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Florida Spotlight: Five most impressive performances
Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. has covered multiple games in Florida over the past month, getting extra looks at some of the nation’s best in the 2025 class and 2026 classes.
The Miami (Fla.) Northwestern junior is a jack-of-all-trades secondary prospect and also a return specialist, and in both arenas he made statement plays in the first official road game of the Teddy Bridgewater era – a blowout 45-0 win over Coconut Creek (Fla.) High. It started right out of the gates, too, as CCHS tried to throw at him on one of its first few possessions, where Flowers worked at outside corner and all but shut down his side of the field.
On one route in particular, a backside slant, he was so quick out of his break that he beat the wide receiver to the football. The instincts and technique led to a standout night of coverage.
It was Flowers’ return skills that caught most everyone else’s attention on this night, however. Not only did he take a kickoff return some 90 yards very early on, showcasing his legitimate track speed, but he nearly housed a punt return on top of it.
During the punt return, he broke a total of seven tackles, cutting against the grain with ease en route to the end zone before a flag brought the play back. Flowers won a state title in the 100-meter dash and finished second in the 200 this spring. Programs all around the country are courting him, with local Miami in a good spot early on.
IMG Academy had no shortage of impressive performers in its rout of state champion Cocoa (Fla.) High School just last week, but the Oklahoma State commitment may have flashed the most. McPherson lived in the backfield no matter who was lined up in front of him, winning in a variety of ways en route to multiple sacks and even more hits against the quarterback despite the plan for the opponent to have let the ball go on three-stop drops or even less. He also played the run well and helped force a fumble on the night.
McPherson uses his hands extremely well, winning with some classic swats and just raw power on his improved bull rush. At 255 pounds, he still has some tweener ability to line up inside and out, but after Friday it’s clear he needs to lean into the interior projection and build on his head-turning strengths.
McPherson also impressed with his leverage, winning low against some tall blockers and changing direction without losing much momentum en route to the point. The Cowboys’ commitment is rock solid to Mike Gundy‘s program.
The one-time Miami commitment made plenty of plays during the last day of said pledge to Mario Cristobal and company. Sporting Auburn gloves and playing against Notre Dame quarterback commitment Noah Grubbs, Melendez would help his team in the game that became a bit of a defensive struggle. He flashed as a run defender, as he seemingly always does, screaming downhill with bad intentions and explosion upon contact for multiple tackles for loss.
But it was a pass play that stole the conversation that evening, as Melendez picked off Grubbs in one of the more unconventional ways. Despite being known as a downhill player, the four-star showcased his awareness and slowed down his rush on a quick drop-back from the QB, before settling and leaping into the passing lane. Not only did Melendez time the play just right, but he swallowed the football with his broad frame, showed head-turning athleticism in landing on his feet and even took off for some 25 yards on the return.
It’s part of the reason why SEC programs Auburn and Oklahoma are working hard on getting the senior on the commitment list.
Sure, it was a kickoff classic game and technically didn’t count, but the showdown between Seffner (Fla.) Armwood and Miami (Fla.) Norland is still being talked about a month after it came to an end. The Hawks picked up the big road win and the Miami commitment was a major reason why. We knew of his electric speed and he showed it on an 80-yard score to put the game away.
It was the other elements the four-star back brought to the table that were just as impressive. Pringle says he is up to 185 pounds and he ran tough against a defensive line littered with Power Four talent, showcasing a combination of great vision, patience and even power relative to his size.
Pringle finished forward even though the entire stadium knew No. 2 was getting the rock. It balances out his game and aids his trajectory as a potential all-around back instead of one just known for speed and ability in space. Pringle is a complete player at the position and his rise up the rankings shouldn’t soon slow down.
An Ole Miss commitment who picked the program back in the summer, Reed kicked off his senior campaign with an out-of-state opponent in Suwanee (Ga.) Peachtree Ridge on a slightly wet day. The visitors got off to a hot start and Reed’s team, Coconut Creek (Fla.) Monarch High, could not move the football with their young quarterback. Late in the first half, down double digits, and for the bulk of the second half meant Reed needed to be taking the snaps.
The four-star is known for his versatility and great athleticism on the outside, but Reed led the comeback with pure grit and toughness in running between the tackles against a stout front-seven. It became more of a front closer to double-digits as the end of the game became near, but Reed continued to churn out yards and move the chains. Not only did he bring Monarch High back – on his back – but he was cramping up and visibly banged up after the bulk of his final carries. Reed would score three times and rush for more than 100 yards in the win, having played defense and wide receiver in between gritty runs.
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