The Tampa Bay Area may not be known as the “main” producer of talent in the State of Florida since the counties of Dade and Broward exist, but when they hit the the national spotlight on the recruiting scene, the Bay Area usually swings-for-the-fences; and usually clears those fences.
Rivals.com released their Top 10 list of players from Florida during the site’s existence, and five of those players hail from the region. When you add the two players from the eastern side of the I-4 corridor that are also on this list, that makes 70-percent of it comprised of ballers from Central Florida.
The key perspective to the rankings are that they are based on ENTIRELY what these young men did in high school and that the Top-10 published today was indicative of that. It’s not a list based on accomplishments at the next level since some of the young men on this list have yet to play a single down of college football. It’s a composite ranking of individual rankings throughout their time being covered at Rivals.
Regardless of the overall debate about “who” is responsible for the most talent in the state, we here in the Bay can walk a little taller based on the fact that when its guys decide to do it; they do it pretty big.
Who are the guys?…
Armwood’s Byron Cowart came in at the top of this list as being the #1-prosepct to come from the state. Wharton’s Vernon Hargreaves III made it to #3 on this list while Jefferson’s Andre Caldwell came in at number six. Haines City’s Derwin James and Tampa Catholic’s Nate Craig-Myers round out the top ten. Interesting that Craig-Myers’ status is based on one year of football, but his recovery from his injury has been impressive enough to keep him there for the time being. Also interesting that Apopka’s Martez Ivey and Lake Mary’s Keith Rivers make the list which means that it’s pretty much dominated by the guys in the middle part of the Sunshine State.
To read all of the notes for each of the guys from Rivals’ breakdown, click the link BELOW:
https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1785298