RECRUITING: St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Cody Riggs a top priority for Florida Gators?

GAINESVILLE -- Rumors are circulating on recruiting websites that prep cornerback Victor Hampton of Charlotte Independence (N.C.) High is no longer committed to the University of Florida.

Hampton, rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, recently visited Tennessee unofficially. The cornerback, who apparently still has plenty of work to do to qualify, transferred high schools this summer from powerhouse Charlotte (N.C.) Independence to upstart Darlington (S.C.) High. (Draw your own conclusions.)

If Hampton is out at Florida, then that means the Gators will go hard after Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Cody Riggs, the son of former NFL star Gerald Riggs. Riggs led St. Thomas in interceptions in 2008 and is considered one of the top defensive back prospects in the nation. Here's a feature on Cody Riggs.

-jo-

Comments

[Ko Classic]

Jo- common get it right :), the Gators are no longer committed to Hampton NOT the other way around. It was SUGGESTED he look elsewhere. Something really bad must have happened to get kicked off his HS team and by the time the staff got the real story it terminated his recruitment. I think the bigger story is the first place every castoff looks at if Tennessee. They are the college football version of the Oakland Raiders.

[Goody]

Since I haven't spoken with Mr. Hampton (need a bounty hunter to track this kid down), I will not contribute to damaging his reputation based on Internet rumors or off-the-record conversations with sources. We'll leave that wonderful show of professionalism to Rivals and Scout. And even if I had spoken with Hampton, I still probably wouldn't rub his face in the mud. He's in high school! Is self-gratification among college football fans really that important? (Dumb question.) I'm quite sure Hampton's youthful exuberance is no more obnoxious than that of a young Percy Harvin, Brandon James, Aaron Hernandez or Riley Cooper...Hmmm, that thought raises an interesting question. Would Urban Meyer still have recruited Harvin in 2009?

ANYWAY, this blog post was not created to denigrate Hampton, who still has an entire year to mature before he's even a college freshman. The point was to raise awareness of the Gators' interest in Cody Riggs.

-jo-