North Florida: Sam Madison 7v7 recruiting notes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Plenty of prospects with college futures showed up to show off at the Sam Madison 7v7 Battle in North Florida on Saturday. The two-day event provides a stage for prospects to test their skills against each other, but also gives players an opportunity to update their respective recruitments.
Below are news and notes on some of the event’s biggest names.
A member of the 2018 class, Rivals100 athlete Justin Watkins is still adjusting to life after breaking his commitment to LSU. Watkins plans to visit Florida State on Sunday but has no other travel plans afterward. Watkins names no leaders in the process but says he intends to visit LSU, UCLA and Alabama this offseason. According to Watkins, LSU remains heavily involved in his recruitment despite his decision to back off of his earlier verbal pledge.
Ocala (Fla.) Forest defensive back OJ Tucker hopes to visit Kentucky, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Troy and Nebraska in the coming year. Each of the schools has already offered him a scholarship, and he says all are serious players in his recruitment. He names no favorites in the process as things stand now but says he’s in most frequent contact with Nebraska, Mississippi State and Iowa State. Tucker is hoping for offers from both Florida and Miami but says he will happily leave the Southeast should they fail to materialize.
Defensive lineman Kane Taylor, who shined out of position as a tight end on Saturday, says that Florida currently leads his recruitment. He’s visited Gainesville on two occasions and plans to return this offseason. Pitt and Miami are also heavily involved with Kane, who will likely play defensive tackle at the college level.
Clearwater (Fla.) High School wide receiver Jacquez Jones says he’s likely done taking visits until the fall, at which time he will line up a list of officials. Tennessee is the one destination Jones says will definitely make his list of five trips, as he says he’s formed a strong bond with the Volunteers’ staff. Trips to Wisconsin and UCF are also being heavily considered.
Tallahassee-based wide receiver Malik Garye recently picked up an offer from Missouri and now says the Tigers lead his recruitment. Garye is in communication with schools such as Wake Forest, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and TCU. He hopes his offer list grows this spring. He intends to visit Georgia Tech in the coming month.
Angelo Gonzalez of Homestead (Fla.) currently lists five offers and says that Louisville slightly leads the pack. He says that everything remains close, though, and hopes to earn offers after camping at Alabama, UCLA and Texas.
Decalon Brooks, son of NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, says that he’s considering a number of college options. He understands that most think he will follow in father’s footsteps to Florida State but says that he is currently most in touch with Georgia Tech and USF.
Class of 2019 wide receiver Brieon Fuller is obviously in no rush to pick a school. Just a freshman, the Hialeah (Fla.) Champagnat Catholic standout already lists four major offers. He’ll visit Florida State on Sunday and hopes to earn an offer from the Seminoles down the road. According to Fuller, Miami and Georgia currently lead his recruitment.
Larry Hodges won’t need to make anything official until National Signing Day of 2019, so the fact that he’s still awaiting his first offer isn’t surprising. That said, Florida has started recruiting the 6-foot-1 receiver. Hodges plans to visit Miami in the coming month and hopes the trip will jumpstart interest from the Hurricanes.