Gators snag pledge from DE Luke Ancrum

By Adam Silverstein
February 1, 2015

Defensive end Luke Ancrum (Sebring, FL) is not a big name on the recruiting circuit, but the Florida Gators certainly see him as a potential program building block as the team accepted a verbal commitment from the prospect on Sunday.

Ancrum (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) is unrated on most recruiting services but considered a two-star player by Rivals. His coach at Sebring High School, Lavaar Scott, told the Orlando Sentinel’s Chris Hays that Ancrum is much better than his star rating indicates.

“A lot of coaches don’t find their way down here,” he said. “At Sebring, every now and then we will have a kid, but the coaches aren’t going to come in this far, so we’ll have kids get attention every year, but just not major, BCS attention.”

Ancrum received a scholarship offer from Florida defensive line coach Terrell Williams on Monday and officially visited the Gators on Sunday. Moments after telling one recruiting reporter that he would not make a decision until National Signing Day, Ancrum was on board with Florida head coach Jim McElwain confirming as much on Twitter.

He is listed as having offers from Pittsburgh and Wisconsin, though it is not known where he stood with those schools.

Scott told the Sentinel that Ancrum was focused on playing basketball until he realized “where his bread would be buttered” and immediately “hit the weight room hard.” He also noted that Ancrum is a good student with a 3.1 GPA and is only 17 years old.

Ancrum’s commitment was first reported by InsidetheGators.com‘s Blake Alderman.

Ancrum is Florida’s third commitment in the last two days and the Gators’ 13th overall pledge for the 2015 recruiting cycle. All but one of Florida’s 13 commitments are rated as three-star prospects or lower.

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* Dillon is expected to flip from UF to LSU.