All Your Florida Recruits Are Belong To Us

I'm not sure if Stan Drayton is handling all of the Florida recruiting for Syracuse but regardless, that guy deserves a Sharper Image gift certificate this year for Hanukkah. 

Three players committed to the Orange over the weekend and two of them are from Florida, bringing SU's overall total of Florida recruits to 5 (of 22). 

First up, Venice, Fla tight end and all-name team member Beckett Wales:

Wales is listed by Rivals as 6-3 and 210 pounds. A family member confirmed the commitment this afternoon.

ESPN in its evaluation of Wales calls him "a solid receiver" in need of a college weight program in order to "add serious bulk." The site says Iowa, Duke, UAB, Toledo and Florida International were all recruiting Wales. Rutgers, Troy, Indiana were also involved.

Wales caught 31 passes for 617 yards and seven touchdowns this past season and is rated two-star by Scout.  Beckett spoke with Donnie Webb about his commitment and detailed his goals in life, which involve tornado-chasing.  And no, that's not a metaphor.

Beckett said he wants to study meteorology and that Syracuse University is creating a one-of-a-kind program for him. He said his dream is to become a tornado chaser.

"i used to live in North Carolina on Outer Banks," Wales said. "We had the Gulf Stream and the hurricanes would come up the coast. I loved the lightning, the storms, the wind. The first time I saw a water spout, I couldn't do anything but drop my mouth. Ever since then, its ... 'Is it going to rain tomorrow? Ask Beckett. He'll know.' I love it."

Shame he's not a LB.  The Tornado Chaser seems like a great nickname.  See Wales in action here.

The 2nd FLA recruit to commit this weekend is defensive back Jeremi Wilkes, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound cornerback from Tampa Catholic High School.

Wilkes made an official visit to Syracuse last month. He was scheduled to visit Rutgers this weekend.

In ESPN's evaluation of Wilkes, they call him "quick-footed" with "very good coverage skills; falling under the radar heading into his senior season. He lacks great height but is well-defined with some bulk. Smooth and fluid in his hips and turns. Transitions quickly in and out of his pedal and closes the cushion fast."

Florida State also offered, Clemson and Florida also showed interest.  In the past season, Wilkes recorded 41 tackles and two interceptions.  Check out some video of him in action here.

Finally, in non-Florida recruit news, JUCO offensive tackle Michael Hay of Nassau Community College committed to play for the Orange as well.  Nassau might sound familiar as that's where SU assistant John Anselmo used to coach and also where we got Andrew Tiller from. Hay picked SU over Arizona State (and received interest from Rutgers) and will have two seasons of eligibility.