When four-star recruit Mike Davis decommitted Sunday night, the Gators lost one of the top running backs in the class of 2012.
Tuesday afternoon, they lost out on another one.
Four-star running back Keith Marshall of Raleigh (N.C.) Millbrook High, rated the No. 1 all-purpose back in the nation by Rivals.com, orally committed to Georgia during a ceremony at his school that was streamed live on the Internet.
Marshall chose Georgia over Florida, Clemson and South Carolina.
“I just slept on it (Tuesday) morning and my heart told me to go to Georgia,” Marshall told Scout.com on the live stream.
His decision to commit to Georgia, where he plans to enroll early in January, leaves UF with just one running back commit for the 2012 class: four-star prospect Matt Jones of Seffner Armwood High.
Marshall’s commitment also leaves the Gators strapped at running back, as Florida was focused mainly on him, Jones and Davis while other top backs committed elsewhere.
With the Gators losing senior running backs Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey next season, the team will likely aim to sign multiple backs in 2013, with Winter Haven High’s Adam Lane, Delray Beach American Heritage School’s Greg Bryant and Belle Glade Glades Day School’s Kelvin Taylor as the top targets.
Oral commitments are nonbinding until a national letter of intent is signed on or after National Signing Day on Feb. 1, 2012.
