ST. PETERSBURG — The Gators’ 51-24 victory over Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl on Friday marked the end of an era for the nation’s most celebrated senior class and ushered in a period of uncertainty heading into the 2010 season.
Seven members of the defense graduated and as many as eight juniors on Florida may opt for an early start at a career in the NFL.
But UF’s incoming recruiting class gave Gators fans something to look forward to with their performances at the Under Armour All-America Game on Saturday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
The seven UF commits entering the game shined, as safeties Jonathan Dowling (Bradenton Southeast High) and Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson High) led the way.
The three-star and four-star prospects, respectively, combined for three interceptions — one of which Dowling returned for a score — and declared their squad’s secondary to be a “no-fly zone.”
Palmdale (Calif.) High cornerback Joshua Shaw, another player committed to helping replace a Florida defensive backfield that could lose three juniors to the NFL Draft, added a pick of his own.
“The Florida secondary came up big tonight,” Shaw said. “Hopefully we showed the fans that our secondary is going to be one of the best for years to come.”
The good news kept coming for the Gators, as they added two more commits during the game: Staten Island (N.Y.) Curtis High defensive end Dominique Easley (the game’s co-MVP) and Pahokee High receiver Chris Dunkley, ranked as the nation’s No. 8 wideout by Rivals.com.
“The group of players here, the people that I am going to be with for the next four years of my life, really helped me make my decision,” Easley said. “I always wanted to be a Gator and to be a part of the history.
Talking to the coaching staff, everything was going to be all right.”
Since UF coach Urban Meyer’s initial announcement of his plans to retire, only one recruit, Matt Elam, backed out on his commitment. The remaining members of the recruiting class expressed concern for their coach but stood strong by their decisions.
“I know [Meyer] is doing that to get himself healthy,” Shaw said. “Forget football, forget everything else. Your health is far more important. I am happy for him to have the guts to go out and do that, and I know that in his heart he will go out and do what’s best for him.”
Shaw also commented on defensive coordinator Charlie Strong’s exit from the program to take the head coaching position at Louisville, and he was not worried about losing one of the nation’s best defensive coaches.
“It’s all right,” Shaw said. “Coach Strong is probably the greatest defensive coordinator in college football. I wish the best for him, but I also know that being at UF you are always going to get the best. There are going to be hundreds of coaches wanting to get that job, and they will get the best guy.”
Verbal commitments are non-binding until a letter of intent is signed on or after Feb. 3.
