Florida football is in a tight race for the talents of three-star offensive tackle [autotag]Marcus Mascoll[/autotag] out of Snellville (Georgia) South Gwinnett with their Southeastern Conference West division rivals, the LSU Tigers.
The 6-foot-4.5-inch, 292-pound lineman made an official visit to Baton Rouge to open the month of June followed by one with the Gators in Gainesville last weekend. He came away impressed with what the program has accomplished in Billy Napier’s second year at the helm.
“It was good getting to be around Coach Sale, Coach Napier, Coach Stapleton,” he told Swamp247. “Getting to be around them and just building that relationship more with them, that trust. It was good,” Mascoll said. “They’re all great dudes, they all believe in me. That’s one thing they emphasize: they believe in me. It means a lot from them, to just know the fact that they believe in me and could take me to the next level.”
However, despite the impression Napier and Co. made on the rising high school senior last weekend, the Tigers remain the top contender for his services — though the Gators have made some headway.
“I have LSU still at the top right now,” Mascoll said, “It’s closer, it’s way closer than people think.”
The North Carolina State Wolfpack and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are also in heavy pursuit of the coveted prospect. But despite the competition, Florida has a lot to offer the young student-athlete.
“It’s the people, it’s the people down here. Gainesville, it’s a great location, so I had to come down to see the Gators,” Mascoll said. “It was mainly just being around the players more, because that’s how I get the feel for, ‘these could be my future teammates’, so that’s mainly what I tried to soak in, all the stuff they threw at me, but it was good.”
Mascoll is ranked No. 679 overall and No. 55 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 659 and 45, respectively. On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has LSU with an overwhelming 93.6% chance of landing him while UF has a measly 2.5% chance.
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