Florida Gators: Under Armour Game 2013
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Four-star linebacker Matt Rolin (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) enrolled at Florida on Monday, but his path to get to Gainesville wasn't an easy one.
Rolin's parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle all graduated from South Carolina, the school he had previously committed to before switching to Florida on Dec. 9. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound athlete said he was thankful that his family did not pressure him to stay committed to the Gamecocks.
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Four-star DT Brantley recommits to Florida
January, 5, 2013
Jan 5
12:52
AM ET
By
Derek Tyson | ESPN.com
ESPN 150 defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (Crescent City, Fla./Crescent City) has recommitted to Florida after breifly reopening his recruitment. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound lineman announced his decision via Twitter.
"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."
Brantley said on Thursday after the Under Armour All-America Game practice that he would like to take visits to Oklahoma, Alabama and LSU, but after talking with the Florida staff, he decided to cancel those visits.
With Brantley back in the fold, the Gators now have 25 commitments including 14 in the ESPN 300 and 10 in the ESPN 150. Brantley had one sack for a loss of five yards in the UA Game.
Just committed to University Of Florida ! #Again ! #GoGators
— Caleb Brantley' ! (@_TheKidd34) January 5, 2013
"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."
Brantley said on Thursday after the Under Armour All-America Game practice that he would like to take visits to Oklahoma, Alabama and LSU, but after talking with the Florida staff, he decided to cancel those visits.
With Brantley back in the fold, the Gators now have 25 commitments including 14 in the ESPN 300 and 10 in the ESPN 150. Brantley had one sack for a loss of five yards in the UA Game.
Team Highlight wins Under Armour Game
January, 4, 2013
Jan 4
9:52
PM ET
By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Cooper Bateman threw a touchdown pass to help Team Highlight beat Team Nitro, 16-3, in Friday's Under Armour All-America Game in St. Petersburg, Fla.
There were reports that ESPN 150 defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (Crescent City, Fla./Crescent City) had recommitted to Florida after backing off his pledge to the Gators on Wednesday.
Those rumors turned out to be false, as Brantley confirmed after the Under Armour All-America game that he is still uncommitted. Brantley said earlier in the week that he was looking to visit Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama, but no visit dates had been set.
Those rumors turned out to be false, as Brantley confirmed after the Under Armour All-America game that he is still uncommitted. Brantley said earlier in the week that he was looking to visit Oklahoma, LSU and Alabama, but no visit dates had been set.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- With just a player walk-through Thursday, things were relatively easy in Day 4 of practice at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports. A four-star defensive tackle gave further explanation about his decision to decommit from an SEC school, several players talked about who impressed them the most, and an ESPN 150 safety changed his decision date.
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Hackenberg, Olsen earn UA Game starts
January, 3, 2013
Jan 3
5:35
PM ET
By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Black Team offense
Quarterback: Christian Hackenberg (Penn State)Running back: Alvin Kamara
UNDER ARMOUR GAME 2013
Keep up with live blog posts, video, breaking news and more all week from the Under Armour All-America Game in Florida. Blog 
• Top 2 recruits Nkemdiche, Lawson 
• Fact or Fiction: Liner, Foster, more
• Spread offenses reduce RBs' spotlight
• Who has impressed the most?
Tight end: O.J. Howard (Alabama)
Offensive tackle: Darius James (Texas), Denver Kirkland
Offensive guard: Grant Hill (Alabama), Joas Aguilar (Texas A&M)
Center: Hunter Bivin (Notre Dame)
Captains: Kelvin Taylor, Hunter Bivin, Robert Nkemdiche, Ben Boulware
Black Team defense
Defensive end: Robert Nkemdiche, Elijah DanielDefensive tackle: Greg Gilgmore (LSU), Kennedy Tulimasealii (Hawaii)
Inside linebacker: Ben Boulware (Clemson)
Outside linebacker: Alex Anzalone (Notre Dame), Matthew Thomas
Safety: Keanu Neal (Florida), Leon McQuay III
Cornerback: Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida), Tarean Folston (Notre Dame)
Black Team special teams
Long snapper: Tyler Kluver (Iowa)Kicker/punter: Sean Covington (UCLA)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) has been committed to the University of Georgia for more than 10 months, but when asked this week at Under Armour All-America Game practice about his future, Wiggins did not sound so certain about his plans.
“I am still committed to UGA, but there is a very good chance that if I don’t go to Georgia, that I go to South Carolina,” Wiggins said. “After that it is Ole Miss, then Florida, then Texas A&M.”
The Gamecocks have emerged as a true threat to steal Wiggins, the No. 5 cornerback prospect in the country, from the Bulldogs.
“I am still committed to UGA, but there is a very good chance that if I don’t go to Georgia, that I go to South Carolina,” Wiggins said. “After that it is Ole Miss, then Florida, then Texas A&M.”
