OGGOA reported Tuesday evening that Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was absent from his team’s first practice since its 2009 SEC Championship loss because he was in California on a recruiting trip likely visiting four-star cornerback commit Joshua Shaw (Palmdale, CA) and recruits five-star defensive end Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) and four-star wide receiver Kenny Stills (Carlsbad, CA).

Though the other team Powell is considering is the local USC Trojans, he has been leaning toward the Gators for some time according to recruiting analysts and has even gone out of his way to take numerous unofficial visits to Gainesville, FL, on his family’s own dime. Sports Illustrated recruiting reporter Kristian Dyer believes Powell is “most likely a silent verbal to Florida, as players have noted that he lobbied hard for them to join him in Gainesville when he took his official visit in September.”

When Shaw committed to the Gators exactly a month ago, he told reporters to expect others from his home state to join him across the country. “I’ll say this, there’s definitley more to come for the 2010 class,” Shaw said at the time. He also mentioned that he and Powell have made plans to attend the same school and room together as freshmen. Powell is considered to be the No. 1 available recruit on Florida’s board with four-star WR Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, FL) a close second.

UPDATE: Scouts, Inc. is reporting that Powell is indeed ready to make his college commitment official. He apparently tried to set up an announcement that would air on the ESPNU Recruiting Insider show this week but requested the time in too short of notice for the producers to make it to happen. OGGOA will keep you updated on Powell’s announcement as information regarding its occurrence is made available.

Tags: Chris Dunkley, Joshua Shaw, Kenny Stills, Ronald Powell, SEC Championship, Urban Meyer, USC Trojans

1 » Leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007, forward/center Al Horford has made great strides in his short time in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Molding his game after that of his father, Tito Horford, Al has the talent and ability to be a “double-double guy in this league for a long, long time,” according to Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. Averaging a double-double through the first eight games of the 2009 season, Horford is also doing his part to help the game of basketball grow abroad.

2 » On Monday, OGGOA reported that five-star defensive end recruit Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) is still deciding between the Gators and USC Trojans. ESPN’s Greg Biggins said that Florida has been a “heavy leader for some time now for Powell and that remains the case,” going on to say “it will be a pretty big surprise if the talented lineman ends up anywhere other than Gainesville next fall.” Now, Biggins reports Powell may commit to the Gators or Trojans without even making his official visits. “I could commit tomorrow or next month, just whenever it feels right,” Powell said. “I’ve been to Florida three times already and have been to USC a ton of times as well. I’ll probably end up taking the visits, but I don’t know if I really need to.”

Extra BIT » ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low posted a solid in-depth interview on Friday with Gators star junior cornerback Joe Haden. Among the topics covered are whether or not Haden misses playing offense, how long it took him to adapt to cornerback and if he and the team are keeping track of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

Tags: Al Horford, Joe Haden, Mike Woodson, NBA, Ronald Powell, Tito Horford, USC Trojans

A top five player in the country, five-star defensive end Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) got his SAT results back last week and is now academically qualified to play at schools such as the University of Florida. Scoring a 900 on the test to go along with his improved 2.9 GPA, Powell is still deciding between the Florida Gators and USC Trojans. ESPN’s Greg Biggins says the Gators “have been heavy leaders for some time now for Powell and that remains the case,” going on to say “it will be a pretty big surprise if the talented lineman ends up anywhere other than Gainesville next fall.” That is surprising news considering Powell had previously been 50-50 on his decision, at least publicly. Already visiting Florida a couple times on his own dime, Powell plans to return soon for an official visit before giving USC a shot at his services.

Going hard after five-star linebacker Jeff Luc (Port St. Lucie, FL) and for good reason…he’s the best at his position in the entire country. Luc visited the Gators unofficially this past weekend and came away impressed. However, the key to signing Luc may rest on whether or not defensive coordinator Charlie Strong takes a head coaching job after this season. “As long as Charlie Strong is there, Florida is a strong player,” Jeff’s brother Alex Luc told Rivals. “They have a strong relationship. He calls him his uncle. I could believe anybody that meets him will have a strong relationship with him because of who he is. He’s a well-mannered person who carries himself the right way, he’s really down-to-earth, he takes care of business but he’s a nice guy.” Luc remains undecided, and an official visit to Florida in December will give the Gators a good shot at landing this prized recruit. First, however, he will travel to visit the Georgia Bulldogs next weekend; Luc has already visited the Tennessee Volunteers and USC and plans to check out the LSU Tigers as well.

More recruiting news on Chaz Green and John Fulton after the jump…
Continue Reading » Gators lead for Powell? More: Luc, Green, Fulton

Tags: Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Jeff Luc, John Fulton, LSU Tigers, Ronald Powell, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, University of Florida, USC Trojans

Rather than write you a long, worthless introduction, just go ahead and make the jump for a ton of recruiting news on the following recruits: Matt Elam, Jeff Luc, Chaz Green, Christian Green, Chris Dunkley, Kardon Boone, James Louis, Cody Riggs, Lamarcus Joyner, Sharrif Floyd and Ronald Powell.

Continue Reading » Status updates for UF’s top recruiting prospects

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Chaz Green, Chris Dunkley, Christian Green, Cody Riggs, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, James Louis, Jeff Luc, Kardon Boone, Lamarcus Joyner, Lane Kiffin, Matt Elam, North Carolina Tar Heels, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Tech Red Raiders, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, USC Trojans