Take Two: Can Gators flip Tide commit Timothy Smith?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites or a regional analyst.
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MORE TAKE TWO: Can Florida State lure five-star Sav'ell Smalls? | How big are recent visits for Zachary Evans? | Does Clemson lead for five-star Jordan Burch?
CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Position | Team | State
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THE STORYLINE
Alabama has consistently dipped into the state of Florida for some of its best prospects, and the Crimson Tide had success again in recent days when four-star defensive tackle Timothy Smith picked Alabama over Florida, Georgia and others.
It was another massive pledge for the Crimson Tide because the Sebastian (Fla.) Sebastian River standout is ranked as the fifth-best defensive tackle in the class and he’s another Rivals100 prospect who is leaving the state.
But this recruitment might not be over, because days after committing to Alabama, Smith showed up at Florida’s Friday Night Lights camp and he also worked out in front of the coaches.
The four-star is a top target for coach Dan Mullen and his staff, and Smith was in Gainesville spending time with four-star DE commit Gervon Dexter.
Is Smith locked up for Alabama? Or do the Gators have a legitimate chance at flipping him, especially after his recent visit back to campus?
FIRST TAKE: COREY BENDER, GATORSTERRITORY.COM
“Even though Smith committed to the Crimson Tide just days prior, the plan all along was to attend Friday Night Lights with Dexter. It was viewed as more of a wait-and-see deal, but not only did Smith show up in Gainesville he also camped and was the highest-ranked prospect to do so.
“The Gators are still under consideration here, despite Smith being verbally committed to another SEC school. He is arguably UF's top target along the defensive line, and Mullen and defensive line coach David Turner have been pushing the right buttons with Smith's family as well.
"UF has been selective along the defensive line in recent months, and much of that has to do with the staff prioritizing Smith. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't take an official visit to Gainesville before it's all said and done. There is no doubting Smith's pledge to Alabama, but multiple Florida coaches and commits are making a strong push and they certainly showed that with all of the attention Smith received last Friday. Smith remains the Gators' top target along the defensive line, and that hasn't changed. Mutual interest is fairly high as well.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“I don’t think it’s over. Alabama has a great tradition of producing defensive linemen and putting defensive linemen and defensive tackles in the NFL. The Tide are going to compete for national championships. But I think he’s going to look around and he’s going to take visits.
“Florida would definitely be one of those teams that has a chance. There were early rumors that Clemson was going to be the school for him. I’m not sure it's as heavily involved. In the end, he’ll probably stick with Alabama because Alabama doesn’t really lose that many kids when they’re committed. But Florida could make this very, very interesting.”