Caleb Brantley is one of the top defensive tackle recruits not only in Florida, but in the country. Out of Crescent City (Fla.) High School, Brantley holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, USC and, of course, Florida, the school to which Brantley committed in late January.
How Committed To Florida Is Caleb Brantley?
Florida defensive tackle commitment Caleb Brantley is now considered a soft commit to the Gators.
But as Brantley recently told Zach Abolverdi in DT Brantley now a soft verbal to UF, will take visits, he may have rushed his decision to commit during junior day:
“I feel like I made the right choice, I just did it in the wrong way,” said Brantley, the nation’s No. 2 DT on ESPN. “I rushed my commitment and I didn’t really take my time.”
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“Everything just kind of fell into place on that trip,” he said. “I had a lot of family members with me and we’re all Gator fans. So obviously we loved the coaches and the school, and once everybody was on the same page I just went ahead and committed. But when I look back on it now, I feel like I shouldn’t have done that. And even if I didn’t, I’d probably be committed (to UF) by now anyway to be honest with you. But I still should have waited.”
Brantley is just another in a long line of recruits who have committed very early in the 2013 cycle, a trend profiled recently by SB Nation’s Jason Kirk. It’s not uncommon for a committed recruit to realize that he could be missing out on the fun aspects of the recruiting process, or that he made his decision before he had all available information about the contending schools.
Can Alabama, Florida State, Miami or USC sway Brantley if he takes official visits later in the year? Anything is possible, but Florida insiders are confident in the Gators’ ability to keep the star defensive tackle in the fold.
I recently had the opportunity to see Brantley in person at the Nike Football Training Camp in Orlando. He’s massive and shows the ability to move quickly. He could stand to use his hands better, but Brantley is probably the best defensive tackle recruit in the state.
For more on Gators football, visit Florida blog Alligator Army, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills and SB Nation Tampa Bay.
