Pahokee High cornerback Janoris Jenkins verbally committed to UF on Thursday night, giving the Gators a huge boost in the early recruiting season.
Rivals.com ranks Jenkins as a four-star recruit and the No. 7 corner in the Class of 2008, making him the highest-rated Gators commit.
The 5-foot-10, 167-pound prospect chose UF over Clemson in a televised segment on ESPNU.
"I (thought) about it a long time, and I decided it's going to be the University of Florida," Jenkins said on the broadcast as he fitted a UF cap over his dreadlocks. "I knew I was going to be a Florida Gator when my mom got in the environment. They showed her around, and she liked what she saw."
Jenkins also consulted with his dad and former Pahokee coach Leroy Foster before making his decision.
He hopes to enroll early in January.
"Hopefully I'll be a starter come the season." Jenkins said.
What's amazing about Jenkins is that he does not play cornerback at Pahokee.
He starts at tailback and linebacker.
His experience in the defensive backfield is limited to 7-on-7 tournaments and football camps.
"We'd just put him on whoever was the other team's main guy and just shut them down," Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson said of Jenkins? play at a recent national 7-on-7 tourney.
If Jenkins is looking to play early, he found the right school.
Nobody has stepped up enough to match the play of last year?s starters, Ryan Smith and Reggie Lewis.
Freshman Joe Haden and sophomores Markihe Anderson and Wondy Pierre-Louis are the team's top three corners.
The Gators don't have much depth, as safety Dorian Munroe lined up at cornerback in nickel packages in the first two games.
UF coach Urban Meyer dislikes redshirting freshmen if they can contribute right away, all the more reason to make Jenkins happy.
Jenkins is the sixth player from the Class of 2008 to verbally commit to the Gators.
Verabal commitments are non-binding, and prospects have until National Signing Day in February to choose their schools.
