Florida football recruiting: Checking in with top SEC targets, commits

Two heavyweight battles took place last week between Armwood at Plant and IMG at Venice in matchups that felt like SEC games with big defensive efforts, loud crowds and high-stakes matchups.

Armwood (6-1) shutout Plant 26-0 (2-4) in a marquee district matchup filled with SEC commits and targets, while IMG (6-1) handed Venice (6-1) their first loss of the year, 21-16 , with blue-chip recruits shining on both sides of the ball for both teams.

We checked in with a few names making the rounds on the SEC recruiting trail, including Georgia commit Tyler Williams, Florida commit Jaelen Waters, and four-star uncommitted linebacker Kellen Wiley Jr. Here's what recruits are saying and how they fared in these big-time games.

Kellen Wiley Jr. can't trim his list before another school shows interest

Wiley went off against Plant in the de facto Class 6A-District 8 championship, tallying five sacks and helping to shutout a Plant offense led by running back Waltez Clark (Florida commit).

The 6-foot-4, 225 pound junior linebacker, has blown up on the recruiting trail and has reeled in offers from Miami, Louisville (where he visited last weekend), Alabama, and Georgia Tech since the start of the season. He is generating real SEC interest as the season progresses, and will likely haul in more offers in the coming weeks and months.

Wiley says that he tries to trim down his list, but every other day a new school comes into the fold. He visited Louisville for their 34-27 loss to SMU , and will choose between visiting either Penn State, Illinois, or USC this weekend, and is headed to Georgia Tech the following weekend. Notably, no SEC visits are scheduled as of now.

"I've been extremely blessed, I've heard from a little bit of everybody," Wiley said. "All the powerhouses. Georgia, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Oregon, Ohio State, I've heard from everybody. It's really been a big blessing, a dream come true. If I keep balling like this it's going to make the decision ten times harder because everybody's going to keep chipping in and giving their two cents ... it's like every time I dumb the list down, it grows."

Wiley says that while he already has built strong relationships with staffs around the country, there's still no frontrunner.

"I definitely do have a good relationship with the whole Ohio State staff, I've been talking to them," he said. "The Alabama staff and coach C-Rob (Christian Robinson, outside linebackers coach). The Maryland staff and Coach Sumlin (co-offensive coordinator), Louisville and Coach Ivey (linebackers coach). Everybody's just been pitching in — Florida State and Coach Norvell (head coach)."

Tyler Williams close to shutting down his recruitment

Georgia wide receiver commit Tyler Williams said he saw everything he needed to see when the Bulldogs nearly stunned Alabama with a comeback for the ages that fell just short.

"It's gets me pretty fired up," Williams said. "Beginning of the game, a little nervous. But seeing my team be able to battle back and do their thing shows promise. It shows me that I'm coming to a team who's willing to win and will fight to do whatever to win. And I also liked how they used their receivers and gave them a lot of opportunities to make plays, and I feel like I can come in immediately and make that type of impact."

Williams, who caught a 62-yard touchdown pass that broke the ice in Armwood's win over Plant, says he's locked in on the Dawgs and has no interest nor intention of looking elsewhere. He plans on shutting down his recruitment soon and has visits to only Athens and nowhere else lined up.

"No [I haven't shut it down] yet, but it's coming soon," he said. "Maybe some game visits to Georgia, but nothing else."

Jaelen Waters is not concerned about the noise surrounding Florida football

Waters, a four-star defensive back, didn't allow a reception as the primary defender against Plant. The junior Florida commit is keeping his options open as the hot-seat discussion around Billy Napier intensifies, but says that the end of the day he's committed to the University of Florida as the school, not just the University of Florida's coaching staff.

"No, not really," Waters answered when asked if the noise around the Gators bothered him. "Because I committed just not to the coaching staff but to the school also."

Waters is still taking visits this season. Most recently (and most notably) to Florida State last weekend, where he was previously committed to before pledging to the Gators in June. He says he also has a visit lined up with Oregon in a few weeks, as well as LSU, Ohio State, and Miami.

Other recruiting notes

Waltez Clark, Plant running back: The four-star running back did what he could against Armwood, but a great night from the Hawk defense keyed in on him and kept big gains to a minimum. He still shed tackles at a high-level and had pads popping at the line of scrimmage.

Jake Kreul, IMG linebacker: Kreul, a four-star with over 40 offers from the likes of Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, shined in a 21-16 win over previously unbeaten Venice. He finished with a sack and a tackle for loss, both coming in clutch situations that helped preserve the Ascender lead.

Winston Watkins Jr, Venice ATH: Watkins Jr., a heavy target for both Ole Miss and Texas A&M, had eight catches and a touchdown run for the Indians while helping the secondary force IMG quarterback Ty Hawkins complete 2-of-5 passes in the second half.

Donovan Olugbode, IMG wide receiver: The Missouri commit caught four passes for 105 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown strike, in the first half of IMG's win over Venice.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida football recruiting: Checking in with top SEC targets, commits