Ranking the Contenders: Four-star TE Keon Zipperer

Four-star tight end Keon Zipperer hinted at a possible commitment with a tweet on Sunday night, signifying that his recruitment could be close to finding its end. Officially, the Lakeland (Fla.) High School star has a top six of Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, LSU, Miami and Penn State, but only a few of those schools are realistic options. Below, Rivals.com takes a look at the contenders to land the Florida-based standout and ranks them in order of their chances.

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Miami made a major impact on Zipperer during his visit to the school’s Paradise Camp event this summer, overtaking previous odds-on favorite Florida in the process. The four-star prospect spent much of the last month going back and forth between UM and Florida, but it seems Mark Richt’s program holds an edge as things stand. If a commitment is, indeed, coming soon, the smart money is on the Hurricanes. Conversely, the longer the tight end’s recruitment drags on, the better it is for the other schools on this list. Still, UM loves its chances for good reason.

Zipperer has been high on the Gators for more than a year. He was considering the program even before its coaching change, and the Dan Mullen regime has made the program even more attractive. It would be unwise to rule UF out completely, but it seems it has some ground to make up on Miami, which came on strong this summer.

Florida should hope that Zipperer pushes his announcement to after the season, allowing the four-star prospect to further consider his options. Another impressive visit to Gainesville could change things, but UF likely sits in second place as of now.

Oklahoma is on the periphery here, but Zipperer likes how he fits with the Sooners’ offense and has already been on campus. The tight end has often noted the appeal of OU and the Sooners were among his leaders for a short time. These days, the interest from both sides has faded a bit, making Norman an unlikely landing place for the star tight end, who could play an H-back role at the college level. Stranger things have happened in recruiting, but Zipperer landing at Oklahoma isn’t at all likely.

Clemson is the most notable longshot here. As of now, Zipperer isn’t a take for the Tigers because the program already has two tight ends in the fold for 2019. Should something on that front change, however, the Tigers would shoot up the list for Zipperer, who once planned on committing to Dabo Swinney. That doesn’t seem likely, though. Things could get interesting down the stretch, as various teams attempt to fill their tight end needs. Don’t totally rule out a late push from any number of schools that have offered the four-star prospect.