Do you know who Florida’s highest-rated recruit of the last decade is?
Once upon a time, the University of Florida was a premiere destination for the top prep talent in the nation. Unfortunately, those days are now in the distant past but first-year head coach Billy Napier is hell-bent on getting the Gators back to that promised land.
The peaks of the program came under Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer, with Ron Zook connecting the two tenures with some solid recruiting of his own. But after the drama that surrounded Meyer’s final year in Gainesville, Florida fans were dealt a string of letdowns that led to a difficult decade in the Swamp.
However, in the recruiting class split between the outgoing Will Muschamp and the incoming Jim McElwain, the Orange and Blue landed one of the crown jewels of the 2015 cycle — five-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey, who was the No. 2 overall prospect in his class and the top-rated player over the past decade for Florida. Here is what 247Sports’ writer Cameron Salerno offered on the former standout, who held a .9991 grade.
Coming out of Apopka (Florida) High School, Ivey was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting cycle by 247Sports. The player that was ranked ahead of Ivey was Trenton Thompson, who signed with SEC rival Georgia. After going undrafted during the 2019 NFL draft, Ivey signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He currently plays for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.
Ivey was one of many disappointments to come out of Florida during the middle of the decade and his failure to follow through on his immense talent undoubtedly took its toll on McElwain’s efforts. It just goes to show that nothing is ever certain when it comes to sports recruiting.
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