Pardon the pun, but life just gave Jim McElwain one sweet batch of Lemons.
The Gators have now claimed a pair of commits as a result of their Friday Night Lights recruiting camp, the latter being prized running back Adarius Lemons. The top rated tailback in the Sunshine State also had offers from Auburn, LSU, UNC, Ohio State, Louisville, and many, many more.
Despite his apparently solid four month commitment to the Tar Heels, the Gators stayed after Lemons and managed to persuade him to attend their FNL camp. There, he impressed coaches and recruits alike, built up his relationship with running back coach Tim Skipper, and after two days of mulling it over, made the switch. Lemons becomes the second member of the Gators’ 2017 class to flip from another school after McElwain impounded tight end Kemore Gamble from the Miami Hurricanes.
But Lemons is more than just a Friday Night Lights trophy or the poster boy for Mac’s penchant for flipping recruits. He gives the Gators a hell of a talent, as you can see from his highlight tape (I again apologize for not hyper linking this, but my phone is sort of limited in what it can do, so just click here: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2973771/adarius-lemons)
If you’re into comparisons, Lemons is sort of like a bigger version of Jeff Demps. He’s got that “track guy who plays football” look, but in reality is more of a football guy who also happens to be a solid sprinter. If he gets into a position where he can run in a straight line, meaning if he find a hole in the middle level of the defense, forget it. You won’t catch him. His straight line speed is maybe a notch or two below Olympic levels, and he’s got decent shiftiness to boot.
There’s also a bit of truculence in his game. He can lower his shoulder and impart some Newtons into defenders if he needs to. If he has a weakness, it’s ball security. He does have a tendency to occasionally put the ball on the ground, but he has a tremendous ceiling and no real reason to believe he won’t reach it.
