Aug. 18 next important day in Gators recruiting?

By Adam Silverstein
August 10, 2010

The Florida Gators have experienced some memorable moments in recruiting recently.

During a one-week span from Dec. 13-19, 2005, when five-star quarterback Tim Tebow and five-star wide receiver Percy Harvin verbally committed, to Jan. 9, 2010, when five-star defensive end Ronald Powell, five-star safety Matt Elam and five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd all picked the Gators at the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, pulling in top recruits always seems to come in bunches for Florida.

The same thing may happen a week from Wednesday on Aug. 18, as five-star athlete James Wilder, Jr. (Tampa, FL) and four-star cornerback Nick Waisome (Groveland, FL) have each agreed to announce their commitments on the same day.

It was previously reported that Wilder and Waisome, each of whom are have the Gators as a finalist (Waisome as his leader), will announce their college choice on an ESPN network live from a Tampa television station at 5 p.m. Instead, Wilder will be announcing in Tampa while Waisome will make his choice on his own in Orlando, FL.

Both players have been Florida leans for quite some time and while all indications are that Waisome is as solid as ever, there have been murmurs recently that Wilder was impressed by a recent visit to Florida State (which he took instead of attending the Gators’ Friday Night Lights camp). Wilder had planned to take a number of other visits but has already canceled a trip to Georgia. There is an increasing sentiment that he is FSU’s to lose at this point even though he had been interested in attending Florida for a while, has often visited Gainesville, FL, on his own dime and has a strong relationship with head coach Urban Meyer.

Photo Credit: St. Petersburg Times

30 Comments

  1. Lance says:

    You seem way more confident regarding Wilder than a lot of people. I sure hope you’re right.

  2. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    It’s hard to get to excited when it’s this early although from what I have read Wilder would not be the type to flip flop once he announces….I assume both of these guys want to enroll early? Isn’t it safe to say Wilder is clearly our #1 target for this class?

  3. alex4r says:

    Adam:

    It is looking like FSU. Hopefully I am wrong.

  4. Daniel M. says:

    Jr. has history with UF. he also has a great relationship with Urban. I’d be shocked to see him head to the school out west. If he and Waisome combine their announcements, it’s a lock.

    Kelvin, come on down son.

  5. Wingtee says:

    Adam there you go again looking through Orange and Blue glasses. All signs point to FSu here. I would be shocked if he
    goes with UF. He wants to play running back and he are not selling that but FS is.
    Being over optimistic gives me the creeps. I hope you are right Adam but I think you williss this one

  6. 1) Saying “there I go again” means I often look through orange and blue glasses, which I don’t. In fact, I am often criticized for being pessimistic UF-wise about these types of things.

    2) Every opinion I provide in these comment sections is unbiased…it is what I believe…not what I am hoping for. I am not overly optimistic on this. If I had to provide a guess, my guess is the Gators. I’d say I’m 55% leaning that way.

    3) I believe that a year of recruiting, with him visiting the Florida campus many, many times, and developing a great relationship with Urban Meyer is tough to be undone by one or two stops in Tallahassee. Some people who cover recruiting closely agree with me, others already have him picking FSU, which is very possible.

    4) The fact that he and Waisome are announcing on the same day is telling, IMO. Otherwise, why not do it separately?

    5) The Gators have told him he can play RB at UF. He can do whatever he wants. Wilder may very well see a better opportunity at FSU.

    Could he commit to FSU? YES. Very possible. When asked to provide my honest thoughts on the matter, I think he goes to UF. Not sure why that can’t be taken at face value…

  7. Mr2Bits says:

    I too think Wilder is headed to UF. He has had a long standing relationship and Tampa is Gator heavy. If he were headed to FSU he would do the announcement by himself and not combine with a heavy Florida lean. UF will also give Wilder the media platform to showcase his skills and take it to the next level that FSU cannot provide him. Lets face it, would you rather be playing in the SEC Championship and NCG or BCS game yearly or playing in the Gator/Mazda Tangerine Bowl?

  8. gatorgrad79 says:

    Hopefully logic will win and Wilder will want to play at UF where he has a decent chance of playing for the BCS title in the next 3 years ( maybe more than once) while fsu will be longer than Wilder’s college tenure getting back to the dance…depends if he wants a shot ata ring and the national stage…

  9. Not sure why people don’t believe FSU has a national stage – they certainly do – just need to win a bit more to get there. Remember all the love Miami got last year because of a strong start? Though Florida fans may want to write them off because of recent struggles, FSU is a legitimate program and they are on a serious upswing right now, at least recruiting-wise.

