ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Two prospects with scholarship offers from Southeastern Conference power programs said they’re following through with plans to look hard at schools in other parts of the country.

Safety Mattrell McGraw (River Ridge, La./John Curtis) and outside linebacker Petera Wilson (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) hold offers from Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Wilson has also been offered by Florida, Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State; McGraw by Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

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Defensive tackle Jay-nard Bostwick (Port Saint Lucie, Fla./Centennial) joined Florida's No. 1-ranked recruiting class on Wednesday morning, making the announcement in a ceremony at his high school. Bostwick picked the Gators over Alabama and Miami.

He is the 27th-ranked player nationally at his position and 286th in the ESPN 300.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The rich get richer. At least that's how it appears for Florida.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star offensive lineman Rod Johnson (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage) has been added to the Under Armour All-America Game roster.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Florida commit said he was excited when he found out the news.

"I'm really excited about this opportunity," Johnson said. "I've always wanted to play in this game."

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star defensive end DeMarcus Walker (Jacksonville, Fla./Sandalwood) will take an unofficial visit to Florida this upcoming weekend.

The 6-foot-4, 271-pound ESPN 150 member has been committed to Alabama since Aug. 24, but Walker said taking a trip to Florida has been on his mind for a while.

"It's just been on my mind for a long time," Walker said. "Even though I've already taken a 1,000 visits, I'll just take another one."

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y./Jefferson) will make his college decision Friday at the Under Armour All-America Game. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound athlete will make his choice between Syracuse and Clemson.

With Syracuse, Ogundeko said he likes the thought of playing in his home-state.

"Syracuse is a great school," he said. "I like what they have to offer me. I like their players a lot and I like their coaches. I went to their game yesterday. It's a great place. I'm from New York and I like that New York environment."

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- ESPN 150 defensive end Elijah Daniel (Avon, Ind./Avon) recently visited Ole Miss. The 6-foot-3, 249-pound athlete said he was impressed with the Rebels had to offer.

"It was probably the best visit I've ever taken during the recruiting process," Daniel said.

Daniel, who has also taken official visits to Marshall and Mississippi State, will officially visit Florida on Jan. 11. The four-star end said he is just looking to interact with the Florida coaches on his visit.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Four-star defensive end Quinton Powell (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland) has set his official visit to USC for Jan. 18. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound athlete said he will also visit South Carolina, Oregon and possibly Miami.

"I set up Jan. 18 for USC," Powell said today at Under Armour All-America Game registration at Disney's Yacht Club Resort. "South Carolina, I'm taking that around the 20th of January. Oregon, I'll have to set up something with them too. Miami, I really haven't talked to them but I'm going to, I'm going to after this game."

Powell said he talks to former high school teammate Leonard Williams, a freshman defensive tackle at USC, about his experience at USC.

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HOUSTON -- The decision to decommit from Texas wasn't an easy one for Belton (Texas) High School tight end Durham Smythe. But for him, it was the right decision.

Now, as the weeks pass and national signing day approaches, Smythe is weighing all the options in front of him. He has plenty, but he's still in the process of trying to decide where he'll take his remaining official visits. After checking in for the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl -- set for Sunday at Reliant Stadium -- on Wednesday, he discussed all that has been going on since he made his decision.

"The week that I decommitted it was pretty crazy because the dead period was about to start at that point, so toward the end of that week, a lot of coaches and a lot of schools tried to get in contact with me to schedule home visits and stuff like that," Smythe said. "Over the dead period I've been in contact with coaches once a week on Facebook and stuff like that. It's been busy and right now I'm just in a period where I'm evaluating things and I'm trying to pick a couple favorites so I can take official visits there and have a base to compare."

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida didn't bring many visitors this weekend -- only four prospects made official visits, but it was once again a very productive recruiting weekend for the Gators.

Three-star linebacker Jarrad Davis (Kingsland, Ga./Camden Co.), who was one of Florida's official visitors, switched his commitment from Auburn to Florida on Saturday.

Camden County head coach Jeff Herron said Davis wasn't even sure if Florida would offer.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida continued its recruiting hot streak on Saturday, as three-star outside linebacker Jarrad Davis (Kingsland, Ga/Camden Co.) switched his verbal commitment from Auburn to Florida. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound athlete had been committed to Auburn for 10 months prior to the switch.


Davis informed Camden County head coach Jeff Herron this afternoon of his decision to switch to Florida.

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Three-star linebacker Keith Kelsey Jr. (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville) has offers from USF, Louisville and Iowa State, but now a few SEC schools are starting to show interest.

The 6-foot-1, 213-pound athlete has scheduled a visit to Louisville and could soon schedule a visit to South Carolina.

"I got Louisville scheduled so far and South Carolina has been recruiting me too, Iowa State and USF has been talking to me too. South Carolina is fixing to offer me. I'd be interested in taking a visit there."

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- With Florida coaches on hand to watch, Gators linebacker commit James Hearns (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln) did the Gator chomp as he was introduced before the FHSAA class 7A state championship game on Friday evening. Despite the gesture, Hearns said after the game he still plans to visit Ohio State on Jan. 11.

Hearns, who totaled five tackles in the 41-25 loss to Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, said he was impressed that Florida sent coaches to watch him play.

"It felt good that they get a chance to come out to see me," Hearns said. "Especially being in bowl week. They actually moved up their bowl practice today just so they could get on the road and get here on time."

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Class of 2015 athlete Jaylin Hayward (Tallahassee, Fla./Godby) might be just a sophomore, but the talented prospect is already receiving heavy interest from the in-state programs.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound athlete, who totaled three receptions for 35 yards in Godby's 21-20 state championship victory over Immokalee (Fla.) Immokalee on Friday, said he is receiving heavy interest from several top programs.

"I'm hearing a lot from Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Miami and hopefully Oregon soon, but I'm not sure," Hayward said. "I have offers from Kentucky, FSU, Miami and Florida already."

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