I'm not sure if any high school football prospect in the state of Florida has had as much of a rise in recruiting circles over the past six months as Marcus Roberson (6-1, 175, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas). At the Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 tournament (put on by the fine folks at ESPN Rise) which was held this weekend, Roberson was integral part of the dominant Team Southeast defense, a group which gave up only six points in their final three contests -- not an easy feat in the world of 7-on-7 play. Roberson earned all-tournament honors as the Southeast team walked away with an easy 36-0 victory in championship game over Team Southwest at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista.
In regards to his recruitment, Roberson has been all over the map. Early on he favored Texas A&M. Following a June visit to Gainesville, the Gators moved squarely into the driver's seat for his commitment, and figured to reel him in before the season starts in August. Now, it appears Roberson is leaning in a different direction once again.
"It's Auburn," Roberson said when prompted for a leader on Sunday evening. "Everything about it is great, the team, the people, and the coaches."
Why did the Tigers make such a move for one of the top cornerback prospects in the entire country? At Auburn, Roberson knows he will have a shot at starting out at the position he prefers, while Florida has mentioned two possibilities for where he could play over the course of his recruitment.
"Auburn wants me at cornerback," Roberson explained. "Florida told me safety at first. Then they said I could play cornerback. I'm not real sure about all of that."
While the Gators are still working hard to land Roberson's services, it appears they are fighting an uphill battle at this point. Although Roberson attended Friday Night Lights in Gainesville last weekend, it was not enough to move Auburn off the top slot. Furthermore, Roberson is planning just one more trip before he makes a decision -- and it's not to Gainesville.
"I'm not sure if there will be enough time (for a visit to Florida)," he said. "We might be flying back to Alabama to take another visit (to Auburn)."
And so, while Roberson remains uncommitted for the time being, it appears the Tigers have moved very close to securing the services of one of the top defensive back prospects in the entire Southeast.
Is UF doesn't get Roberson, who rounds out the DBs for UF?
ReplyDeleteIf Roberson doesn't go to Florida, I would expect Valdez Showers, Charles Jackson, and Alex Dixon to move up the board.
ReplyDeleteThere are some other names to keep an eye on at cornerback, but I will leave them be for now...as Florida really hasn't made a move towards any of those guys quite yet.
I still expect Nick Waisome to choose Florida, so that would leave one, maybe two open slots at cornerback.
At safety, I'm surprised Chris Johnson hasn't join the fold yet. Malcolm Mitchell, Wayne Lyons and Robenson Therezie are also high on the board as well.
Thanks for the response. Miss you at GC, but happy you are moving up. Any word on the new 24/7 sports site and when it will be up and running.
ReplyDeleteThanks, and I appreciate it! Official announcement is coming VERY soon on 24/7 Sports, I can assure you that...
ReplyDeleteSince you are on the trail, do you think you could do a run down of the 2, possible 3 guys committing on August 18th. Waisome has seemed like a Gator for a while now. Wilder has seemed to keep his lips shut for a while now, but we have heard UF leads at one point, FSU leads at one point and UGA leads at one point. Now there is a possibility that Anthony Chickillo commits on the 18th as well. Do you have any idea where Chickillo is leaning and if they all commit together, is it a given they commit to the same school?
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