The Gamecocks have emerged as a true threat to steal Wiggins, the No. 5 cornerback prospect in the country, from the Bulldogs.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (Crescent City, Fla./Crescent City) decommitted from Florida after the Under Armour All-America Game practice on Wednesday. The 6-foot-4, 305-pound athlete announced his decision via Twitter and later confirmed with ESPN.com.
Brantley, who had been committed to Florida since Jan. 28, declined to comment on his change of heart other than that he was opening things back up and was planning to take his official visits.
Brantley said he was unsure of which schools he intends to visit.
The Gators have 24 verbal commitments in the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, but only one defensive tackle among them: junior college transfer Darious Cummings.
Brantley, who had been committed to Florida since Jan. 28, declined to comment on his change of heart other than that he was opening things back up and was planning to take his official visits.
Brantley said he was unsure of which schools he intends to visit.
The Gators have 24 verbal commitments in the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, but only one defensive tackle among them: junior college transfer Darious Cummings.
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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. –- On Day 3 of practice for the Under Armour All-America Game at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, No. 1 prospect Robert Nkemdiche (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) finally confirmed what has been speculated around the recruiting world for months.
“It would be hard to see myself not going to Ole Miss because it is a family thing,” Nkemdiche said. “My whole family wants me to go there. They are on the rise and doing a lot of good things.
"Ole Miss is the team to beat, but LSU is still in the mix, too."
“It would be hard to see myself not going to Ole Miss because it is a family thing,” Nkemdiche said. “My whole family wants me to go there. They are on the rise and doing a lot of good things.
"Ole Miss is the team to beat, but LSU is still in the mix, too."
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ESPN RecruitingNation's Jeremy Crabtree talks with Cooper Bateman, Ryan Green and Shaq Wiggins at the Under Armour All-America Game's media session at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Join ESPN RecruitingNation's crew of reporters following all the action and news from the second day of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game. You can watch all of the action on ESPNU starting at 3 p.m. ET. Make sure to tweet us your questions with #UAGame and we'll answer them throughout the week leading up to gameday.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Offensive lineman Rod Johnson (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage) was a late arrival to the Under Armour All-America Game, but he didn’t take long to get involved in the fracas.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound senior was a late injury replacement and arrived here around 9 p.m. ET Monday. He will wear No. 54 in Friday’s game, which will be televised live on ESPN from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Early in today's one-on-one drills, Johnson got into it with Alabama commit DeMarcus Walker (Jacksonville, Fla./Sandalwood) as Walker took exception to the fact that Johnson was lying on top of him.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound senior was a late injury replacement and arrived here around 9 p.m. ET Monday. He will wear No. 54 in Friday’s game, which will be televised live on ESPN from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Early in today's one-on-one drills, Johnson got into it with Alabama commit DeMarcus Walker (Jacksonville, Fla./Sandalwood) as Walker took exception to the fact that Johnson was lying on top of him.
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UA Game: Trey Johnson Interview
January, 2, 2013
Jan 2
12:24
AM ET
By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Phil Murphy talks to uncommitted inside linebacker Trey Johnson after the second day of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game. Johnson will announce his college decision at 5 p.m. ET Jan. 5 on ESPN. It's down to Florida, Ohio State and Tennessee.
UA Game: Caleb Brantley Interview
January, 2, 2013
Jan 2
12:15
AM ET
By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Derek Tyson interviews Florida-committed defensive tackle Caleb Brantley after the second day of practice at the Under Armour All-America Game.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star defensive end commit DeMarcus Walker (Jacksonville, Fla./Sandalwood) is torn between Florida and Alabama. The 6-foot-4, 271-pound four-star athlete has been committed to Alabama since August but will visit Florida this upcoming weekend.
Walker, the No. 4-ranked defensive end in the country, said the loss of Alabama secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt to Florida State was a big loss to him.
"For me it was a real big loss," Walker said. "Because that's the coach who I trusted the most out of their whole staff. Seeing that he left it was kind of hard."
Walker, the No. 4-ranked defensive end in the country, said the loss of Alabama secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt to Florida State was a big loss to him.
"For me it was a real big loss," Walker said. "Because that's the coach who I trusted the most out of their whole staff. Seeing that he left it was kind of hard."
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ABOUT GATOR NATION
Michael DiRocco
Michael DiRocco came to ESPN.com in 2011 after spending 10 and a half years covering UF for the Florida Times-Union. He lives in Middleburg, Fla., with his wife and two sons. Email him at espndirocco@gmail.com.
Derek Tyson
Derek Tyson joined ESPN.com in 2011. He worked as a football and recruiting analyst for GatorCountry.com before joining ESPN. He currently resides in Gainesville, Fla. Email him at derektysonespn@gmail.com.