Four-star defensive tackle Anthony Moten (Fort Lauderdale, FL), a member of the Rivals250 for the 2014 recruiting cycle, pulled the trigger late Tuesday evening when he committed to join the Florida Gators next season.

“JUST COMMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA..#GOGATORS,” he tweeted.

The eighth member of the Gators’ currently top-five ranked class, Moten is the first defensive lineman to give head coach Will Muschamp a pledge for 2014.

He is the fifth prospect from the state of Florida to commit for 2014 and fourth in the last five years to do so out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Redshirt junior cornerback Cody Riggs (2010), junior CB Marcus Roberson (2011) and redshirt freshman Bryan Cox, Jr. (2012) are the other St. Thomas graduates still on UF’s roster.

At 6’4” and 265 lbs., Moten is ranked No. 170 overall on Rivals and chose Florida despite also holding offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee and USC, among others.

Other defensive players currently committed to the Gators include four-stars defensive back Duke Dawson (Cross City, FL) and linebacker Christian Miller (Columbia, SC).

Tags: Anthony Moten, Bryan Cox, Christian Miller, Cody Riggs, Duke Dawson, Marcus Roberson, Will Muschamp

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Though President Barack Obama‘s official 2013 NCAA Tournament bracket will be released on Wednesday at 9 a.m. on ESPN, the network released his Final Four late Tuesday night. President Obama chose the Florida Gators to win the South Region and also has Louisville, Indiana and Ohio State advancing to the Final Four.

» Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah had a hellacious experience during his team’s game on Monday evening. With 5.7 seconds left in overtime and Chicago trailing Denver by a single point, Noah got in perfect position underneath the basket and tipped in what otherwise would have been a missed shot. Though Noah scored the apparent game-winner and the referees did not call interference on the play, they checked the replay and eventually reversed their decision. The problem? Referees are only allowed to use replay to review on-court calls of interference, not to check on non-calls. Take a look at the video below to see what transpired on Monday.

Read 14 more interesting bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » 16 Gator Bites for Wednesday, March 20

Tags: Allie Kiick, Barack Obama, baseball, Billy Donovan, Bridget Sloan, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Browns, Cornelius Ingram, Duke Dawson, Final Four, Georgia Bulldogs, gymnastics, Joakim Noah, Joe Haden, Keanu Neal, Keiwan Ratliff, Kentucky Wildcats, Kytra Hunter, lacrosse, Lauren Haeger, Marcell Harris, Matt Elam, McKethan Stadium, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New York Jets, NFL, North Florida Ospreys, Oregon Ducks, Percy Harvin, Ryan Lochte, Seattle Seahawks, SEC, SEC Championships, softball, Stetson Hatters, swimming, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, Tim Tebow

Four-star linebacker Christian Miller (Columbia, SC), a member of the Rivals100 for the 2014 recruiting cycle, became the third player to commit to the Florida Gators at Junior Day in Gainesville, FL on Saturday.

Miller, who registered 14 sacks during his junior campaign at Spring Valley High School, joined offensive linemen Travaris Dorsey (Jacksonville, FL) and Benjamin Knox (Deland, FL) as the newest members of Florida’s recruiting class. The Gators now have six pledges for 2014 with Miller on board as just the second defensive player.

The son of former South Carolina starter and nine-year NFL veteran LB Corey Miller, he undoubtedly took his father’s advice when making his pledge. The older Miller was coached by new Florida defensive line coach Brad Lawing when both were at USC.

The Gators gained and lost a Rivals100 member on Saturday. Prior to adding Miller (ranked No. 91 overall), Florida lost four-star defensive tackle Travonte Valentine (Palm Bay, FL). The No. 46-ranked prospect decommitted from the Gators in order to open up his recruitment, a move that was expected and certainly not a surprise.

Florida’s other 2014 pledges include four-star quarterback Will Grier (Davidson, NC), four-star wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers, FL) and four-star cornerback Duke Dawson (Cross City, FL). All three are ranked on the Rivals250 at No. 18, No. 119 and No. 219, respectively.

Miller’s commitment was first reported by ESPN‘s Kipp Adams.

Tags: Benjamin Knox, Brad Lawing, Christian Miller, Duke Dawson, NFL, Ryeshene Bronson, Travaris Dorsey, Travonte Valentine, Will Grier

Not all recruitments are filled with back-and-forth battles and down-to-the-wire decisions, which is why it was relatively easy process for long-time lean and four-star 2014 defensive back Duke Dawson (Cross City, FL) to pull the trigger and commit to the Florida Gators on Tuesday.

Just 51 miles west of the University of Florida at Dixie County High School, Dawson sat down in front of family, friends and media and announced his decision to become the fourth member of the Gators’ already stellar 2014 recruiting class.

He chose Florida over Florida State and joins four-stars wide receiver Ryeshene Bronson (Fort Myers, FL), defensive tackle Travonte Valentine (Palm Bay, FL) and quarterback Will Grier (Davidson, NC) as prospects that have already decided to continue their football careers in Gainesville, FL.

Dawson, the cousin of Gators four-star 2013 DB pledge Marcell Harris (Orlando, FL), is the fourth member of the Rivals250 Watch List to commit to Florida. He is widely considered one of the best defensive backs in the 2014 class.

He told InsidetheGators.com‘s Blake Alderman on Monday ($) that the attention paid to him by the coaching staff and the ability to play early on in his career are what had him leaning towards the Gators.

“With Florida, I talk to them all the time. They have showed me love ever since the first time I went to their camp [over the summer], and they have five defensive backs leaving the year before I would come in so there’s opportunity,” he said.

Though his commitment is solid, Dawson will take recruiting visits as he still has a full year until he signs his National Letter of Intent.

Tags: Duke Dawson, Marcell Harris, Ryeshene Bronson, Travonte Valentine, Will Grier