particular, stand out. One was a player who didn’t do much on the field, had some off-field issues, and left for a junior college only to resurface as one of the nation’s best players a year later. The other was a heck of a player already who got caught in an academic situation and was forced to transfer to another school in order to remain eligible for his senior season.

Here’s a look at each:

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Priest Willis (Tempe, Ariz./Marcos De Niza) planned to release a list of his top 15 schools shortly after the opening, but settled on a final 16 when it became too difficult to cut an additional program.

The schools that made the cut for Willis are Arizona, Arizona State, California, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

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When Steve Sarkisian took over as head coach of the Washington Huskies, many thought his years as an assistant at USC would enable him to see continued success recruiting Los Angeles. On Friday afternoon, the former quarterback again reached into Southern California to grab his future quarterback, Troy Williams (Harbor City, Calif./Narbonne).

Williams selected Washington over Arizona, his other finalist, as well as offers from schools such as Florida, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback has been a known commodity in the area since his freshman season, when he participated with the varsity team and then took over as the starting quarterback as a sophomore. Last year, Williams led the Gauchos to a CIF title, as he threw for 3,247 yards and 34 touchdowns, and rushed for 587 yards and 11 scores.

Williams took a recent visit to Washington and raved about the trip. The quarterback nearly committed while on campus, but decided to give himself until Friday to think it over. He is Washington’s seventh commitment in the 2013 class, and fourth from Southern California.

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