Braden River defensive end Taylor Upshaw commits to Florida Gators

A late offer from the University of Florida didn’t just change Taylor Upshaw’s top 10 list.

It altered where the Braden River High School defensive end plans on playing college football.

Upshaw told the Herald, and announced on social media via Twitter, that he is committing to Florida.

“I really like the D-Line coach (Chris Rumph),” Upshaw said. “They produce a lot of NFL players. Florida’s known for producing really good D-lineman. It’s 2 1/2 hours away. That’s what I love about it.”

Upshaw rocketed onto the recruiting radar shortly after he played his first high school football game.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 245 pounds, Upshaw possessed the size college football recruiters seek.

After his first games of organized high school football at Braden River last year, the offers began piling up. The University of South Florida and Central Florida came calling first. His father’s alma mater, California, also offered.

After former Manatee High School quarterback Willie Taggart left the University of South Florida to become Oregon’s head coach, the Ducks sent an offer Upshaw’s way, which was the first for a player in the 941 area from Oregon since Taggart took over.

In total, 30 schools made offers to Upshaw.

The home-school student eschewed them all — including a chance to play with his brother Regan Upshaw Jr., who is a walk-on at Clemson — for Florida’s blue and orange in Gainesville.

“I had a top 10, but real, narrowing down, top options were Clemson, Florida, Oklahoma and Pittsburgh,” Upshaw said.

Upshaw, whose father, Regan Upshaw Sr., played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becomes the third Braden River football player to verbally commit this offseason, following running back Deshaun Fenwick (South Carolina) and defensive back Tyrone Collins (Missouri). All three plan on signing in the December period and early enrolling.

The trio, along with rising junior Knowledge McDaniel, who picked up his 12th offer on Wednesday, received several offers from Power Five schools. Ultimately, the three Pirates settled on SEC programs.

For Upshaw, it’s a chance to stay in-state and play for a school that waited to see his spring game performance against St. Petersburg Lakewood. Upshaw announced his top 10 choices the week after that game on May 24, with Clemson looking like an early favorite.

When the Tigers offered him, Upshaw, rated a three-star recruit by 247 Sports’ composite rankings, referred to them as his “dream school,” in a tweet.

The Gators entered the mix the day after he released the top 10 list.

“Florida just has what I want, has my major (and) I’ll have a lot of connections when I am coming out of college,” Upshaw said. “It was just the right fit for me.”

Upshaw said he plans on majoring in construction management, and he said the Florida campus is really nice.

“Those are the things that it has that just attracted me to the school, and with the fact that they aren’t crazy-deep in D-line,” Upshaw said. “So I believe I’ll have an opportunity to play earlier years. ... So I just saw this as a better fit for me.”

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Braden River defensive end Taylor Upshaw commits to Florida Gators."