Florida Gators add commitment from CB Antonio Nelson; QB Feleipe Franks decommits from LSU

By Adam Silverstein
November 23, 2015

Despite being more experienced as a basketball player, Antonio Nelson (Montgomery, AL) has decided to continue his athletic career on the gridiron. As such, the three-star cornerback prospect has verbally accepted an offer to join the Florida Gators for the 2016 season, announcing his commitment to the program Monday evening.

“Blessed to say that I’ve talked it over with my family & that I would like to commit to the University of Florida,” Nelson wrote on his Twitter account.


Nelson (6-foot-2, 175 pounds) committed to Florida over offers from Grambling State, South Alabama, Troy and Western Kentucky. In other words, the Gators – which offered just last week – were by far his highest-profile opportunity to continue his football-playing career.

The 23rd member of the Gators’ Class of 2016, Nelson is also the fifth defensive back to verbally pledge to join the program. He follows four-stars Chauncey Gardner (Cocoa, FL) and Jayvaughn Myers (Dade City, FL) and three-stars Aaron Robinson (Deerfield Beach, FL) and Christopher McWilliams (Miami, FL).

Florida’s large class includes only seven four-star prospects, according to the 247Sports Composite, three of which are on the offensive side of the ball. The Gators are hoping to add to both those numbers and may have the opportunity to do just that with a player that suddenly became available Monday night.

Four-star quarterback Feleipe Franks has received a full-court press from the Gators as of late, and it appears to be paying off. Franks, a longtime LSU pledge, made a move that has been suspected for quite some time – he decommitted from the Tigers program on Monday.

“For about a month now I have been talking with LSU about decommitting,” Franks wrote in a message shared via Twitter. “I have given this process a lot of thought and feel that is only best for me to make my decommitment public. I want to thank the LSU coaches, staff and the amazing fans for all of their support.”

Ranked No. 45 overall nationally, Franks (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) took an unofficial visit to see a Florida game for the second time in a three-week span. He witnessed UF-FAU in person and certainly understands how badly the Gators need a top-tier signal caller to join the program next season.

Many believe it is only a matter of time until Franks commits to Florida. The Gators, which are struggling with sophomore Treon Harris at the helm and will not have redshirt freshman Will Grier active until the seventh game of the 2016 season, could certainly use Franks as a true freshman with the program next season.

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