By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The USF Bulls' courtship of former Florida Gators running back Mike Blakely is progressing on course, with an informal visit Monday to meet with coach Skip Holtz leading to an official campus visit this weekend, Manatee coach Joe Kinnan said Tuesday morning.
Blakely, a four-star recruit from Manatee, enrolled at Florida in January but is transferring after just one semester, and USF is the first school he's visited. Manatee assistant Rod Frazier said Monday that North Carolina and Central Florida are also options, and Kinnan said Tuesday that Southern Cal is trying to bring Blakely out to California for a visit, something he considered doing in high school before choosing Florida.
Blakely would have to sit out the upcoming season as a transfer, but would still have all four years of eligibility starting with the 2012 season. Kinnan said he and Frazier hope to sit down with Blakely on Wednesday to help him narrow his choices and schedule visits, making it a priority that he make his decision in time to take classes at his new school in the second half of the summer semester. That generally means late June for colleges.
Kinnan said he's fielded calls from numerous schools across the country expressing interest in Blakely, but he didn't want to name any others until he knows Blakely is considering them as well. Blakely was rated as the No. 6 running back in the country by Rivals.com (No. 10 by Scout) and the No. 13 overall prospect in the state last year according to Rivals.
— Just an update on another transfer from Florida: Chris Dunkley, the receiver from Pahokee, started summer classes at USF on Monday, Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson confirmed. Dunkley, a five-star recruit who redshirted his first season at Florida, will sit out the 2011 season and have three years of eligibility with the Bulls.