Thomas Holley, a Penn State verbal commit, is flipping to Florida, Rivals.com reported Wednesday morning.
A family member of Holley confirmed the flip. The news comes just a week after Larry Johnson, Holley’s main recruiter and longtime Penn State assistant, would be leaving Happy Valley.
On Tuesday, reports confirmed that Johnson would join Urban Meyer at Ohio State, leading many to speculate that Holley would become a Buckeye. Holley, from Brooklyn, talked constantly during his recruiting process about wanting to stay close to home, which made Northeast schools more favorable choices.
Holley is the No. 3 defensive tackle in the 2014 class, according to Rivals. He is talented enough to help immediately along UF's defensive line, which lost Dominique Easley to the NFL Draft following the 2013 season.
Florida coach Will Muschamp and his staff have been setting the recruiting trail on fire in the last week. Just a week ago, they flipped the No. 4 corner in the 2014 class, Jalen Tabor, from Arizona and got him on campus to enroll early.
Florida also snagged running back Brandon Powell away from Miami, where he was scheduled to enroll on Jan. 8. Instead, Powell enrolled in Gainesville on Friday.
Holley's flip gives Florida the No. 7 recruiting class in the country. Florida still has a chance to land five-star offensive tackle Damian Prince on National Signing Day, and he will take his official visit to Gainesville on Jan. 31. He also has offers from South Carolina and Maryland.
Florida is also in the hunt for five-star athlete Adoree’ Jackson, a Gardena, Calif., native. His friendship with early enrollee Tabor could swing him away from USC and UCLA.
Follow Morgan Moriarty on Twitter @Morgan_Moriarty.
