Florida Gators 5-Star Recruits: Have They Turned in 5-Star College Careers?
Oct 12, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Florida Gators defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III (1) and defensive back Jabari Gorman (21) in warm ups prior to a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
You never know just how a high school prospect will handle the pressure that comes with being a 5-star prospect.
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Some shine just as brightly as their talent allows and many others flame out, burning up in a-not-so-beautiful blaze of glory.
The Florida Gators have had their fair share of both experiences, having football prospects produce on the college level then going on to find NFL success; others have never even played a down for UF.
Since 2007, the Gators have had 23, 5-star prospects as determined by Rivals come through Gainesville; of those 23, nine have been drafted in the NFL, five are still playing at Florida and one didn’t even take an official snap at Florida.
It’s time to look back on those 5-star prospects and find out just how successful they have been on the football field and determine whether or not they lived up to the hype that surrounded them.
Many of these names you’ll recognize playing on Sundays; others you’ll store away in your mind as a piece of Gators trivia.
For the sake of fairness, we’ll give the 2014 and 2015 recruiting class a break, since not enough time has passed to make a final determination about the validity of their 5-star status.
These prospects were all given a 5-star rating by Rivals, but not all of them turned in 5-star careers at Florida.
2014 Recruiting Class: No. 10 Jalen Tabor; 2015 Recruiting Class: No. 20 CeCe Jefferson, No. 4 Martez Ivey
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