This is a really big weekend in the Will Muschamp era at Florida as a three elite prospects highlight a group of 10 recruits coming for an official visit.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, cornerback Tracy Howard and defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. are all considered blue-chip recruits and play at positions of need for UF.
“This weekend is huge for Florida,” said 247Sports national recruiting analyst Barton Simmons. “The class is great as it is. It’s a top-five group right now, but it can become a very strong group, particularly at the receiver position. That’s a position of need and the one thing that really must be added on to. Stefon Diggs is a big piece to that puzzle.”
Diggs, along with Tampa Berkeley five-star receiver Nelson Agholor, are perhaps the two most coveted prospects remaining on UF’s board.
The Gators’ receiving corps does not return one wideout in 2012 that caught more than 16 passes last season.
“This is a big weekend for Florida and Diggs is a major part of that,” said ESPN southeast recruiting analyst Corey Long. “Between Diggs and Agholor, Florida has to get one of those top receivers.”
UF has one receiver in the class already on campus in Citra North Marion’s Latroy Pittman. The early enrollee is a four-star prospect, according to Rivals.
The Gators also don’t have a cornerback on their roster that opposing quarterbacks try to avoid. In 13 games last season, UF intercepted eight passes. That’s a number Howard could help the Gators improve upon in the fall.
“They need a big-play receiver and an elite cover corner,” said Rivals.com’s state of Florida recruiting analyst Chris Nee. “Adding Diggs and Howard could really help turn things around there. Getting a pair of players the caliber of those two would take the class from a very good group to arguably the best in the nation. This is an essential time for Muschamp to begin to put a bow on this class.”
Fowler could help solve UF’s pass-rush deficiencies. The Gators finished in a three-way tie for 44th place in sacks among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision schools this past season. However, Fowler has been committed to FSU for over a year. Although he has taken several unofficial visits to Florida, flipping Fowler might be Muschamp’s toughest challenge this weekend.
“Anytime you get a prospect on campus this late in the process it means something,” Simmons said. “You always want to be the school that makes the last impression.”
