Florida football recruiting: Gators in the top ten for four star in-state corner

Florida football recruiting is making sure they don’t overlook any elite players that are coming out of the sunshine state.

One of those is Cai Bates, a 4-star corner out of Orlando.

Cai recently named his top ten schools, and the Gators were able to make the cut.

Other teams on his list include LSU, Alabama, and Ohio State, as well as other in-state schools such as UCF and FSU.

Cai is a 4-star on every recruiting service but Rivals, and On3’s industry ranking has him as the 161st-best player in the country, the 19th-best corner in the 2024 class, and the 26th-best player coming out of Florida.

Bates is a two-way player for Edgewater, getting snaps at both corner and wide receiver.

His history as a wideout has given him an advantage on the defensive side of the ball, knowing how to put himself into a position to attack the ball and great athleticism down the field.

Cai put up good numbers on both sides of the ball. In just a handful of games on defense, he picked off four passes and broke up seven. In the playoffs, he had three interceptions and five PBU in one game.

As a wideout he caught 17 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, displaying good quickness and length, as well as displaying his great ball skills.

Despite him being an in-state prospect just two hours from campus, the Gators have a bit of ground to make up in his recruitment.

LSU currently leads for Cai, with Alabama and Tennessee right behind them.

Bates has official visits scheduled to go see those three schools and has only made one trip to Gainesville for an unofficial visit in April of this year.

It isn’t ideal to be behind three out-of-state programs for Cai, but it is what it is.

If the Gators can get him on campus for an OV, Corey Raymond and Billy Napier should be able to gain some ground in his chase.

Keep up with Florida football recruiting at Hail Florida Hail.