Ten Florida receivers who have shined this fall

We're just past the midway point of the high school season for Florida. Most teams now have six games in the books, and some players in the passing game have really started to break away from the pack. Here's eight ten receivers (well, actually, nine receivers and a tight end) who have emerged this fall. Some were already well-known coming into the season. Some of the others? Well, they weren't quite as well known before this fall.

Now, keep in mind, I'm not advocating that these are the eight best wide receiver prospects in Florida. There have been a number of top prospects (Ermon Lane, Ja'Von Harrison, Corey Holmes and Artavis Scott among them) whose numbers haven't matched those of the players in this post for one reason or another. However, the below-listed prospects have raised their level of play this fall, without a doubt.

Ryan Sousa (6-0, 177, Lake Nona) – The prolific senior out of the Orlando area continues to put up big numbers. Sousa had over 2,400 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two seasons, and his numbers continue to trend up for Lake Nona. Through six games this fall, Sousa has grabbed 59 receptions for 901 yards (15.3 ypc) and 10 scores. FSU commitment.



Natrelle Jamerson (6-0, 175, Ocala Vanguard) – Jamerson has been a part of a prolific offensive attack for the Knights this fall. Through six games, Jamerson has 39 receptions for 785 yards (20.1 ypc) and eight scores. Tight end Elkanah Dillon has also been very effective for the Vanguard passing game this season, as the Knights are 3-3 on the season.



Mike Boone (5-9, 175, Glen St. Mary Baker County) – Following a 46-7 victory against Paxon on Friday night, the FIU pledge had nabbed 48 receptions for 841 yards (17.5 ypc) and 11 scores through seven games for 5-2 Baker County.



Jordan Franks (6-4, 210, Crawfordville Wakulla) – The senior tight end has thrived with brother Feleipe throwing him passes this fall. Franks had notched 40 receptions for 742 yards (18.6 ypc) and seven scores for the 6-1 War Eagles, before a 28-7 victory over Starke Bradford on Friday night.



Anthony "Shug" Rhynes (5-11, 190, Tampa Middleton) – Rhynes' performance has been overshadowed by the fact he competes on a 1-5 team. Still, the senior receiver had 23 receptions for 811 yards and seven scores following into a 26-21 victory for Middleton on Friday night against Blake, the Tigers' first victory of the season. Rhynes had a 70-yard pass reception for a score in the game.

Travis Rudolph (6-1, 188, West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman) – The Under Armour All-American has put together good numbers on the ground and as a receiver over the past three seasons. But nothing like he's done so far this fall. Through seven games, Rudolph already has career highs of 36 receptions, 762 yards (21.2 ypc) and 11 touchdowns for the 4-2 Crusaders. Rudolph has certainly emerged as one of the top prospects in the state of Florida at the wide receiver position, if not the best.



J.C. Jackson (5-10, 185, Immokalee) – After another big game for the Florida commitment on Friday night in a win over Naples, Jackson now has 18 receptions for 615 yards (34.2 ypc) and 9 scores for Immokalee, despite the fact he's only played in five games for the Indians, who are now 5-2 on the season. Jackson now has two games of 200+ receiving yards in the last three weeks for Immokalee.



Stephen Denmark (6-3, 200, Tallahassee Rickards) – Denmark has been a standout on a surprising 6-0 Rickards squad. He has 23 receptions for 632 yards (27.5 ypc) and eight scores for the season. He also added an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against FAMU High on Thursday, demonstrating why his stock should continue to rise over the course of this season and heading into the weeks leading up to National Signing Day.

Garrett Johnson (5-10, 168, Winter Garden West Orange) – The explosive slot receiver has been incredibly productive once against for West Orange this fall, nabbing 38 receptions for 607 yards (16.0 ypc) and nine touchdowns for the 6-1 Warriors before a 56-7 win over Cypress Creek on Friday night. Johnson had a 63-yard reception for a touchdown and also returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown in that contest as well. Johnson is committed to Kentucky.



Ny'Qwan Murray (5-11, 170, Orlando Oak Ridge) – The central Florida speedster recently picked up his first FBS offer from Cincinnati. Murray had 41 receptions for 788 yards (19.2 ypc) and 10 scores before a 23-20 win over Ocoee to move their record to 4-3 on the year. Murray had a 99-yard TD reception against East Ridge earlier this season, which is linked below.

