Five-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey picked the Florida Gators over the Auburn Tigers on National Signing Day.
Martez Ivey Apopka, FL (Apopka) was the highest ranked recruit to announce his college plans on National Signing Day as the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
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The 6-5.5, 275-pound offensive tackle was originally believed to be a strong lean to the Florida Gators where he took his first official visit on Oct. 11, but LSU and Auburn creeped into the picture in November and December after visiting the two SEC programs.
Ultimately, the decision came down to Auburn and Florida for Ivey and Florida really needed to keep Ivey after losing No. 3 recruit Byron Cowart as well as four-star linebacker Jeffery Holland to Auburn earlier in the day.
The coaching change that took place in Gainesville with Jim McElwain replacing the fired Will Muschamp threw a wrench into the recruiting efforts for the Gators who only had two four-star recruits entering signing day.
Keeping Ivey in the state of Florida gives McElwain his first signature recruit after only having a short period of time to sell himself to Ivey who wanted to stay in the state but needed to develop a relationship with the coaches before committing.
He’s a little light right now, but you’d rather put weight on an offensive lineman than take it off so this isn’t a great concern today, because he’ll likely be at or near 300 pounds by the beginning of his freshman season. Ivey has a great chance to be a starter as a true freshman and help the Gator offense get back to their high-scoring ways that have been absent during the Muschamp era.
Florida lost seven offensive linemen from the 2014 team, so getting Ivey was their biggest possible signing so chalk this one up to the first win for McElwain.
Ivey was a U.S. Army All-American selection and competed in The Opening last summer.
Next: Ranking The Last 15 No. 1 Overall Recruits
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