Lifelong UGA fan commits to archrival Florida Gators
Antonio Riles, who was a lifelong UGA fan, committed to archrival Florida on Friday.
The 6-foot-4, 271-pounder from Archer High School said he picked Florida over UGA, while also considering Clemson and Tennessee among his 13 football scholarship offers.
“After taking some time and really thinking about everything, I just felt like Florida was the best fit for me,” Riles said.
Florida-bound DL Antonio Riles of Archer HS (247sports)
“My runner-up was definitely Georgia. Georgia was always my first love. But Florida kept on me. I really wasn’t hearing from or having any contact from Georgia. Then I finally saw Florida and it’s a great program. So I pulled the trigger and committed.”
What happened with UGA? Riles said he last talked to UGA assistants Rodney Garner and Bryan McClendon at a team camp in early June. At that time, Riles said he was on the brink of committing to the Bulldogs.
“I was digging everything about Georgia,” he said.
Riles said he left messages for UGA’s coaches on Facebook and over the telephone, but never heard back.
Did his UGA spot get filled by another recruit? “I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened. To the best of my knowledge, I still have an offer from Georgia. If they pulled it, they never told me.”
What does Riles think happened? “I’m not sure. I was leaning to Georgia. I’ve always dreamed about playing there, even before they offered. I guess a lot of things happened, but everything just worked out great for me at Florida. I’m happy.”
Does he have any hard feelings toward UGA? “No, not at all. It’s a good school. You can’t be upset at this point in the recruiting process. They have to do what they have to do, and make decisions that are best for the team. Everything worked out for me. Florida is a great school. I’m excited about playing at Florida.”
What if UGA pursued Riles in the future? “Well … I’m committed to Florida.”
UPDATE: UGA likely has a few other DL targets currently ranked ahead of Riles on their recruiting board, including Mill Creek’s Kelsey Griffin and Jackson’s Jay Woods.
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OTHER TOP STORIES
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– By Michael Carvell, AJC Recruiting Blog
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226 comments Add your comment
Flo - Ri - Duh
July 27th, 2012
4:14 pm
T G – You are rambling. Riles was being recruited as a DE. Adams is a DT but will likely choose between Auburn and Clemson – my feeling is Auburn. UGA is not in his top two but is in his top 5. Griffin is a DT. UGA has no true DE’s committed in this class but they have several already on their roster. UGA still has about 8 to 10 spots open. I’m guessing 2 -3 more OL, 1 RB, 1 DT, 1 DE, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 CB, 1 S will fill up this class.
Flo - Ri - Duh
July 27th, 2012
4:16 pm
T G is a G T .. I just outed him.
JFKDawg
July 27th, 2012
4:20 pm
It means nothing until the first Wednesday in February.
Big Crimson 75
July 27th, 2012
4:23 pm
Help me out gents — Where is Archer High School??
BLT
July 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
Atlanta
sid
July 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
So, the life-long UGA fan gets his UGA offer….and doesn’t accept it. This means one of two things – either his offer to UGA was contingent on something else happening or not happening, or this is a young man that needs to be coddled. From the article he seems to be perfectly respectable if not intelligent, so I’ll choose to believe it was the former. Good luck at Florida, kid. Sorry it didn’t work out with the home team.
909
July 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
This is easy.
Riles was definitely headed to UGA…until…Gardner made it clear that Riles was
going to have to spend at least 1 year at GMC in Milledgeville.
Apparently, Florida came up with a “special” curriculum for Riles that was,
dumber than UGA’s infamous “Housing” major that accounts for 60% of the UGA roster.
Oops.
BLT
July 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
CMR could have sang him a song! Maybe “I’ve been working on the chain gang”.
Bob
July 27th, 2012
4:29 pm
It sure seems that if you don’t have some smart alek remark about Georgia 2-3 times a week you are really not enjoying life. My goodness, what is it with you?
It seems that Georgia currently has pretty good list of commits right now, but you are routinely make it sound like UGA should close up shop because everyone they should go after is going somewhere else.
Don’t believe me? Check the past 2-3 months and read the lead for your columns. Jeeze.
Big Crimson 75
July 27th, 2012
4:31 pm
BLT — thanks dude.
From the Bama weight-room — Our NT, Jesse “the Big Aussie” Williams broke a school record by benching 600lbs!!!! The previous record was held by former NT Josh Chapman who benched 580lbs. Chapman was considered the “strongest” Player in College Football last Season. Way to go Big Guy!!
Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi !!!!
PR
July 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
The uninformed haters on this blog crack me up. Good luck to this kid. It’s too bad UGA didn’t have a spot for him anymore.
