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Rivals Recap: Florida holds satellite camp in Atlanta

A.J. Terrell
A.J. Terrell
Rivals.com

ATLANTA -- The Florida Gators staff has been bouncing all over the Southeast to hold camp events in recent weeks and on Wednesday the tour rolled into KIPP Atlanta Collegiate High School. Head coach Jim McElwain and several of his top assistants were on hand, as were several players on the Gators' recruiting radar. Here’s a breakdown of what caught our eye.

I was impressed with...

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Class of 2018 offensive lineman Rueben Unije continues to look like an elite talent and he was the class of the group on Wednesday. His size is enough to catch the eye but his footwork and technique is what separates him from others at his position. He doesn’t have an offer from the Gators yet, but based on the attention he received from the coaches, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that change soon.

I was surprised by...

Class of 2017 Roswell, Ga. athlete Malik Willis has several FBS offers to play quarterback, but on Wednesday night he elected to work out at defensive back. Not only did he hold his own, he looked like he could have quite the future at that position if he decides. Willis is still holding out hope for bigger offers at quarterback, but he could end up seeing Power Five interest as a defensive back.

Other observations

Florida’s camp came on the heels of an event held by Georgia and it didn’t take long for the Gators coaches to get on the field. As soon as the players from the first camp left the field the Florida coaches were out warming up, setting up an odd scene where coaches from both schools were on the field together.

Class of 2020 quarterback Harrison Bailey spent the night throwing in front of Gators offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and it’s clear that, even though he’s yet to play in his first high school game, he’s firmly planted on UF's radar. Bailey said afterward he thought he performed well and is planning on keeping in touch with the Gators coaches going forward.

Five-star defensive back A.J. Terrell is one of the Gators' top targets, regardless of position, so it wasn’t surprising to see him on the field Wednesday night. Terrell is high on the Gators as well, and said he’s planning on taking another visit to Gainesville by the end of the summer.

Class of 2018 tight end Tyneil Hopper also received extra attention from the Florida staff on Wednesday night. It seemed like Hopper had two coaches with him coaching him up before and after nearly every drill and it’s clear his performance impressed. Hopper recently picked up an offer from North Carolina and also has a few others, but Florida could be a school to watch going forward.

Some of the players who watched but didn’t participate in the camp included Rivals100 Georgia defensive back commit William Poole III as well 2018 Rivals100 defensive backs Myles Sims and Derrik Allen. Because they weren’t participating in the camp, they weren’t allowed to interact with the coaches in attendance.

Other notable camp participants included Tennessee defensive end commit Marquez Bembry. The 6-foot-3 prospect has an offer from the Gators and said he wanted to take the chance to workout on the field with the staff.

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