Florida Gators

Sunday, ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) returned from an official visit to South Carolina. Later that evening he received a call from Mark Richt. The Georgia head coach asked if he should be worried about Wiggins changing his commitment from Georgia to the Gamecocks. Wiggins told Richt no, but that he still planned to take visits to Florida and Texas A&M.

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ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) spent Sunday morning eating breakfast with South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, then ended that night on the phone with Georgia coach Mark Richt.

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ESPN 150 cornerback Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) was in Columbia, S.C., to take a closer look at South Carolina during his official visit. Wiggins said during practice for the Under Armour All-America game last week that the Gamecocks had the best chance at getting him to switch his commitment from the University of Georgia.

“I am still committed to Georgia, but I just need to take these last few visits and I will have a better idea of what my final decision will be,” Wiggins said.

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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.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -– Team Nitro and Team Highlight took to the fields at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports on Monday for Day 1 of practice for Friday’s Under Armour All-America Game (5 p.m. ET, ESPN). Two powerhouse programs in the Southeastern Conference look to battle it out for one of the standout running backs, and one of the top uncommitted offensive linemen is out with an injury.

Tide and Dawgs at top for RB Kamara

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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.

FLAGTR239: Of all the commits, from what you've seen, who do you feel will make an impact next season?

A: With the No. 1-ranked class in the country right now, there are several Florida commitments who I feel will have some sort of impact. Kelvin Taylor will have an impact on the offense. Running back Matt Jones displayed what he's capable of in the win over Florida State, but he'll only be a sophomore. Taylor, who's enrolling in January, will have a chance to learn the offense in the spring and compete for playing time early on. I still believe Jones will start, but Taylor should see plenty of carries. Defensively, Vernon Hargreaves III will be an All-American by the time he leaves Florida. He's an intelligent and physically gifted defensive back. Hargreaves has excelled at every event -- whether 7-on-7s or actual games -- I've seen him play in. Florida has depth at corner, but Hargreaves is just too talented to keep off the field early on.

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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. -- 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.

Scot5013: How seriously is top RB [Alex] Collins considering UF?

A: Very seriously. He had a great visit to Florida over the weekend and the Gators are at or near the top of his list. He still has an official visit to Miami to keep an eye on. Florida is also very tight on scholarships, so to me the question is will Florida have enough room to take three running backs? They would hate to miss out on one of the top running backs in the country, but they still need to add a defensive end, a receiver and possibly a corner. A lot will depend on if there is any more attrition.

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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.

Chancez321: How, if at all, does this loss affect recruiting?

A: I'm a big believer that a single loss will not affect recruiting in the long run. If Georgia would have blown out Florida then maybe it would have had an impact, but it was a close game. Let's say Florida wins the rest of its regular-season games and finishes 11-1. Do you think recruits will hold against them a tough, hard-fought loss to a rival? Probably not. Guys like Laremy Tunsil, Trenton Brown and Shaq Wiggins are considering both schools, but they're smart enough to make decisions based on what is the right fit for their future, not solely based on one game.

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GatorNation's Derek Tyson and DawgNation's Kipp Adams look at five key recruiting battles remaining between Florida and Georgia for the Class of 2013.

OL Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Columbia)

CONSIDERING: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Florida State

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- With their second top 10 matchup in three weeks, the Florida Gators will once again be bringing in several top prospects for Saturday's game against the No. 7-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. The list is heavy on prospects who are verbally committed to other schools, but there will be at least two big uncommitted prospects in attendance.

Four-star offensive guard David Dawson (No. 87 in ESPN 300; Detroit/Cass Tech) decommitted from Michigan just last week, and the Gators appear to be in the driver's seat for his services. Dawson, who will be taking his official visit to UF, said he is looking forward to spending time with other Florida commits on his visit to Gainesville.

"I'm just looking forward to seeing the campus, getting to chill with some of the other Florida commits again," Dawson said. "I'm also looking forward to seeing the facilities and all the Nike gear they have."

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Five months ago, the University of Georgia took the lead for its top cornerback target, ESPN 300 prospect Brendan Langley (Marietta, Ga./Kell). The lead was short-lived, as one month later Langley had a new top three of Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee after a “misunderstanding” with the Georgia staff. Three months later the 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete committed to South Carolina.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs had Langley back on campus, along with his teammate and Georgia defensive back commitment Quincy Mauger (Marietta, Ga./Kell). It started off like any other unofficial visit, with time spent with the coaching staff.

“I talked to Coach Mike Bobo, Coach Todd Grantham and Coach Mark Richt, and they told me how bad they want me, how they could use me, and not to worry about the number of corners we have committed,” Langley said.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- ESPN 150 cornerback and Georgia verbal commit Shaq Wiggins (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) visited Gainesville on Saturday to watch Florida take on Bowling Green. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Under Armour All-American said he enjoyed his visit to Florida.

"The trip went well," Wiggins said. "If anything, my favorite part was the crowd."

For Wiggins, he says he didn't pay too much attention to the game itself, but focused more on the cornerback play, specifically on Florida sophomore Marcus Roberson.

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