Florida picks up wide receiver commits from Alabama and, uh, New Hampshire???
Florida’s already impressive 2010 recruiting class grew by another two names today, and both are wide receivers. Take that, Ben Volin.
First up is Mobile, Alabama product Solomon Patton, a waterbug listed (generously, I imagine) at 5′10″, 175. Patton is on the three/four-star border, #38 overall and a four-star per Rivals and #35 and a three-star according to Scout. And yes, he wants to play the “Position Formerly Occupied by Percy Harvin That Only Percy Can Play” or PFOBPHTOPCP for short.
Video evidence is thusfar scant, but this clip on ESPN.com (no embedding, natch) reveals, well, a 5′10″ waterbug who is a borderline four-star guy. He certainly demonstrated some impressive moves, but not quite in the all-world Harvin/Debose sense of the word. With offers from Alabama, LSU and Florida State, however, there’s no doubt that he’s talented. And with offers from Alabama, LSU and Florida State, it’s also safe to say that this battle might not be over just yet. So stay tuned.
The second announcement today came from Stephen Alli, a 6′5″, 208 receiver with a 36-inch vericle leap and a 4.4 fakefortytime. OK, I’m intrigued, go on…
A few other factoids about Mr. Alli, listed in bullet form for effect:
Stephen Alli, via Rivals
- He’s originally from Canada
- He attends Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire
- His other offers are from Boston College, UConn and… Harvard
So in other words, he’s the type of player that previously existed only in EA’s NCAA Football franchises, where black guys with five-star ratings would emerge from recruiting hotbeds like Barrow, Alaksa, Polson, Montana or Andonver, New Hampshire. Just like in real life! Proctor Academy may be an even more unlikely place for a bigtime football recruit. Annual tuition? $43,400 if you’re a boarding student. At least that drops to $26,200 if you live off campus… in Andover, New Hampshire… population: 2,190.
His location and complete lack of buzz from the recruiting services juxtaposed against the Florida offer makes him an epic “sleeper” on some kind of previously unheard-of level. But wait… Maybe Florida knows something everyone else doesn’t. Alli participated in a Rivals.com Five-Star Showdown in Stamford, Connecticut earlier this year and measured at a legit 6′5″ and was clocked with legit 40 times of 4.38 and 4.41.
He finished first in the broad jump with an amazing 10-foot-7 jump, six inches farther than the next closest prospect. And in the vertical leap, he took first place honors with a 36-inch leap.
Alli didn’t dominate the one-on-ones but he did show pretty good hands and an ability to adjust to the ball in the air, but clearly his upside is impressive. Alli claims early offers from UConn and Harvard so far.
With those measureables he could have cinder-blocks for hands and still get a few Division I offers, but Florida is his first big-time suitor (Tennessee appears to be the only other to even nibble a bit). Until more evidence bubbles to the surface, this one will remain a bit of a mystery. At least it’s a tantilizing OMGZ RANDY MOSS! mystery.
This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Recrootin'. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.