A couple of weeks ago, the state of Florida’s top offensive lineman John Theus of Jacksonville Bolles shunned the Florida Gators for a commitment to Georgia.
New head coach Will Muschamp and staff, however, did not sulk. They just refocused. So what, they lost Theus. Big deal.
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There were other fish. Bigger fish.
The Gators reeled one in Friday night. D.J. Humphries (6-foot-5, 265-pounds), ranked the top offensive lineman in the country by Rivals.com., announced he would be joining the Gators during a press conference at Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, N.C.
“Florida’s the only place that really felt like home … I felt comfortable with,” Humphries said over a live stream of the announcement on NCPreps.com.
That’s not to say the Gators wouldn’t have taken both Theus and Humphries, but one certainly is better than none.
“He works hard every day, he’s built himself up to where he is now and he’s humble,” Mallard Creek coach Michael Palmieri said. “Sometimes your best player can be the worst thing for a locker room. He’s not that. He’s not one of those kids.”
Humphries, the Gators’ 17th commitment to the Class of 2012, said Tennessee was a close runner-up in the process and the other hats on the table were South Carolina, Auburn and Clemson.
He still plans to take his five official recruiting visits and said he wants to go places he has not yet seen.
Humphries is the second North Carolina commit to the Gators’ 2012 class. The other is SS Rhaheim Ledbetter, Brandon Spikes’ cousin, out of Boiling Spring Crest High.
Besides Theus, the only other five-star prospect the Gators have missed out on so far is St. Petersburg Lakewood DE Dante Fowler, who committed to Florida State. Many, however, think Fowler could be a flip to the Gators and considering the time he was having at Friday Night Lights two weeks ago, it’s obviously a good possibility.
2012 Florida commitments (17)
| PLAYER | POS | HT | WT | HIGH SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Bailey | DB | 6-1 | 165 | Hallandale |
| Mike Davis | RB | 5-9 | 192 | Stone Mountian (Ga.) Stephenson |
| Jessamen Dunker | OL | 6-6 | 315 | Boynton Beach |
| Austin Hardin | K | 5-11 | 200 | Atlanta (Ga.) Marist |
| D.J. Humphries | OT | 6-5 | 265 | Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek |
| Matt Jones | RB | 6-2 | 200 | Seffner Armwood |
| Rhaheim Ledbetter | SS | 5-11 | 190 | Boiling Spring (N.C.) Crest |
| JaFar Mann | DT | 6-4 | 275 | Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson |
| Marcus Maye | S | 6-1 | 190 | Melbourne Holy Trinity |
| Antonio Morrison | LB | 6-3 | 220 | Bolingbrook (Ill.) |
| Dante Phillips | DT | 6-6 | 268 | Venice |
| Lorenzo Phillips | LB | 6-1 | 200 | Patterson (La.) |
| Latroy Pittman | WR | 6-1 | 190 | Citra North Marion |
| Brian Poole | DB | 5-11 | 187 | Braenotn Southeast |
| Jeremi Powell | LB | 6-2 | 200 | Largo Pinellas Park |
| Colin Thompson | TE | 6-5 | 255 | Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood Catholic |
| Quinteze Williams | DE | 6-4 | 295 | Tyrone (Ga.) Sandy Creek |