Lagdawgs silly
July 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
Lagsawg,
We have two or three very nice wide receivers committed already….
tide roll
July 27th, 2012
4:42 pm
Life long Dog Fan. What about the best dual threat QB in AMERICA, Marietta’s ANTHONY JENNINGS ! His father actually PLAYED THERE. He didn’t get an OFFER! Is this Richt/Booboo thing really working out people? 50 arrests, Central Fla. makes you quit. Cam Newton’s a tight end. LSU outscores you 35-0 in the 2nd half alone. You lead Mich St.,yes, Mich St., 16-0 at half and lose! Your starting QB is, to put it mildly, STRANGE. Crowell’s gone. You got wives and kids on the sidelines. You wave goodbye to in state stud OL(s) Brandon Greene, Max Garcia, Joshua Outlaw, Shamire Devine (!) and Jeremi Hall, and then express concern about your offensive line! Are these really the guys that are going to get you there? The facts indicate otherwise. Tell you what, let one go on to Bolivia, where he wants to be. The other to Statesboro, where he belongs.
Tampa Gator
July 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
I just read extremely sad news….Don Perry passed away suiddenly today. I had the opportunity to know the man well when I lived in and worked in Atlanta. We were in similar positions in our respective corporate worlds. Wonderful man who did a wonderful job for Chick Fil A over the years. My thoughts go out to Don’s family. Very, very sad day.
ryan
July 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
I know we are getting our butts kicked in recruiting M. Adams appears to be heading to Auburn Derrick Henry to Bama or Vols UGA going more after JUCO players it has gotten real quiet lately not to much buzz .
mcdavidastro
July 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
Year after year, you hear kids remark that they just didn’t hear from Georgia. Is it really that hard for Richt to come out of his officce?
PR
July 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
tide roll is incoherent
ryan
July 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
UGA lost its momentum in recruiting .
Delbert D.
July 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
He is a defensive end. He probably wants to play in a 4-3.
ryan
July 27th, 2012
4:50 pm
UGA is going to get the left overs not to happy right now .
dawgster
July 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
@TampaGator…Dang, ;I have to agree with you…Great pickup for you guys…no excuse, and I mena none, if what he says is true about how the dawgs handled is recruitment…I don’t have a problem with us having other guys higher on the board, but to do this to the young man in the way it appears they did, seems wrong..very disappointed, and I don’t care if we get higher ranked guyys or not, just not the way you treat in state prospects….don’t really care what my fellow dawg mates or friends think of my comments…this just stinks to no end…I keep hearing more and more of this type stuff, again it takes two to tango, but still very disturbing if this is really how we handled it….
tide roll
July 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
Let me ask you Kool-Aiders. Have any of you even googled to see the tape on Anthony Jennings or read the articles about him. Don’t let his being black pevent you from showing an interest in him. That would put you in the Mike Boboo category
BLT
July 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
BC 75, you realize that Aussies can’t play football. Just ask any of these dog fans.
dawgster
July 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
@PR..I can promise you I’m not one of those hater.s…anyone can vouch for me in that regards…but I can promise you if what the young man says is true, then we deserve the negative publicity on this one…I have no problem with us having guys higher on the board, but let the young man know where we stand, and don’t just ignore him, as he stated…again, don’t know if what he says is the way it happened, but very disturbing to hear his comments…
ryan
July 27th, 2012
5:04 pm
I agree to dawgster it time wake and smell the coffee something is not right with our program i know the dawg fans don’t like it need to stop drinking the Kool- Aid .
griffindawg
July 27th, 2012
5:04 pm
tide roll is a loser, end of story
Destin Dawg
July 27th, 2012
5:06 pm
Fat A$$ Rodney Garner.. sleeping again.. Coach Richt needs to man up and get some better Assts.. read Bo Bo and Garner.. we need to win the SEC Champs THIS year.. recruits will come.. go DAWGS !!
MT
July 27th, 2012
5:06 pm
You know this crap is sad,here this kid grew up pulling for the dawgs, wanted to play here,but UGA doesn’t offer,wants to hold out for a better dude that probably won’t have anywhere near the love heart and desire for the dawgs that this guy has.Now this guy is condemned to Gatorland.
ARdawg
July 27th, 2012
5:06 pm
TampaGator
He had an offer if he choose to take it. He didn’t, case closed. I haven’t heard any swan song or tears in the beers of the UGA staff. The kid got antsy, it happens, no big deal and it doesn’t in any way shape or form proclaim FL is the recruiting king or even managed a coo. The next thing be praising is the steam on the pooh in Florida means you guys win a NC next year. Put the crack pipe down awhile and visit us in reality
ryan
July 27th, 2012
5:07 pm
Need better recruiters period !
Larry B
July 27th, 2012
5:09 pm
Idk, I agree with MT. A kid like this that grew up wanting to be a Dawg would put out 10X more effort than a 5 star guy from somewhere else just treading water until he can try for the NFL. Plus look at his neck! This kid is a beast. I’m sure we could have found a spot for him.
ARdawg
July 27th, 2012
5:09 pm
MT,
UGA did offer. They wasn’t stroking him as hard as Muschamp was. He got ready to commit. He felt it at FL. It’s not a right or wrong thing here. He chose FL with a UGA offer on the table. His right to do so. He’s deflecting his decision on the UGA staff, keep in mind he is a 17 year old kid
PBT DAWG FAN
July 27th, 2012
5:09 pm
tide roll
Am pretty sure UGA didn’t let the fsct that Christian Lemay is black get in the way of recruiting him.
