Florida has yet to host four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Xzavier McLeod[/autotag] on an official visit, but that didn’t prevent the Gators from landing in his top six on Wednesday.
McLeod named Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, South Carolina and Texas A&M as his finalists. He’s coming off an official visit to the Tigers and will be in Ann Arbor next week to see the Wolverines. That leaves the Gators to fight with three other programs, all in the SEC, for the three remaining visits.
The last time McLeod was in town was back in April, though. The Gators offered him in March and impressed him on the spring visit, but they’ll need to get him back on campus to avoid being the odd man out of this group. Here’s what he said to 247Sports about Florida after putting the list out:
“Florida is one of the best visits but it was professional,” McLeod said. “I understood where I stand and how I can impact the program where I can play and it’s good to be informed on these things because you’re not trying to feel unwelcomed in a school’s atmosphere or environment so I try to feel as comfortable and be myself as much as I can.”
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Billy Napier and Co. are looking to add a deep defensive line class in 2023 and McLeod has the right size and tools for the job. Getting him out of South Carolina might be hard, though. He’s outright said that the home-state team is going to have the advantage, and he’s impressed with what Shane Beamer is building in Columbia.
There’s no date set just yet for a decision, but official visits typically signal that things are getting serious. Narrowing things down to a top six is also a sign that things are getting close, but things can always change in an instant when it comes to recruiting.
McLeod is ranked No. 162 overall on the 247Sports composite and is No. 24 among defensive linemen in the class of 2023. Three crystal balls have been submitted in favor of the Gamecocks with medium confidence.
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