2014 WR Ryan Sousa flips to Florida from FSU

By Adam Silverstein
December 3, 2013

A team badly in need of playmakers has picked up a second wide receiver for its 2014 recruiting class as the Florida Gators on Monday gained a commitment from three-star prospect Ryan Sousa (Orlando, FL).

Sousa (6-foot-0, 180-pounds) flipped from Florida State to Florida just two days after watching the Seminoles whip the Gators 37-7 in Gainesville, FL. Nevertheless, the lifelong Florida fan decided to make the switch.

Listed as a four-star player by ESPN, Sousa finished his senior season with 100 receptions for 1,664 yards and 23 touchdowns. As a junior, he racked up 21 scores and 1,601 yards on 92 catches. He’s averaged 16.70 yards per reception for his high school career, which lasted three years as Sousa did not play during his freshman season.

The Gators did not offer Sousa until Nov. 1. At the time, he called the offer from his favorite team a “special moment” but remained committed to FSU.

Wide receivers coach Joker Phillips has been instrumental in his recruitment, speaking with Sousa every week since he camped at Florida back in June.

“Coach Phillips and I have a relationship just like I do with my head coach for my high school. We have gotten pretty close and I trust Coach Phillips with everything and I think he’s a great coach,” Sousa told InsidetheGators.com’s Blake Alderman on Nov. 4. “I have heard lots of good things about him and heard he has great character.”

Sousa joins four-star Ermon Lane (Homestead, FL) as the only wide receivers committed to the Gators at this time. He also made his pledge despite Florida firing its offensive coordinator on Monday.

247Sports first reported Sousa’s commitment on Monday evening.

He is the 16th member of the Gators’ 2014 recruiting class, which you can check out in full by clicking here.

8 Comments

  1. cline says:

    first Sliver of good news since October. GO Gators!

  2. Daniel M. says:

    Impressive highlights. Great hands. Fluid running style. Excellent in traffic. Just plain gritty.

    A ray of hope.

    Welcome to Gator Nation young man. I hope your character and will to win are as impressive as your athletic skills.

  3. aziatic41 says:

    Nice pick-up. Looks like he’ll be a slot WR/KR guy for us. But why aren’t we landing 5-star offensive players ? Seems like Urban Meyer landed a lot of 5-stars while Muschamp has only landed 3 and 4-star guys. I know stars don’t mean a whole lot but just saying..

    • Meyer got Harvin. Everyone else, from an offensive playmaker standpoint, was a four-star guy. Many highly-ranked four-stars though. Muschamp is getting around to that now with Taylor, Robinson, Fulwood, Cook, Lane, etc.

  4. Drew says:

    I like Sousa more than Lane honestly. He actually runs routes and doesn’t just rely on athletic ability and such like it seems Lane does. Seems like a guy that can contribute quicker.

  5. aziatic41 says:

    I can remember when we had a very strong chance to land Kelvin Benjamin when he first came out of high school. But we ended up losing him to FSU. Getting elite offensive playmakers like him is what we need to land on the recruiting trail. Ermon Lane is a highly rated WR but he doesn’t seem to be an elusive or explosive guy.

  6. justin says:

    I played with Ryan at lake Nona he has great attitude, and is a great team player. He can run routes block make tackles you name it. Hopes he has a good college career.

Leave a Reply to Adam Silverstein Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top
WordPress Appliance - Powered by TurnKey Linux