Dorsey still a soft Florida commit

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Four-star safety Demar Dorsey out of Lauderdale Lakes (Fla.) Boyd Anderson was one of the first commitments in Florida's 2010 class. Recently, Dorsey has been one of the Gators' shakiest commitments. This weekend's announcements from Urban Meyer regarding a retirement and its subsequent downgrade to a leave of absence certainly hasn't done anything to help Florida's status with the speedy athlete. However Dorsey is not ready to go anywhere yet.

Dorsey's initial reaction to the news from Gainesville was similar to most other Florida commits as well as the rest of the nation.

"I was really shocked because I really didn't know," Dorsey said. "I was at home sleeping and then one of my family members called me and said, 'did you see the news? Urban Meyer is resigning.' I turned on the news and I was totally shocked. That's three coaches now for me."

Dorsey's initial recruiting coach was Billy Gonzalez, now part of the staff at LSU. Between Gonzalez's departure, the departure of defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and now the uncertainty behind Meyer's future, Dorsey has had plenty thrown at him. However, the new developments actually haven't changed much as far as his outlook.

"It really didn't change anything because I already have options back opened up," he said. "I'm still committed to Florida but I'm still looking at other schools. I'm looking at Tennessee, USC, Ohio State, West Virginia and a couple of other schools. They're pretty wide open but Tennessee has been on me hard."

Dorsey doesn't plan on making his final decision until National Signing Day. Currently, he terms himself as "65 percent committed to Florida." What will be the deciding factor to earn a 100 percent commitment?

"It's based on academics," he said. "Academic-wise and playing-wise after that. That's what'll get me committed to a school."

It's no surprise that Dorsey has been a popular prospect among college coaches. He has good size, elite speed and tremendous versatility. Even at the Under Armour All-American Game, Dorsey has been lining up at both offense and defense and has been effective in both roles. When pressed, Dorsey does have a favorite position.

"Probably corner," he said. "I like corner because I can get up and be aggressive. Rivals said I couldn't be aggressive but I showed a little aggressiveness today using my long arms. At safety you really like reading over the field and I have great speed to read over the field."

On the next level, Dorsey's multi-purpose role looks like it will continue.

"Most schools that talk to me want me to play both sides of the ball," he said. "They said that they can use my speed at receiver on pitch plays. They say they can use me like they used Percy Harvin at Florida."

Though Dorsey's "Harvin role" seems to be decided, whether he actually plays it at Harvin's alma mater is still very much up in the air.