Although Will Muschamp is already eight months into his role as Florida’s head football coach, he’s hardly forgotten his roots in Texas, where he spent three seasons as the Longhorns' defensive coordinator.
He certainly hasn’t forgotten top recruiting targets in the state of Texas.
Texas and Florida are going hard
after Raulerson.
Photo by Lonne Erickson
Muschamp has the Gators involved in the recruitment of
Celina (Texas) offensive lineman
Jake Raulerson, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tackle who is shooting up recruiting boards.
Raulerson, who recently received his 17th verbal offer by way of Brian Kelly and Notre Dame, told MaxPreps that the two schools recruiting him hardest right now are Florida and Texas.
A member of the
MaxPreps 2013 Top 100 watch list, Raulerson was extremely busy visiting colleges this summer, checking out in-state schools Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and SMU, while traveling to visit Oklahoma State, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas.
His most recent visit was likely his furthest: a trip to Gainesville, Fla.
In the class of 2011, a class largely assembled by Urban Meyer, Muschamp did not sign a single recruit from Texas. In fact the Gators only have one Lone Star State native of the roster, redshirt junior Omarius Hines
Interestingly, the Gators are not recruiting fellow 2013 standout
Derrick Griffin, a 6-6, 200-pound receiver/tight end on the
Terry (Rosenberg, Texas) football team and a forward on the Rangers’ basketball team.
A national recruit in two sports, Griffin may be the closest thing to 2012 No. 1 recruit
Dorial Green-Beckham in the class of 2013.
He’s the No. 27 basketball recruit in the country and enjoyed a huge summer on the AAU scene with the Houston Defenders, one of the top programs in the country.
When asked which schools were recruiting him the hardest, Griffin replied, “Texas A&M, Kansas, UK, Oregon.”
Griffin said he’s only heard a little bit from Florida, and that the schools recruiting him are going after him for both sports.
He has yet to take any visits, and is not certain when he’d like to commit, though he mentioned he may decide after basketball season.
(Derrick Griffin with his adidas Nations team over the summer)
Other out-of-state targets for FloridaMuschamp has also developed inroads with several elite 2013 recruits from other parts of the country.
Hylton (Woodbridge, Va.)
linebacker
E.J. Levenberry has visited Florida and likes the Gators
early on. He’ll be one of the top linebackers in the country next
season.
The Gators have also caught the attention of
Red Bank Regional (Little Silver, N.J.) star
Garrett Sickels, a 6-4, 220-pound linebacker.
Sickels made a point to visit Gainesvillle over the summer on a trip that also included a visit to Tennessee.
More
immediately, Gators fans hope their out-of-state recruiting will
continue to pay off in 2012. Muschamp and staff have already landed
D.J. Humphries and could be a finalist for
Stefon Diggs.
