Terrion Arnold Places Florida Gators in Top 5 Schools, Sets Commit Date

The Florida Gators are trending in the right direction with one of the nation's top safeties.

The No. 3 safety in the nation, Terrion Arnold (John Paul II Catholic - Tallahassee, Fla.) has placed the Florida Gators in his top five schools with a plan to commit somewhere on National Signing Day, Feb. 3. 

In due time💯 pic.twitter.com/eibRB7jqI4

— Terrion Arnold (@ArnoldTerrion) December 1, 2020

Florida joins Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, and LSU on Arnold's fresh list of schools. 

Along with his lofty positional ranking, Arnold is Sports Illustrated All-American's No. 41 overall prospect in the class of 2021. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound athlete profiles as a safety at the next level, with aspirations to play basketball and an offer from UF to do so.

Florida is pushing hard not only to land Arnold, but his friend and another elite defender in the class, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. On Monday, Sorey confirmed his top three of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama with a Dec. 16 commitment planned. Sorey is SIAA's No. 2 linebacker and No. 17 national prospect this year.

Landing the duo of north Florida-raised talents would put the cherry on top of a fascinating defensive recruiting class by defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and his staff. Arnold would be the sixth defensive back and third true safety (four, if you count STAR Dakota Mitchell) in Florida's 2021 haul should he pledge to UF, adding another high-ceiling talent to what has been a weak-link of a position for some time.

Below, you can find a snippet of Arnold's Sports Illustrated All-American scouting report.

Polish

: Savvy safety prospect that delivers big blows, makes sure tackles and wreaks havoc from his position. Adept at catching the football in contested situations. Thrives in one-on-one matchups, whether pursuing a ball carrier or covering a wide receiver.

Bottom Line

: Arnold deserves to be considered among the nation’s best safety prospects because he proves to be instinctive, powerful and dynamic athletically. He takes the proper angles, is relentless in pursuit of the ball-carrier, a big hitter and great at tracking the football once it’s in the air.

Stay tuned to Sports Illustrated-AllGators for the latest Florida Gators football and recruiting news updates.