Take Two: Will Trey Sanders' brother lead him to Florida?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues 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 a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.
MORE: Spring football stars in the SEC
THE STORYLINE
Florida could be emerging as the team to beat for five-star running back Trey Sanders and one big reason is because of a junior college linebacker that committed to the Gators in March and will join the team as a preferred walk-on this summer.
That player just happens to be Sanders’ brother, Umstead, who played at Raymond (Miss.) Hinds C.C. and could be a big piece in the five-star running back’s final decision although many other programs are giving chase to Sanders, who had been committed early to Alabama.
The Sanders brothers have made it no secret in recent interviews that playing together in college is a big deal to them and that could be a possibility in Gainesville. The Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy star seems to love first-year coach Dan Mullen and his staff along with the idea of joining forces with his older brother in The Swamp.
Other powerhouse programs are not giving up. Rated as the second-best running back in the class, Sanders remains wide open after his de-commitment from the Crimson Tide. Georgia, Miami, Florida State, Alabama and others are still aggressively recruiting him.
Will taking Umstead Sanders pay off by landing one of the best running backs in this class or can the five-star running back turn down playing with his brother at Florida?
FIRST TAKE: COREY BENDER, GATORSTERRITORY.COM
“Regarding Sanders' recruitment, you simply can't overlook the importance of the Gators recently signing his older brother, Umstead Sanders, from the junior college ranks. The five-star prospect has been to Gainesville multiple times over the past couple of months, including for the Orange and Blue Game.
"I don't expect Sanders to make a decision for several months, but the two brothers had always envisioned playing college football together and Florida is the school that can make that happen. It's early in Sanders' recruitment, but the Gators have to be liking their chances early on.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“I don’t know how good the brother is. He might be great. He might turn out to be the better of the two. Sometimes, you just can’t tell.
“It would be huge for Florida to land a kid like that. It needs to make a statement. Recruiting under (Jim) McElwain wasn’t that great even though the classes finished fairly high. The Gators didn’t win a lot of marquee battles. To get Trey Sanders, who was committed to Alabama, who everybody in the country wants, who is a big back to build an offense around and help out the quarterback situation, that would be huge for them.
“I’m not sure if they’ll get him. I’m not sure if they do get him that his brother would be the reason. But if they do get him, it’s a big deal.”
