The Florida Gators were named as one of five final teams in five-star McKinney (Texas) safety [autotag]Xavier Filsaime[/autotag]’s recruitment on Tuesday.
Filsaime took to Twitter to announce the news. Florida will compete with Georgia, LSU, Oregon and USC over the next several months for his services.
The Gators got Filsaime to campus for the first time back on March 10. He hit it off with defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, according to On3, which resulted in Florida being looked at as a serious contender.
“It was just crazy,” Filsaime said. “I loved how they treated me. I’m from Florida so it felt nice being back home on my visit. Also, I loved how the team just had this strong chemistry and energy.”
Respect my decisions!🙏🏿@Hayesfawcett3 @McKinneyHS_FB pic.twitter.com/HsQibnGFOq
— Xavier Filsaime🇭🇹 (@XEF_19) March 29, 2023
Filsaime will return to the Swamp next month for the team’s Orange and Blue Game. Georgia is the only program with an official visit in place right now, but Florida could be close to securing one as well.
An Orlando-native, Filsaime knows the state well and is giving the program a long look while the two-time reigning national champs continue to knock on his door. It seems like Filsaime is destined to play a role in the Florida-Georgia rivalry at some point, but which side he’ll be on is still up for debate.
The Gators currently have the third-highest ranked recruiting class on On3’s team rankings. Headlined by quarterback [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], Filsaime would be the second five-star recruit in the class.
He’s ranked No. 32 overall by 247Sports and No. 2 among safeties in the class of 2024. His composite ranking dips a bit to No. 44 nationally and No. 3 at his position, but that’s still elite.
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