Florida Withdraws QB Commit Marcus Stokes' Scholarship Offer

Florida pulls scholarship offer from Ponte Vedra (Fla.) Nease quarterback commit Marcus Stokes after a video of the prospect using a racial slur surfaced on Friday.
In this story:

Photo: Marcus Stokes; Credit: Alex Shepherd

Florida withdrew the scholarship of committed 2023 quarterback Marcus Stokes on Sunday after a controversial video of Stokes stating a racial slur surfaced via social media on Friday.

In the video, Stokes can be seen in a car and heard saying "welcome back," followed by the slur. 

Content is unavailable

Per NCAA rules, universities are not allowed to publicly comment about a recruiting prospect until they have signed with the school. 

"I fully accept the consequences for my actions and respect the University of Florida's decision to withdraw my scholarship offer to play football," Stokes said in a note he posted to Twitter. 

Stokes had been committed to Florida since July 7.

Florida began to pursue Stokes during the summer after missing out on their top quarterback option in the class Jaden Rashada. The Gators were able to pull Stokes away from his previous pledge to James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions during the offseason.

Stokes has accounted for 1,867 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 54.8% completion during his senior campaign, according to 247Sports. The Ponte Vedra (Fla.) Nease quarterback was expected to be a project piece for the Gators in the early stages of his career with hopes of developing into a contributor down the line. 

He stood as the lone quarterback in the Gators' class this cycle until recently, when Rashada shockingly flipped his commitment from Miami to Florida on November 11. At that time, Stokes vocalized his desire to remain committed and offer UF a second passer for head coach Billy Napier's first full recruiting class in Gainesville.

Rashada will now move forward as the lone signal caller commit in Florida's 2023 class, as a result of their disassociation with Stokes.

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.

Get your Gators football, basketball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.


Published
Brandon Carroll
BRANDON CARROLL

Brandon Carroll is a recent graduate of the University of Florida. He serves as the lead reporter for the Florida Gators FanNation-Sports Illustrated website, covering football, basketball and recruiting. When he isn't hard at work, he enjoys listening to music, playing flag football and basketball, spending time with his friends and family, and watching an array of television shows. Follow him on Twitter @itsbcarroll.