Florida Gators

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. -- 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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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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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators could have as many eight players enroll early and be eligible for for spring football. Three players -- Tyler Moore (Clearwater, Fla./Countryside), Darious Cummings (Titusville, Fla./East Mississippi Community College) and Trenton Brown (Albany, Ga./Georgia Military College) -- have already signed their letters of intent with Florida.

After losing offensive linemen James Wilson and Xavier Nixon to graduation, Florida will get immediate help from Brown and Moore. Brown is expected to compete with D.J. Humphries for playing time at left tackle, while Moore is likely to start off competing with right tackle Chaz Green for playing time.

Defensive tackle Omar Hunter graduates, and Florida could potentially lose Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley to the NFL draft in April. Cummings will likely work his way in to Florida's defensive tackle rotation early on next season. He'll battle with Leon Orr, Damien Jacobs, Quinteze Williams and Florida verbal commit Caleb Brantley for playing time next season.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators will be well represented in this year's all-star games. Thirteen of Florida's 25 verbal commits have been selected to play in postseason games. Here is a closer look at what to look for over the holiday break.

WHAT: Under Armour All-America Game
WHERE: St. Petersburg, Fla.
WHEN: Jan. 4, at 5 p.m. ET

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The pick-up of ESPN 150 safety Marcell Harris (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) helped push the Florida Gators into the No. 1 spot in the 2013 class rankings.

More importantly, though, his verbal gives Florida a versatile defender who potentially could help them remain a stingy defense. Harris is a big safety and, upon first look, you might think this kid will be an outside linebacker in college. He could very well fill that role for the Gators, but the more you watch him, he convinces you that he can stay at safety and be highly productive.

Well-built with the length to continue filling out, he possesses very good closing speed and burst to the football. He can be a stout run defender, as he runs the alley with great speed and little wasted motion. While he could be a more consistently secure tackler, he can deliver a pop on contact. With his size, he also could be a guy who walks up and plays effectively in the box. While a tough run supporter, he can hold up in coverage, as well, in both man and zone schemes and can make plays in the back end.

The Gators, who possess one of the nation’s top defenses, played with several upperclassmen at the safety position in 2012, and while they have a talented roster, Harris gives them some more youth there. However, his greatest attribute might be the scheme versatility he offers, as Florida could use his combination of size and athleticism to help them in a few different ways.

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- With the addition of ESPN 150 safety Marcell Harris, Florida has moved to the No. 1 spot in the latest class rankings.

The Trojans had held on to the top spot for a while -- with 16 of their 17 commits in the ESPN 300, and 11 in the ESPN 150. But Harris becoming Florida’s 10th ESPN 150 prospect and the 16th four-star recruit in UF's 22-player class was enough to overtake USC for the No. 1 ranking.

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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.

dabramowitz5: What are the needs moving forward, and are we in for any surprises?

A: Florida has met many needs in this recruiting cycle, but with roughly five or so spots remaining there are a few areas they'd still like to address. The Gators have four wide receivers but would probably like to add one more. UF needs a tight end, but with no obvious options available, they may have to wait until next year. The Gators do have three offensive line commits including former Nebraska OT Tyler Moore, but would like to at least add one more if not two. Trenton Brown is the most likely candidate with Laremy Tunsil still hanging around as well. Defensively, Florida would like to add safety Marcell Harris, who will announce his decision on Thursday. They'd also like to add another linebacker. With former Auburn LB commit Trey Johnson decommitting on Tuesday, Florida could certainly turn up the heat on him.

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