Gators football adds two big defensive commits, including top-100 DE Zachary Carter

By Adam Silverstein
June 24, 2016
Gators football adds two big defensive commits, including top-100 DE Zachary Carter
Football

Image Credit: ESPNI

It was a great Friday for Florida Gators football, which continued its recent recruiting surge by locking in verbal commitments from two talented defensive players in the Class of 2017.

First up was four-star defensive end Zachary Carter (Tampa, FL), who committed to Florida over Clemson. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound pass rusher was expected by many to head to the Tigers but instead made his call for the Gators and position coach Chris Rumph. As the 97th ranked player in the 247Sports Composite, Carter had his pick of schools with offers from most major programs.

“I am announcing that I am officially committing to the University of Florida which has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. #Swamp17 #ChompChomp #GoGators,” wrote Carter on his Twitter account.

Later in the day, three-star linebacker Ventrell Miller (Lakeland, FL) announced his pledge to Florida. Though not as highly rated as Carter, the 6-foot, 227-pound Miller was not short on major-program offers and ultimately picked UF over Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Ole Miss and others.

“It has been a long recruitment and I am grateful for all the schools that have offered me but I would like to say that I am committing to the University of Florida #Gators #Swamp17 #ChompChomp,” he announced on Twitter.

Carter, the top-ranked player in the Gators’ class at this time, is a big reason why Florida rocketed its way up to No. 19 in the 247Sports team rankings. Miller became the program’s 10th commitment later in the day and has helped even out a class that, at one point, was heavy on offense.

Florida now also has an even number of four- and three-star commitments (five each) with two-thirds (six) from within the state. On Wednesday, UF secured a pledge from four-star cornerback Elijah Blades (Pasadena, CA), giving the program three new players in as many days, four for the month of June and five in the last 30 days.

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