  10. Tampa Tom says:

    We will see if James Jr is an ALL about ME or ALL about the TEAM guy.If he picks the all about me route, then he will sit at home with himself and watch the gators play in BCS bowl games.

  11. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    I too think there is a gulf between UF and FSU from the stage perspective…..do you think he didn’t notice what CJ Spiller did last year in the ACC and didn’t even make the final list for the Heisman? Do you know how many RB’s from the ACC have ever won a Heisman? Once Ponder leaves FSU who knows how productive that offense will be….we have Brantley and Driskel which both scream more I formation and feature back…plus you know with Meyer he will keep bringing the top lineman to open up the holes!!!!

  12. El Meester says:

    If you think ALL of our top recruits are ALL about TEAM, then you’re certainly mistaken.

    If you think FSU isn’t building something serious right now and that recruits don’t see that, then you’re also certainly mistaken.

  13. Mr2Bits says:

    Adam : FSU has had one 8+ game winning season in the last 5 years and have sent 8 players to the NFL since 2006. . They don’t get prime-time games except for Miami and us and almost lose to Jax St. and got humiliated at home to USF. Their national stage packed up long ago

  14. Jaymz15Gator says:

    Doesn’t look good. The anouncement is coming after the players enjoyed their visit at Fsu. It seems that fsu has gained some major grounds in the recruiting process lately, with Wilder staying longer on his visit (and not attending Fnl) and Waisome opening up even more his recruitment after being a strong UF lean. The anouncement coming at this particular moment isn’t probably good for UF. Hopefully Urban will be able to pull out another “Elam”. And if not we still have until february to change their minds.

  15. tenn todd says:

    Waisome spent some extra time at fsu also. Could it be they are both picking fsu.

  16. Very possible – anything is. Would be very surprised to see Waisome go to FSU. Not surprised if Wilder, Jr. did.

  17. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    Timing is crazy…..it’s so early….maybe they just want to move on with their senior year of football

  18. dp says:

    Listen it all comes down to whether these guys want to come in, work hard and be a part of a winning program…or do they want to step into a rebuilding situation where they will probably play immediately and be treated like royalty at the cost of never winning a thing. It takes more than just talent to be a Florida Gator…it takes pride, hustle and desire. I really hope these guys are Gators because if they chose FSU they are going to be regretting every close to the season when they get beat down…who was that big mouth returner for the Noles that decommitted from UF? Reid or Reed…he ate his words.

  19. Mrweeks says:

    I think it would be huge for fsu to get them both and hurt us gators

  20. tpm05gator says:

    Adam thanks, this site is awesome! I found it last season and it is now the first place I go for gator news. You deserve a game ball! I must admit I may not like all of your comments all of the time but it simultaneously assures me that you present your information and thoughts as unbiased as possible. Commendable. At any rate, I think Wilder and Waisome will seek immediate play time. I believe they will committ to FSU, unfortunately. Hopefully we can sway them by February.

  21. Gio Showtime says:

    James Wilder’s FaceBook photos pretty much give away that he’s going to FSU. He’s wearing the Seminole jersey in aobut 3 of them and he’s taken pictures pointing at the Seminole logo and mimicking Bowden’s pose at Bowden’s statue. What an idiot!! He’s not even a great runner. Antone Smith Part II.

    I guess this is why Driskel made it a point to atten Savon Huggin’s visit to Gainesville. If we get Huggins or Blakely we’re better off at the RB position. James Wilder would’ve been a monster at LB/DE. This has bust written all over it.

  22. It’s sure looking like FSU, Gio, you’re right.

  23. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    Unless he trying to fool everyone….big if…I agree it has Antone Smith written all over it

  24. Mr2Bits says:

    Is this really the end of the world if we don’t get him??? I really like what Gillislee has been doing and God only knows what Brown will look like next year.

  25. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    Not the end of the world but he’s a 5 star RB from Tampa who we are going to lose to our rival after going after him hard….certainly will be a huge hall for F$U

  26. Movers says:

    Read he will be bead delaying decision until an all star game….any more info on it?

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