1990: Spurrier's First Recruiting Class

This will be the first installment of a running anthology of articles as we look back at how Florida has done on the recruiting trail over the past 25 (or so) years. First up: the recruiting class of 1990.

Duke head coach Steve Spurrier was announced as the new head coach at Florida on Dec. 31, 1989. He had approximately six weeks to put/hold together the Class of 1990 for UF, and by most accounts, he did a solid job of rounding up his first incoming crop of freshmen in Gainesville. The Gators announced an 19-man recruiting class on Feb. 14, 1990:

Pete Archie, Back (6-0, 185), Houston, Tex. (C.E. King)

Jay Austin, Quarterback (6-3, 202), St. Petersburg (Northeast)

Chris Bilkie, Back (6-3, 215), Bradenton (Manatee)

Craig Carey, Line (6-3, 285), Houston, Tex. (Wentworth Military Academy)

Kendall Cook, Kicker (5-10, 170), Lakeland (Lake Gibson)

Zach Crockett, Back (6-3, 215), Pompano Beach (Ely)

Terry Dean, Quarterback (6-2, 180), Naples (Barron Collier)

Kevin Freeman, Back (6-1, 190), Bradenton (Manatee)

Michael Gilmore, Back (6-0, 190), Chipley

Greg Gingeleski, Line (6-8, 270), Sarasota (Riverview)

Dean Golden, Line (6-5, 230), Plantation (South Plantation)

Aubrey Hill, Back (5-11, 175) Miami (Carol City)

Harrison Houston, Back (5-9, 160), Pensacola (Pine Forest)

Eddie Lake, Back (5-11, 175), Tarpon Springs

Kedra Malone, Back (5-9, 175), Niceville

George Rushing, Back (6-4, 225), Miami (American)

David Swain, Line (6-4, 255), Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley)

Lateef Travis, Back (6-4, 215), Pensacola (Pine Forest)

Scott Travis, Line (6-5, 245), New Rochelle, N.Y. (New Rochelle)

– 10 members of this class were considered to be among the Top 50 prospects in the state of Florida (Austin, Bilkie, Dean, Freeman, Gilmore, Gingelski, Houston, Malone, Swain and Travis.) Florida State would land 12, while Miami was only able to haul in four in 1990. Among out-of-state programs, Notre Dame had the most success in Florida in 1990, grabbing four top-50 prospects, including future starting quarterback Kevin McDougale (6-2, 183) out of Pompano Beach Ely.

– 17 of the Gators' 19 signees (89.4%) hailed from the state of Florida. All 19 players also came directly out of the high school ranks.

– At 6-9, Gingelski is one of the tallest players to ever suit up for the gridiron Gators.

– Travis was named as the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Florida in 1989. He was a part of back-to-back Class 5A state championship squads at Pine Forest in 1987 and 1988. He was considered by most outlets to be the crown jewel of Florida's recruiting class.

Biggest hits: Although the class was considered strong on paper, it didn't prove to be overly productive in Gainesville. Houston was the only NFL Draft pick out of the bunch (Atlanta, 138^th overall, 1994.) He was a valued member of the receiving corps along with Aubrey Hill. Dean was originally slated to be Shane Matthews' heir apparent, but shared the quarterbacking duties with Danny Wuerffel in 1993 and 1994 before Wuerffel eventually took over full-time midway through the '94 season. Bilkie, Dean, Gilmore and Swain would all be named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll at least once in their careers. Bilkie may be best remembered for his involvement in this "hidden ball" trick play in the 1994 Sugar Bowl against West Virginia:

Biggest misses: Already considered an academic risk when he signed, Travis was officially jettisoned after drug-related arrests in June of 1990. He wound up at Pearl River Community College before transferring to Mississippi State, where he would letter for the Bulldogs in 1992 and 1993. Crockett failed to qualify, and would later sign with Florida State alongside his younger brother Henri in 1992. Crockett would put together an impressive 13-season career in the pros.

The ones who got away: Despite being born in Gainesville and playing at nearby Chiefland, tight end Oscar McBride (6-5, 260) elected to attend Notre Dame. He also played two seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals.

