4-star WR target Amare Patterson shuns Florida to visit SEC rival instead

It was already a pretty light weekend upcoming for official visitors heading to Gainesville to check out what Jon Sumrall's vision is for the Florida Gators, and the list just got even smaller.

Four-star wide receiver Amare Patterson announced on Tuesday that he will not be taking his official visit to Florida and will instead visit South Carolina. The Gators offered Patterson a long time ago, in April 2025 to be exact, and he had a chance to meet Sumrall during one of the junior day events in January and the new staff thought enough of him to put the wheels in motion for a scheduled official visit. Without a visit to Florida, the Gators are likely out with South Carolina, Georgia and Georgia Tech as likely finalists for his June 20 announcement.

4-star WR Amare Patterson takes Florida off his visit schedule

These things happen, and with the recent announcement that Florida is one of the primary programs that five-star wide receiver Easton Royal is focusing on if he decides to flip from Texas, the Gators simply might not have the wide receiver slots to continue to pursue Patterson like they wanted to. Also, South Carolina is probably being very aggressive to secure a top in-state player (Patterson is from Bluffton, South Carolina) and the Gamecocks have a greater need for him.

And what about Royal? Well, this is the weekend he's in Gainesville, and it's a great chance for Sumrall and the staff to put their best foot forward and tell the New Orleans blue-chip recruit why he needs to be part of what's happening in Gainesville instead of sticking with Texas or, God forbid, hitching his wagon to Lane Kiffin and LSU. 

READ MORE: Easton Royal makes a big decision that has Jon Sumrall and Florida ready to take action

Who is scheduled to take an official visit to Florida this weekend?

Royal is the big name heading to Gainesville during the penultimate weekend of the official visit season. There will be two commits on their official visits as well — four-star offensive tackle Elijah Hutcheson and three-star interior lineman Tommy Douglas. There are three other targets planning visits; four-star cornerback Raheem Floyd, four-star Marquis Evans and three-star safety Seth Williams.

The Gators are riding a ton of momentum as we roll through this time of year. Florida received several commits last week, although one of them, four-star offensive tackle Kennedee Jackson, is having some second thoughts after visiting Georgia last weekend, just hours after he committed to the Gators. 

And then there's the weekly drama surrounding five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster. Florida is hoping to receive an official visit from the elite prospect out of Cedar Hill, Texas, but he doesn't announce his visit plans until the end of the week. Brewster took a visit to Texas last weekend and LSU the week before. One has to assume that the Rivals/On3 top-rated player in the country will take a visit to Texas Tech in one of the final two weeks, since he's committed to the Red Raiders, but Sumrall is hoping to get the other one. We'll see what happens because things are never boring around Gainesville. 

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