National Signing Day is approaching on Feb. 3, and the Florida Gators are looking to add to their consensus No. 1-ranked 2010 recruiting class. Seeing as high school football players across the country will begin making declarations as early as Friday afternoon, OGGOA has put together a comprehensive preview of the recruits the Gators are still attempting to gain commitments from. The top 10 players who Florida is after are listed below along with a short prediction at the end.

OT Seantrel Henderson (St. Paul, MN)
Rivals: No. 2 – ESPNU: No. 8
Also considering: Ohio State, Southern California, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Miami (FL)

His high school is a pipeline to Notre Dame, his last visit is to Miami, he’s been (reportedly) favoring Ohio State for quite some time, he’s from Minnesota and USC has been in his ear lately making a big push. Florida is considered a long-shot to land Henderson, one of the top overall recruits in the country and the consensus No. 1 offensive lineman.

Learn about the other nine recruits who you should keep an eye on after the jump!
Continue Reading » Ten recruits to watch on National Signing Day

Tags: Adrian Coxson, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Christian Jones, Da'Rick Rogers, Darrin Kitchens, Demar Dorsey, Dietrich Riley, Ivan McCartney, Jeremy Deering, Jordan Hicks, Kardon Boone, Markeith Ambles, Matt Elam, Morgan Moses, Seantrel Henderson, Telvin Smith, Urban Meyer

1 » REMINDER: Florida Gators basketball begins 2010 Southeastern Conference play Saturday at noon on ESPN2 against the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road in Nashville, TN. Just an hour later at 1 p.m., the U.S. Army All-American Bowl will air live on NBC. OGGOA will have live coverage of both games.

2 » Former Florida running backs coach Kenny Carter said that, though his move to the Louisville Cardinals appears to be a lateral one, it will help advance his career. “Florida has been great to me,” Carter told the Orlando Sentinel. “I learned so much from Urban [Meyer]. I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s a dream job for 95 percent of coaches. But there are a lot of factors that go into a coaching move while most people think it has something to do with the team they are leaving. I want to be a head coach one day, and in order to be a head coach, there are things involved in that process. Helping a program from the ground up and working for Charlie [Strong] really intrigued me.” Carter will also help organize special teams with Louisville.

3 » In its first meet of the 2010 season, No. 4 Gators gymnastics fell to the No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners 195.275 to 196.250. Florida won the vault but lost on bars, beam and floor while competing on the road in Norman, OK.

4 » Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong officially announced Friday that former Gators cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford has been hired as his defensive coordinator.

5 » Conflicting reports emerged that three-star running back recruit Shontrelle Johnson (Deland, FL) received a scholarship offer from Florida earlier this week, but in the end none of them truly matter. Johnson, who claims he received an offer from the Gators to play defensive back, has reaffirmed his commitment to the Iowa State Cyclones. “They want me to play DB,” Johnson told Chris Hays of the Sentinel. “I’m a running back. I run the ball. That’s what I do.”

6 » Four-stars athlete/safety recruit Dietrich Riley (La Canada, CA) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback commitment Andrew Hendrix (Cincinnati, OH) will be visiting Gainesville, FL, this weekend according to Rivals.

Tags: All-American, Andrew Hendrix, Army, Charlie Strong, Dietrich Riley, gymnastics, Iowa State Cyclones, Kenny Carter, Louisville Cardinals, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, SEC, Shontrelle Johnson, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford, Vanderbilt Commodores

1 » Known as “The Future” and “The Next Tom Brady” by redshirt junior guard Carl Johnson and many of his Florida Gators teammates, redshirt sophomore quarterback John Brantley’s time is now. “He’s going to be really good,” Johnson said when asked about Brantley by the Orlando Sentinel. With everyone focusing on who is departing Gainesville, FL, perhaps it is time to focus on the bright future ahead for some younger Gators. Though he will likely never match what senior QB Tim Tebow has done, Brantley doesn’t have to in order to be successful in Orange and Blue. “I’m not really trying to match [Tebow’s legacy],” Brantley said. “I just want to come out and not miss a beat when my number’s called and hopefully win championships as a starter if I get that opportunity. I don’t have to go in there thinking I have to do everything and make every play.”

