Several of the top college programs in the country hosted recruiting cookouts over the weekend, but 2024 five-star cornerback [autotag]Desmond Ricks[/autotag] chose to stop by the University of Florida instead of Alabama, Miami or Ohio State among others.
The reason he chose Florida is fairly simple, according to 247Sports’ Blake Alderman. Cornerbacks coach [autotag]Corey Raymond[/autotag] is known as one of the top position coaches in the country, and he has produced several first-round NFL talents. Getting a chance to chop it up with coach C-Ray was enough for Ricks to put the other schools asking him to come by to the side.
“Coach Raymond is the reason I’m here,” Ricks said. “Everybody else was having their cookout today, but I decided to come here to see coach Raymond.”
Ricks arrived in town the day before the cookout to observe Friday Night Lights. He enjoyed being around other top recruits and Gators commits and got to see the coaching staff in action. His family also got to tour the new facilities, which should be ready in the next couple of weeks.
“The facilities were new,” he said. “Walking through that and seeing everything that’s being built, you can see that there’s a change in Gainesville.”
Now that this trip is wrapped up, Ricks is considering returning to Florida for an official visit. He wants to visit Alabama, LSU and Miami, so it should be a competitive race for one of the top talents in the class.
Ricks is No. 2 overall on the 247Sports composite and is No. 1 among cornerback and Florida recruits in the class of 2024.
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