Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- One year ago, the Gators got off to a blazing start for their 2013 recruiting class with their first big junior day weekend in February. Florida was able to nab six commitments, including ESPN 300 prospects Nick Washington, Kelvin Taylor and Keanu Neal.

Though Florida eventually lost three of the six commitments, the huge recruiting weekend set the tone for the year for Florida's class, which finished ranked No. 2 in the nation.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Most of the attention has been on the five receivers Florida signed on Wednesday.

But the Gators had a pretty good haul in the secondary, too.

UF signed four defensive backs, including the nation’s No. 3 overall player in CB Vernon Hargreaves III (Tampa, Fla./Wharton), on Wednesday. But more importantly, those players were committed to UF as early as last February and never wavered.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida still has the possibility to add another prospect or two to its No. 2-ranked class, but the Gators finished national signing day by landing 28 prospects, including 16 in the ESPN 300. Here's a closer look at how the class breaks down.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There are just a couple of short weeks remaining until national signing day, and the Florida Gators have met a majority of their recruiting needs. With graduation, transfers and players leaving for the NFL draft, there are a few areas Florida head coach Will Muschamp would still like to shore up.

Key holes to fill

The Gators lost key personnel along the offensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, running back and secondary and are hoping to replenish their talent with junior college transfers and incoming freshmen.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Though Florida has met a majority of its recruiting needs, the Gators are still hosting a group of important prospects this weekend.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida lost defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday. Quinn helped orchestrate one of the best defensive line units in the SEC last season and was a big reason Florida has landed commitments from nine defensive players that are ranked in the ESPN 300.

Here is how some of those recruits reacted the new of Quinn's departure:

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators are only bringing in three official visitors this weekend, and two are commits.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There were some big changes for Florida commits in the final edition of the ESPN 300. The Gators landed 15 players on the list, including 10 in the ESPN 150. With their success on the recruiting front, the Gators moved back into first place in the ESPN class rankings.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It’s time to dip into the GatorNation recruiting mailbag and answer your questions. Because of the amount of questions we’ve received, we won’t be able to get to all of them today -- but we encourage you to post your questions on our Insider fan forum, The Chompions Club.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators have had their ups and downs in recruiting this past week. Florida commits Kelvin Taylor, Vernon Hargreaves III, Caleb Brantley, Rod Johnson, Alvin Bailey and Keanu Neal all played for Team Highlight in the Under Armour All-America game on Friday, and all of the Florida commits had a solid week of practice. They capped it off by earning a 16-3 victory over Team Nitro.

Brantley, a four-star defensive tackle, unexpectedly decommitted from Florida on Wednesday and started planning visits to LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma. After speaking with several Florida coaches Friday after the game, Brantley decided to recommit to the Gators.

"I sat and talked to all the coaches except for coach [Will] Muschamp and coach [Dan] Quinn and I realized this is where I want to be," Brantley said. "I went with my heart."

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Editor’s note: Every Tuesday and Thursday through Jan. 31, 2013, GatorNation will break down each position. We’ll look at 2013, of course, but also try and give you a peek beyond next season, too. Today is safety. We will profile offensive tackle on Jan. 8.

SAFETY

Two-deep: Junior Matt Elam and senior Josh Evans have started every game this season and played their best football. Elam had a team-high four interceptions to go along with five pass breakups and 65 tackles and was named a first-team All-American. He made perhaps the season’s most important play when he stripped LSU WR Odell Beckham after a long gain. Evans is the team’s leading tackler (79) and was the Gators’ most improved player. Behind those two are junior Jaylen Watkins, who is a starting cornerback, and sophomore Jabari Gorman.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators will be well represented at the Under Armour All-America game in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Jan. 4. The game, which will be televised on ESPN at 5 p.m. ET, will feature the top players in the country.

Florida leads all teams with seven players selected to play in the prestigous game. Florida commit Kelvin Taylor, the No. 1-ranked running back in the country, said he has dreamed about playing in this game since he was in the eighth grade.

"Ever since my eighth grade year, in the summertime, I have worked my butt off to get to this point," Taylor said when he was introduced with his Under Armour game jersey. "I feel like if I don't work hard every day, then someone else is going to get better than me. I've been working out so much, even after football practice, I'll come home and work out some more. I'll work at little details just to get better, because that's what it's going to take to get me to the next level. It's the little things you do. I'm just proud of what I've done and God has really blessed me."

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