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Florida Spotlight: Intriguing two-team recruiting battles
We’ve reached the time of year where offer lists begin to dwindle as commitment dominoes start to fall. The situation is one as old as recruiting itself and tends to create a number of two-team races.
The 2025 cycle has held true to history on that front, as a handful of major national prospects have recently narrowed their focus to include two options.
Today, Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. cuts through the noise and explores four Florida recruitments that have essentially become two-team races, even if some prospects have other programs hanging around their lists as window dressing.
BEN HANKS: Florida vs. Miami
Just about every prospect in Florida‘s class has been targeted by other programs, and Hanks is no different. The three-sport star has long been a target for the Hurricanes, especially since Mario Cristobal took over, as it was just a matter of where on the board he sat as the program went through changes on its defensive staff in each of the last couple of seasons. The group of assistants now seems more settled in, and it has come back around on the rangy cover corner during the season. Meanwhile in Gainesville, Hanks has said the right things about the program he is a legacy for, though many expect changes in the Florida staff before all is said and done.
So the potential flip from Florida to Miami, Hanks’ hometown program, may not be as imminent as other prospects on flip watch this time of year. However, Hanks will be back in Miami Gardens for the Miami-Florida State clash on Saturday, and the run the Hurricanes are on with their 2024 season is showing no signs of slowing down. It may not be a direct correlation for Hanks to make a move, but the winning and long-term prioritization of the top local recruits will continue to be a theme throughout the season and beyond.
LONDON MERRITT: Colorado vs. Ohio State
The Peach State native has been an Ohio State commitment for nearly seven months now, and there may not be a program out there that could push him off of the pledge. If there is one with an outside shot, however, it’s Colorado. The Buffs got Merritt on campus for an official visit two weekends ago and piqued his interest enough for real flip consideration this late in the game. At this time, the senior has no other programs under consideration and his focus is on finishing out his high school season before the holidays and signing day rolls around.
Merritt admits Colorado was more than he expected on just about every front, from the atmosphere to the culture on campus and especially in the locker room. The amount of high-profile targets the Buffs are taking late swings at are also resonating here. There is a sense that the Buffs will look towards more of an instant-impact group of recruits to come in following all the transition expected in the months to come, and pulling from the IMG pipeline again (Jordan Seaton last cycle) could become a trend in Boulder.
NATHANIEL OWUSU-BOATENG: Michigan vs. Notre Dame
While Colorado and Texas are getting late official visits and first impressions in from the five-star NFL legacy, the two teams at the top of this race have felt relatively secure since the summer months. Owusu-Boateng of course continues to be linked to the Fighting Irish, where his older brother (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramorah) starred before his current run in the NFL began, and there aren’t any signs of that momentum slowing down ahead of what should be one more trip to South Bend for an unofficial visit in November.
Meanwhile, no program has been buzzed up the list like Michigan has over the last few months. He took the June trip to Ann Arbor and the confidence has only grown from the defending champions since. Owusu-Boateng has since returned to campus and continues to value the style of defense the Wolverines play as one of the major factors in his decision-making process. Can these late swings from the Buffaloes or Longhorns put a dent in the race? Time will tell, but we’d bet against it when it comes to the very top of the ticket for the top available linebacker in the class.
DJ PICKETT: LSU vs. Miami
A July commitment to LSU over Oregon, Florida, Georgia and others, it was apparent that Miami would continue to push for the top-ranked Floridian and legacy recruit anyway. More than three months later, it has been the case and Pickett has already taken in a pair of Miami games this fall. This weekend will mark another, as the potential build-up towards a flip hits an apex just as the back-half of the college football season begins. There is nothing public about Pickett’s position with LSU to suggest there is a major vulnerability with the status, but few consider the battle to be over.
Miami has become one of the specialists late in the recruiting cycle under Cristobal and in 2024 he has something to his name most in the flip game rely on to consistently create changes in college destination — buzz. It’s not just on the trail, but it’s living and breathing on the field for The U for the first time in Cristobal’s tenure. It means the top classes put together are producing on the field. For Pickett, that point will be stressed in addition to the family ties and typical messaging Cristobal’s staff uses with the five-star recruit. LSU has home games during three of the four football weekends in November, including Nov. 30 just five days before National Signing Day on Dec. 4, so expect a rebuttal and potential visit to Brian Kelly‘s program before all is said and done.
IVAN TAYLOR: Alabama vs. Michigan
Ahead of Taylor’s senior season, he made a stunning flip from Notre Dame to Michigan, in a move that became expected as the decision drew closer. After the fact, the NFL legacy felt a large sense of relief not only with the weight of flipping from one blueblood to another, but in settling on a program that he truly considers to be his future home. “I’m done,” Taylor told Rivals in late July.
This was before the Orlando-area star considered in-season visits. Alabama had brought him in earlier in the Kalen DeBoer era, over the summer, for an official visit when the initial flip buzz away from the Irish was palpable. But it was a return trip to Tuscaloosa for the storied Georgia game that ramped up the momentum for the Crimson Tide as a program ready to battle Michigan down the home stretch. UM is expected to get Taylor back on campus this weekend before he goes all in on decision-making mode.
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