Four consensus top-10 recruits went into Wednesday's National Signing Day undecided on a college choice. Two chose Florida and the other two signed with schools that had top-10 signing classes.
Offensive tackle Martez Ivey of Apooka, Fla., the No. 2 national recruit on the 247sports.com composite rankings, which is a consensus ranking of all the recruiting services, signed with the Gators over Auburn. Defensive end CeCe Jefferson, the No. 7 national recruit, from Macclenny, Fla., also chose the Gators, over Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi. Thus, it was a great NSD for new Gators coach Jim McElwain, who has been on the job for a little less than two months.
Defensive end Byron Cowart, from the Tampa suburb of Seffner, signed with Auburn over Florida. Cowart is the No. 3 national recruit on the 247sports.com composite rankings and the No. 1 recruit in the nation by ESPN.com.
Cornerback Iman Marshall of Long Beach, Calif., the No. 4 recruit, signed with USC. He also considered Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Ivey grew up a Florida fan in Apopka, which is just outside Orlando, and his signing is big for McElwain, whose team lacks offensive linemen. Ivey will see the field this fall because of that lack of depth. Jefferson grew up about 60 miles from Florida's campus, and his pass-rush skills almost certainly will lead to him seeing the field this season. Jefferson's position coach will be Terrell Williams, who had spent the past three seasons as defensive line coach of the Oakland Raiders before he was hired last month by McElwain. Cowart has a close relationship with new Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who used to be Florida's coach. Cowart would see immediate playing time this fall for an Auburn defense that lacked a consistent pass rush in 2014. USC, whichy has the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, has a solid secondary, but Marshall is too talented not to play in the fall.
The nation's top recruit, defensive tackle Trenton Thompson of Albany, Ga., signed with Georgia.
Alabama will finish with the nation's top recruiting class for the fifth year in a row. Alabama is one of five SEC schools (Auburn is another) to finish in the recruiting top 10.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
