Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Auburn Tigers and the Florida Gators are locked in to a couple of high-profile recruiting battles, with National Signing Day approaching.
Adding intensity to the situation is the fact that Will Muschamp, who resigned as Florida’s head coach near the end of the 2014 season, is still recruiting the same players he was trying to bring to Gainesville. Instead, he’s now trying to get them to the Plains.
The biggest prize between the schools is five-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey from Apopka, Fla. He would appear to be a Florida lean at this point, but Muschamp and the Auburn staff will push as long as they can to get Ivey to play for the Tigers.
There are at least three other players who are being pursued heavily by both Auburn and Florida. Five-star defensive end Byron Cowart lists the Tigers and the Gators among his final schools, as does four-star linebacker Jeffery Holland from Jacksonville, Fla. Four-star wide receiver Ryan Davis also appears to be choosing between Auburn and Florida.
A player making a verbal commitment hasn’t stopped the recruiting between the two schools. In fact, this weekend, Auburn will host Florida commit Michael Horton while Florida hosts Auburn pledge Richard McBryde.
Muschamp, as well as Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, would like nothing more than to take recruits away from the school that ran him off. Plus, Auburn could use the help on both sides of the ball after losing several standout players from last season.
New Florida head coach Jim McElwain is in a tough spot with these players. He has only 10 verbal commitments at this point and has the 14th (i.e. last) ranked recruiting class in the SEC right now. If he misses out on a large number of these guys, it could set his rebuilding project back at least a year. Plus, if he’s not able to convert on top players, especially when recruiting against Muschamp, it does not bode well for his future in Gainesville.
A few commitments from top players could do Florida a ton of good. They’ll need to beat their former coach in order to get those commitments.
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