ARdawg
July 27th, 2012
5:11 pm
UGA coaches like coaches everywhere have been known to withdraw offers. They have that right just as the kids do
ryan
July 27th, 2012
5:14 pm
UGA needs to have a great year to get back on top of the recruiting seen .
Big Crimson 75
July 27th, 2012
5:14 pm
BLT — I know!!
Tide Roll — Jimmy”the Greek” Snyder, Al Campanis, Voula Papachristou, Wayne Rooney, Don Imus, Jack Nichlaus……..UGA.
All peas in a pod when it comes to philosophies of racial equality!!! The Shockley episode was enough for me. Keeping that poor kid on the bench for 3 years in favor of the blond haired, blue eyed devil was a monstrosity of epic proportion.
MT
July 27th, 2012
5:15 pm
ARdawg
Yeah I know it,I just think are illustrous recruiting think tank dropped the ball here. The guy is obviously good, he’s got 13 scholly offers,should have shown him alot more love and attention, may have made the difference.Anyway water under the bridge as they say.
MT
July 27th, 2012
5:16 pm
our -instead of are sorry
Wilson Pickett
July 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
Riles will be a good player. Not great but good.
MT
July 27th, 2012
5:19 pm
Shockley episode was enough for me. Keeping that poor kid on the bench for 3 years in favor of the blond haired, blue eyed devil was a monstrosity of epic proportion.
I don’t think that fits David Greene.
I don’t Alabama has any room to talk when it comes to racially charged issues.
ryan
July 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
I agree CMR , Grantham, Gardner dropped the ball here stop making excuses for coaching staff the kid most likely wanted to come UGA for some they cooled on his recruitment not good .
BobDog
July 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
It’s not easy for the coaches or the recruits. The 5-stars and maybe the 4-stars can wait until signing day and have their pick of schools. The 3-stars are under a lot of pressure to commit to a school before the slot is given to another recruit of equal ability. That’s one reason we see kids de-commit later, maybe after an excellent senior season, their stock goes up and a dream school makes an unexpected offer.
For whatever reason, Antonio felt compelled to commit now. Like ‘em or not, getting an offer from Florida isn’t a bad deal at all. He handled the interview very well (with no media training, either). I wish him the best.
ARdawg
July 27th, 2012
5:22 pm
MT
I’m relatively sure they dropped the ball too. The kid is good but, he’s not the second coming of Christ. All possible recruits are listed in a priority order of who to coddle and when. Obviously they missed this one
1eyedJack
July 27th, 2012
5:28 pm
ryan and dawgster, you guys need to stay off the recruiting boards. My goodness fellas, you guys are going to give yourselves ulcers. Have faith. SIX MONTHS from now we will sign a wonderful class that meets most, if not all, of our needs.
ryan
July 27th, 2012
5:28 pm
Well on happy note the Olympics start tonight should be fun to see those legendary rock bands .
dawgster
July 27th, 2012
5:29 pm
@ryan…yeah this one really pi$$e$ me off, but let me say the dawgs are still doing quiet well i recruiting and will be getting some good news soon, but the way this was handled, ….stinks…I may come on and voice my opinion, but i am all dawg…I aslo gave my honest opinion over at the dawg sites and I’m getting beat up pretty good, but hey I try to be as honest as i can, and on this one I do not agree with the way it appears to have been handled, despite others being higher on our board…go dawgs
MT
July 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
ARdawg
I guess its just the fact he seems like a kid we need, one with Heart and the want to be a dawg factor, not one like Larry B said, a guy just looking for a launch pad to the NFL, one that will make a contribution,keep his nose clean and bleed red and black.
BLT
July 27th, 2012
5:34 pm
“ryan and dawgster, you guys need to stay off the recruiting boards. My goodness fellas, you guys are going to give yourselves ulcers. Have faith. SIX MONTHS from now we will sign a wonderful class that meets most, if not all, of our needs.”
Agreed, another MNC is in the bag!
Tampa Gator
July 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
Delbert D…..
Florida recruited Riles as a DT or a DE….but see him developing into a pass rush DT. The Gators already have Jonathan Bullard at RE and Dante Fowler at the hybrid DE/OLB postition for the future….and Muschamp is recruiting Demarcus Walker (Jacksonville) and Sherit (Tampa) at DE very hard to rotate with Bullard and Fowler. If both Walker and Sherit commit to the Gators…with the LBs and DBs already on campus in Gainesville and coming next year…..SEC offenses will be facing a big challenge when they play the Gators.
Tampa Gator
July 27th, 2012
5:40 pm
Dawgster…..
If Riles made those phone calls to Gardner…..and no reason to doubt the kid…..there was no excuse for him not to call the kid back with status reports. I just don’t understand that…at all.