Gators 2023 DB Target Sharif Denson Includes Florida In Top Five
Florida Gators defensive back target Sharif Denson released a top schools list on Monday.
Last April, Denson spoke with AllGators about his desire to remain in his home state of Florida but has grown more open to the possibility of moving elsewhere for his collegiate career if it equips him with the best opportunity to develop.
His top teams list reflects that.
Including the likes of Ohio State, Texas A&M, Florida State and South Carolina alongside the Gators as the five schools continuing to battle for his services down the stretch of his remaining recruitment process, Denson cut down his offer sheet of nearly 40 offers as we enter the summer.
Each school is slated to receive an official visit.
When the new regime originally arrived in Gainesville, Denson heard very little from the staff regarding his recruitment. Previously, it was a relationship that looked to be headed in the Gators' favor under the previous men in charge.
It was the second time he had been forced to start over in getting to know his potential position coach during his recruitment to UF after seeing Jules Montinar step in for a hastily released Torrian Gray following an abysmal 2020 campaign for the secondary.
However, taking an unofficial visit on March 3, the Bartram Trail (St. Johns, Fla.) product bonded with cornerback coach Corey Raymond and Patrick Toney. That helped push Florida back into a relatively favorable territory for the talented corner in their backyard.
He expanded on his interest in Florida — and the others — with the St. Augustine Record.
PT (co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Patrick Toney) is my guy. He was at our school the first day of spring and watched the whole practice and at the track, too. It was the day before my district meet.
What separates Florida is how analytical PT is. I talked to my dad about it and said that (Toney) is really a scientist when it comes to football. He's going to make sure every little thing you can get is the best.
And Tre'Vez (Johnson) is there, too. He went to Bartram and is playing almost the same position I would play. It would be a smooth transition in, and it's right up the street.
Florida was always one of my dream schools. It's definitely solidified among my top choices.
He has posted 86 tackles — three for loss — one fumble recovery and two interceptions in two seasons as a varsity starter.
That production and his strengths of “man coverage, versatility, physicality and tackling” would be huge for establishing depth on the edges of the defense.
Defensive back recruiting continues to be the most promising area of recruiting in the early going of Billy Napier’s regime, largely due to Raymond’s star-studded resume targeting, landing and developing talent for the next level.
Blue-chip prospects like Cormani McClain, A.J. Harris and Tony Mitchell, alongside Denson, have taken notice. They hope to pile up on these prospects this cycle.
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