Florida football has been hot on the recruiting trail of late coming off a successful spring practice season that culminated in the annual Orange and Blue game last Saturday. Make no mistake — while Billy Napier and Co. were certainly busy with offseason workouts they still pressed hard for the top prep prospects in the nation.
The Gators’ efforts have come to fruition of late as many high school players have set official visits with the program as well as mentioning the Orange and Blue among their top collegiate destinations. One such student-athlete is four-star safety Eric Winters out of Enterprise (Alabama) in the 2025 cycle.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound defender recently announced his top 5 schools and included Florida among them.
Per Swamp247:
“It’s just something about Napier that excites me. He’s a really good dude. I went up there this past spring and we talked for quite a bit and I got a good first impression from him. Coach Harris too, he’s got a lot of experience. He knows what it takes because he’s done it at every level. The environment too. It’s something a lot of kids dreamed of as kids.”
Per Gators Online:
“When hanging around coach Harris, he gives you those vibes that he’s a guy that you would like to go to work with every day and he makes your day easier. Florida has a rich history of doing things the right way and they’re trying to get back to the top and where they were.”
The Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Hurricanes and Tennessee Volunteers are also among his top 5 collegiate destinations.
Auburn: “Auburn is self-explanatory. Who wouldn’t want to stay home?”
Georgia: “As a prospect that plays defense, how can you say no to Georgia? Georgia recruits themselves.”
Miami: “It’s more than just ball with them. If you go there, you know you’re going to be successful on the field and off the field.”
Tennessee: “Those are the most down-to-earth guys I’ve met. They produce talent year and year out.”
“I’m looking for somebody to really separate themselves,” Winters told Gators Online. “Honestly, I want to commit as quickly as I can, even sometime before I start spring ball. But if not, I’ll take my OVs, weigh my options, name the pros and cons of each school and make a decision from there.”
Winters is ranked No. 79 overall and No. 8 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 79 and 9, respectively.
Auburn currently holds one crystal ball prediction from 247Sports while also commanding a massive lead in On3’s recruiting prediction machine with a 92.2% chance of signing him. Georgia (3.8%) and Miami (1.7%) trail a very distant second and third, respectively.
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