SEC offer surprises Stringfellow

Demorea Stringfellow had been receiving lots of recruiting mail from Florida but he didn't think the Gators would offer so soon.

When they did on Tuesday the Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde four-star wide receiver was surprised and definitely happy and Florida moves way up his list as one of his favorites.

"They send a lot of stuff in the mail and my coach always said there was a good chance they would end up offering me," Stringfellow said. "We thought it would be one of my late offers.

"(Tuesday) morning my coach told me to call him so I called him and he told me that I should give the coach a call and I got him on the phone and he offered."

Stringfellow, rated as the No. 14 wide receiver and No. 107 prospect in the 2013 class by Rivals.com, had a good conversation with Florida assistant coach Brian White and the Gators are now in serious contention.

"He was saying they were trying to get three good receivers from my class and I was one of the top receivers they were recruiting," Stringfellow said.

"He said they watched a lot of my film and the coaches enjoyed it. They were trying to get me up there so I could see the campus and so I could get a feel for it myself.

"It's probably one of my top three schools right there. I'm really excited because I didn't think they were going to offer me this early. I thought it was going to be one of the late offers. It's a big-time program and I know they usually don't recruit out here. I felt like it was a big deal to get an offer from them so early."

Florida along with Washington, Washington State, Arizona State, Arizona and Boise State are some of the early favorites for Stringfellow, one of the top wide receivers in the West.

He plays at Rancho Verde which is where Florida defensive end and former top-rated player Ronald Powell starred in high school.