Jacoby Brissett's decision to sign with Florida irks mother

Highly touted quarterback Jacoby Brissett of Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) ended a week of hype and speculation when he finally faxed his letter of intent to the University of Florida on Monday.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Brissett, who was the most highly rated non-committed quarterback in the nation come last Wednesday's national signing day, waited until last Friday night to announce his college decision. He did it during a Senior Night ceremony prior to Dwyer's boys basketball home game against rival Jupiter.

However, Brissett's mom, Lisa Brown, expressed her displeasure with her son's decision while sitting in the stands at the basketball game.

"A very hard pill for me to swallow," Brown, a Miami Hurricanes fan, told reporters after Brissett announced his decision in front of a jam-packed gymnasium. "I'm very disappointed. I didn't like the way Florida handled the process."

Brown said she was impressed with new UF offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, but what upset her the most about UF was the fact that new Gators head coach Will Muschamp never met with her in person during the frenzied recruiting process after he took over for Urban Meyer, who only offered Brissett a grayshirt opportunity at UF.

"All the other coaches took their time to come and meet me," Brown said. "Will never did. I don't trust him. I don't believe him, and that's that. ... I have to say that Charlie (Weis) is awesome. Through the whole process, he's been very straightforward and I can handle that. We see eye to eye. He's on point, just like I am. We didn't beat around the bush about anything. I trust Charlie, but not Will."

The chat boards lit up after Brissett announced he was heading to Gainesville instead of Miami, which was considered by many as the most viable program for Brissett to have an opportunity to start immediately. There was much criticism of Brissett's choice, particularly among UM fans, mostly because Florida already had Jeff Driskel, widely rated the top quarterback prospect in the nation, on board. Driskel already is enrolled at UF and will be there for spring practices. However, one high school coach who asked to remain anonymous told me last week that he has seen both Driskel and Brissett play and believes Brissett might have more upside than Driskel.

Time will tell, but one thing is certain: There's going to be plenty of attention paid to the quarterback battle at Florida this year.

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS
Florida, and particularly the south Florida region, long has been considered a hotbed for college football recruiters searching for talented players. Last week's national signing day yielded another bumper crop of recruits.

There were 344 players who signed with Division I programs last Wednesday, only one less than Texas, which dwarfs Florida in the number of high school football players. The only other states to produce more than 100 D-I signees last week were California and Ohio.

SIGNING DAY TIDBITS
For years, there has been a recruiting pipeline in Miami-Dade County that ran from Liberty City to Coral Gables and the University of Miami. The Hurricanes have coveted and signed many a player out of Northwestern (Miami) over the years. However, neighboring Florida International University got in on the action this year, signing a record three recruits from Northwestern.

Central (Miami), which won its first state title (Class 6A) last season, had 18 players sign letters of intent last week, the largest signing class in school history. Sixteen of them signed with D-I programs.

Miami might have lost out on landing a quarterback recruit this year, particularly Brissett. However, the Hurricanes already have their sights set on another Dwyer standout in 6-foot-6, 280-pound offensive lineman Patrick Miller, who will be a senior next fall.

Ninety-five players from Broward County signed letters of intent last week. Although the coaching changes at Miami and Florida might have hurt the recruiting process for those two schools, both were able to land some of Broward's top-rated players. Among them were South Broward (Hollywood) running back Kevin Grooms, who signed with Miami, and St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) defensive back Marcus Roberson, who signed with Florida. Florida State hauled in four Broward players, including three from Class 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas, which had 14 players sign last Wednesday. Stranahan (Fort Lauderdale) produced 16 players who signed with various colleges.

Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) quarterback Jerrard Randall was recruited by Oregon, but he needs to improve his ACT score to be accepted by the Pac-10 school. For now, Randall, who passed for 2,006 yards and rushed for 1,001 yards last season, appears headed to Iowa Western Community College, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. That's also where quarterback Quentin Williams of unbeaten Class 3A state champion Jefferson (Tampa), who was Florida's Mr. Football in 2010, will be playing next fall.

Steve Dorsey, who covers the South Florida region for MaxPreps.com, is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach. He has covered the South Florida high school sports scene for the past 29 years. He also is a contributing writer for American Football Monthly and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.