2 » Brand new Florida wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni has removed his name from the candidate list for the Central Michigan Chippewas head coach job. “I will be staying in Florida and coaching with the Gators next year,” Azzanni told the Morning Sun. Azzanni did not tell the paper if he was contacted for an interview or offered the position, “but there was a possibility for him to go to Cincinnati with Butch Jones following Urban Meyer’s retirement talk last week,” according to the paper. “We’re always staying busy,” Azzanni said. “There is never a day off in college football. [Winning the Sugar Bowl] felt good. There are so many talented players on the team and everyone really welcomed me in. It was a great experience.”

3 » Now that five-star safety Matt Elam has decommitted from the Gators and joined the Florida State Seminoles, Florida is putting the full court press on four-star defensive back recruit Dietrich Riley (La Canada, CA). Participating in the Under Armour All-America game, Riley heard from plenty of UF commitments that he was wanted in the Orange and Blue next year. “Coach Meyer is still recruiting me hard and they told me I’m their safety to get now after Elam,” Riley told Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel. “They’ve been recruiting me since October and they’ve been telling me to sit tight and be patient and we’ll let you know which guys to go the NFL.” Meyer’s recent announcements have not swayed Riley from including the Gators in his top three. “I understand that he has to take care of his health first […] that’s primary, his family and his health. He’s doing what’s best for the program,” he said. “I talked with him and he said he plans on returing to the school and he’s going to be a Florida Gator no matter what. He’s not going to go to any other school, so I’m happy about that.”

4 » Speaking of Tebow, he should retire and never play football again. Well, that’s the opinion of at least one man – CBSSports.com national columnist Gregg Doyel. Yup, Doyel believes Tebow will never reach a higher point in his career than he already has, is destined to fail in the NFL and should not even try to make it on the next level. Chomping: I guess I should have quit writing when I got my first article published by a major newspaper or when I won my first writing award, based on Doyel’s logic. At least there is one college football writer who refuses to bet against Tebow.

Tags: All-America, Butch Jones, Carl Johnson, Central Michigan Chippewas, Dietrich Riley, Florida State Seminoles, John Brantley, Matt Elam, Tim Tebow, Under Armour, Urban Meyer, Zach Azzanni

While the vast majority of Florida Gators incoming commitments usually hail from states along the Atlantic Ocean, the team has been looking to expand its recruiting base and is making serious headway on the West Coast and in California.

In fact, the team’s highest rated uncommitted prospect, five-star defensive end Ronald Powell, plays his high school ball for Rancho Verde in Moreno Valley, CA. At 6’4”, 230 lbs. with a 4.52 second 40-yard dash, Powell lists the Gators and USC Trojans as his top two schools. He has already taken three unofficial visits to Gainesville, the latest just a few weeks ago when Florida defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, and plans to take an official visit when time permits. Nevertheless, the Gators are already in the top two for his commitment. “I would like to see some other schools, but USC and Florida are at the top,” Powell said, “and I really don’t see that changing.”

Powell has had his Gators scholarship offer for some time; four-star safety Dietrich Riley of St. Francis in La Canada, CA, just received his. “I started hopping around,” Riley said of his reaction when learning of the offer. “I started running around the house. I was happy.”

An impressive 6’1”, 200 lbs. with a 4.47 second 40-yard dash, Riley said he has been waiting to hear from Florida for a while. “I was very patient throughout this whole process and I finally landed the offer,” he said. Riley is currently in the process of planning an official visit to Gainesville and looks forward to meeting head coach Urban Meyer in person after speaking with him on the phone. “[Meyer said he] was impressed with my film, just my versatility and what I can do on both sides of the ball. He loves how aggressive I am and the attitude I play with.”

Stay with OGGOA for the latest updates on Gators recruiting.

Tags: Dietrich Riley, Ronald Powell, Urban Meyer