Lake Wales linebacker James Roberson (6-3, 220) decided to sign with Florida State after originally committing to Florida. Roberson grew into a defensive end with the 'Noles and later played four years in the NFL. Roberson would attribute his decision to go with FSU over fear Florida would fall under major NCAA sanctions after being in the governing body's doghouse for most of the 1980's. Florida was eventually put on probation, and did not play in a bowl game following the 1990 season, but avoided any other serious penalties.

Tallahassee Lincoln placekicker Dan Mowery (5-11, 165) also reneged on a pledge to UF to attend FSU. He would later become famous as the victim of “Wide Right II” at the Orange Bowl, as the 'Noles dropped a 19-16 decision to Miami. Following the de-commitment, Florida moved to offer Kendall Cook of Lakeland, who signed with the Gators. Mowery was one of two top-rated placekicking prospects in the state of Florida for 1990, the other being Aaron Mills of Satellite Beach, who inked with Stanford.

Wide receiver Chris T. Jones (6-3, 197, West Palm Beach/Cardinal Newman) was so torn as to his college choice, he elected to wait until after National Signing Day to turn in his letter-of-intent to Miami, this despite the fact he was originally expected to select between Florida, Michigan and Michigan State. Jones was a third-round pick of the Eagles in 1995, but a promising start with Philadelphia was short-circuited in his third season by a knee injury on the notoriously rough Veterans Stadium turf in 1997.

Notre Dame signed what most services considered to be the nation's top class. But Florida State, with a crop of 23 players, was not far behind. The Seminoles landed a pair of USA Today first team All-Americans in Miami Northwestern LB Marvin Jones (6-2, 220) and St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Durham quarterback Chris Weinke (6-5, 205). DB Clifton Abraham, DE Ken Alexander, RB Sean Jackson, TE Lonnie Johnson and DB Corey Sawyer were among the other major contributors from that class.

The top class in the SEC belonged to Georgia, which signed four USA Today All-Americans, headlined by wide receiver Andre Hastings and 6-9 lineman Bernard Williams, who went on to be a first round pick of the Eagles. In-state star Garrison Hearst was also a part of the Bulldogs' haul, which included 27 players in total.

Have some other thoughts on this group? Add them in the comments below.

Travis Rudolph

Alright, so one more top five update for today. West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman wide receiver Travis Rudolph has narrowed his list to five, according to Rivals ($): Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Ohio State and Vanderbilt.

The Gators have long been considered the top dog in the race for Rudolph (6-0½, 188.) However, Alabama and Florida State have been making up ground with the Gators. I wouldn't count out Vanderbilt, and their pitch of immediate playing time for the Under Armour All-American, either. It seems like the opportunity to come in and contribute immediately could be a driving influence on his decision. Ultimately, I don't see the Buckeyes as a major player for his services.



Rudolph has accounted for more than 3,100 all-purpose yards and 43 touchdowns in three seasons at Cardinal Newman. A phenomenal athlete as well, there has been considerable debate as to whether or not Rudolph could develop into a top-flight cornerback at the next level . In fact, Rudolph withdrew his original commitment to Miami as a result of the fact the 'Canes coaching staff seemed to prefer him as a defensive player.

To date, Will Muschamp has done an excellent job loading up his 2014 class with skill athletes who are true football players. At least two – J.C. Jackson (Immokalee) and Chris Lammons (Plantation) – could project on either side of the ball at next level, along with targets Rudolph, Adoree' Jackson (Gardena, Calif.) and Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs/East Lake), among others. The Gators probably need at least two more skill guys in this class, and Rudolph is clearly one of the prospects for whom they sit prettiest with at the moment.

However, Florida State is making a move following a July summer camp visit to Tallahassee by Rudolph. The Seminoles presently have five receivers committed, but at least two of those prospects are believed to be wavering behind closed doors. Jimbo Fisher is clearly in the market for some more talent at the position. With Ermon Lane's commitment to Florida, Alabama may make Rudolph more of a priority as well, giving the Crimson Tide a chance to dip into the South Florida talent pool for a speedy and athletic receiver once again.

Regardless, the real race for the signature of Travis Rudolph appears to have only begun.