Florida DB target moves official visit up, locks in commitment date

This could be a big week for the Florida Gators and this Peach State defensive back.

Defensive back [autotag]Bryce Thornton[/autotag] will make his college decision on Thursday, and the Florida Gators are one of two finalists along with Alabama for the Peach State recruit. Florida’s already picked up a pair of crystal ball predictions from the experts at 247Sports, and the Gators received some more good news leading up to decision day. Thornton is moving his official visit up a week to see UF play LSU this weekend, according to a report from Swamp247.

Even though Thornton’s official visit will come after he commits, many believe that he’ll make that trip with a pledge to UF in the books. Alabama is loaded up at safety, and he’s been much closer with the Gators’ staff over the past few months. He’s been to the Swamp four times this year, including a Week 2 trip for the Kentucky game.

Thornton should get time at safety or the nickel (STAR) position once he gets to college. Florida will be losing Trey Dean next season, and the other two starters at those spots, [autotag]Tre’Vez Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Rashad Torrence[/autotag], are both draft eligible.

Thornton is a three-star recruit on both the 247Sports composite and the On3 consensus. On3 is the only site that views him as a four-star recruit and has him at a No. 27 among safeties in the class of 2023, but ESPN isn’t too far behind, ranking him at No. 28 in his position group.

This could be one of Billy Napier’s diamonds in the rough that ends up a four-star when all is said and done. Several commits have seen their grades rise over the season, and there’s still plenty of high school ball to be played.

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