Gators making push for 4-star WR

Four-star Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast wide receiver Mike McIntosh has one official visit in the books, and is in the process of determining who will get the last four dates.

“Right now, it looks like Florida, Florida State and Clemson on back-to-back weeks in January,” he said. “I’m not sure of the exact dates, but I think those three will be then. The other is looking like Miami, but I’m still open to Auburn and Tennessee. I’m not sure yet.”

The nation’s No. 13 ranked wideout, McIntosh (6-2, 180, 4.4) took his first official visit on Oct. 10 at LSU.

Asked who’s making the strongest push at this point, he had a bit of a surprise answer.

“Florida’s come into the picture real hard,” said McIntosh, who had previously shifted the Gators down to low interest on his list. “I’m really feeling them right now. They’ve made a real big effort to show me how much they want me, and their situation looks pretty good with the depth chart. They’ve got a great young quarterback (Chris Leak), and they’re telling me how good a combination we could be. I like the way they’re playing right now, and I see nothing but good things coming in the future.”

McIntosh has devoted a lot of time to studying depth charts and each program’s quarterback situation. He noted that he likes the idea of playing with Jamarcus Russell, an elite signal caller in the Class of 2003, at LSU. He also said he’s been hearing rumblings of five-star Daytona Beach (Fla.) Seabreeze quarterback Xavier Lee being close to a Florida State commitment.

“Xavier’s the best quarterback I’ve seen the last couple of years,” he said. “He’s just incredible. I really like the idea of playing with him, too.”

If it sounds like McIntosh is fairly “open” in the process, he’d be the first to concur.

“They all look great right now,” he said. “I like all of them. It’s just going to come down to where I feel the most comfortable, where I feel like I can have the biggest impact. That’s why I’ve Tennessee and Clemson in there, too. They’ve got a real good opportunity for a wide receiver to come in and do some things early. Clemson’s coaches are selling me on coming in there and catching a ton of passes. I like the sound of that.”

Auburn has also been prevalent in his recruitment since the beginning – “They were the first big school to jump on me” – but has slipped off the pace a bit.

“I still like them, but they’re more of a running team, I think,” McIntosh said.

Through nine games this season, McIntosh has caught 25 passes for 503 yards and six touchdowns.