By: Brandon
admin@gatorsportsnation.com

One of Florida’s big time recruits coming in Greg Reid has changed his mind on committing to the University Of Florida after he found out about the powerful depth the Gators have on defense. The 4 star recruit from Valdosta, (GA) has always been a Gator fan ever since he was a youngster and his dreams of playing for the Gators have been smashed. Reid committed to Florida right after the signing day and was one of the top 2009 recruiting classes. Reid loved telling people that he was headed to Gainesville to play for the Gators and how happy he was. Not anymore.

Greg took a visit to UF last weekend, thinking it will be his new home. Thanks to the amazing depth chart Florida has, the All-American cornerback has turned away and looked passed Florida and continued browsing other schools such as Florida State and Georgia. It might seem like it’s a huge loss or a problem Florida is already facing this early right? But it’s not. This is actually a good problem that the Gators are returning the starting 2008 BCS National championship defense and having a shot at another National title. So Florida really is not losing anything at all. Even if Reid decided to play for Florida, he would never see any playing time as a freshman. He still has Janoris Jenkins and Joe Haden ahead of him, and they are two dominant players on defense.

This is exactly what happens to most colleges that has most of their talent returning for another year. And this is exactly what Florida is dealing with. Look at the USC Trojans. They also had some recruits decommit due to the fact they have a very dangerous defense returning for the 2009 season. They are in the same position Florida is in. The problem with most recruits now is that they think when they sign, they will automatically have playing time. But on the other half their are players that don’t mind sitting out their freshman and most of their sophomore year or they just sign with a different school where they know they will receive playing time at. USC lost their tight end commit Alshon Jeffery because the Trojans are so high in their depth chart. Some recruits don’t care about playing time, they like to sign with a school who has a high shot of winning a National Championship.

Florida really is not hurt with this loss. What gets me is that their is so much talent, especially in Florida. I bet their is 100 more of Greg Reids out there in the country. And I’d say if the Gators are having trouble signing players because they think they will not play, then that has to be one of the best things that can happen to a team. That just means Florida has a good chance at another successful season and hope for a third National Championship in four years.