After listing the Florida Gators in his top five just a month ago, three-star OT Leyton Nelson has opted to play for UCF over Florida.
Nelson refined his list of five down to the two schools earlier this week while leaving a little room for Miami in third place, according to 247Sports. He was also scheduled to attend UF’s final Friday Night Lights camp on July 30 but missed the event due to a speeding ticket.
After an unofficial visit in mid-July, Nelson received an offer from head coach Dan Mullen and described his emotions as “ecstatic” to the Orlando Sentinel. The unsuccessful visit on July 30 denied Nelson and Mullen the opportunity to rekindle that excitement and possibly played a part in the final decision.
COMMITTED‼️ pic.twitter.com/7tOAI4Ulci
— Leyton Nelson (@LeytonNelson4) August 5, 2021
Interest in Nelson soared as schools got deeper and deeper into their recruiting season. For Florida, it was the loss of IMG Academy (Fla.) OT Tyler Booker to Alabama that moved Nelson up their board. Offensive line coach John Hevesy recruited him directly and Mullen also played a large part in the recruitment.
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It was thought that Nelson would join four-star Tony Livingston as the second committed tackle in Florida’s 2022 recruiting class, but the Gators will have to look elsewhere now. Two names to look out for would be three-star Eston Harris Jr. out of Auburn High (Ala.) and four-star Julian Armella out of St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.). Both have received offers from Florida, but Harris is the easier target and has listed the Gators in his top three. He says he’ll decide on Oct. 28.
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