Billy Napier and Co. made some more headway on the recruiting trail on Wednesday when four-star tight end Caleb Odom out of Carrollton (Georgia) included the Gators among his top five preferred collegiate destinations, according to an announcement made on Twitter. Further, the coveted blue chipper also set a date for his final decision, which he plans on revealing July 15.
The other schools mentioned were the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ole Miss Rebels, Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 215-pound student-athlete last visited Gainesville during the second weekend of June, which has apparently sparked renewed interest in the Orange and Blue. Odom omitted UF from his preferred schools list earlier in the year but less than two months ago made an about-face, released an updated list about a month ago, releasing a list that consisted of Alabama, Ole Miss, Miami, the Georgia Bulldogs, Colorado Buffaloes, Penn State Nittany Lions as well as Florida.
Part of the reason Odom delayed his interest in the Gators was the changing of the guards on the coaching staff, with his former lead recruiter and tight ends coach William Peagler departing for the NFL while the arrival of wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales and tight ends coach Russ Callaway put Florida back in the running for the coveted prospect.
Odom is ranked No. 68 overall and No. 4 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 65 and 4, respectively. Alabama holds three crystal ball predictions from 247Sports while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine also has the Tide in the lead with a 61.1% chance of landing him; Florida is fourth at 1.5%.
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