4-star Matt Corral commits to Florida: Gators get a QB with Favre-like tendencies
The former USC commit has a new college destination.
Four-star 2018 QB Matt Corral, of Long Beach Poly in California, has made up his mind. On Saturday evening, he announced his verbal commitment to Florida.
He was being recruited by a number of SEC schools, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the ACC’s Miami. Corral is a former longtime USC commit, until this past June. The five-star recruit has a strong arm, and his stock has only grown higher during the Elite 11 and Opening Finals.
This isn’t a comparison of the two, because it wouldn’t be fair to Corral, but he plays the game in a style that reminds of Brett Favre’s. Corral thinks he can make just about every throw on the field, and he’s often right. He’s a good athlete even though he’s not a run-first type, and he’s not afraid to sling the ball virtually anywhere.
Before Corral’s commitment, it appeared that he was being recruited by some of the same SEC schools as five-star quarterback Justin Fields, although neither of them seemed to mind.
Corral is well aware Florida is also chasing fellow five-star quarterback Justin Fields. Have the Gators officially offered Corral, as no tender has been reported to date?
“Yeah, but the reason I haven’t said anything or posted it is because they told me not to, so I didn’t. It was pretty straight up.” — Via 247Sports
When asked about it, Fields said that this did not bother him, and that as an uncommitted player, he has no right to expect schools not to offer other quarterbacks.
Corral took his first visit to Florida this week, as he was on-hand for the annual Friday Night Lights camp in Gainesville.
Corral’s pledge could be good news for other Southeastern schools that have been recruiting five-star QB Justin Fields. UF now seems an unlikely destination for Fields. (Georgia had been considered the slight favorite to get Corral previously.)
Corral, the nation’s No. 2 ranked pro-style quarterback in the class of 2018, named Florida his leader after last night’s event, and further reports then put the prominent passer on “commitment watch” as a result of his glowing reviews of the Gators. Corral had, in the past, stated that he wanted to commit this summer before his senior season, and a commitment to Florida tracks with that.
Florida picked up two commits on Friday, and had added five total commitments since Tuesday before Corral’s pledge. But Corral’s commitment eclipses them all, perhaps taken together, and is arguably the most significant of McElwain’s tenure as Florida’s head coach.