Sapp excited for dream school
St. Thomas Aquinas 2021 defensive end Tyreak Sapp grew up a Florida Gators fan, so even though he won’t be signing his National Letter of Intent for about two years, he decided to commit to Florida in December.
“Florida has just been the long-time dream school,” Sapp said at the Under Armour camp at North Broward Prep on Sunday. “I always wanted to go there. It’s always been a winning-mentality school. It’s always been a school that prides itself on winning.”
Sapp, who is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports, also likes how Florida coach Dan Mullen has gotten the Gators back to their winning ways after a 10-3 first season.
“Dan Mullen is definitely going to keep the winning mentality going on at the University of Florida,” said Sapp, who is ranked the No. 83 player and No. 7 strong-side defensive end in the 2021 class.
The Raiders’ standout is part of what could be momentous recruiting classes for Florida. There is still 10 months until teams receive their first 2020 letters of intent, but the Gators’ 2020 class is rated No. 6 in the nation by 247Sports. Sapp’s 2021 class is rated second.
“It’s just great,” Sapp said. “Hopefully, we all can stay together and keep the camaraderie that we have now. We even have a 2021 Florida commit group chat that we have so we can communicate with each other, let each other know our recruitment statuses and everything. We just keep in touch; we’re in touch right now, building that camaraderie.”
As an early commit, the Florida coaching staff hopes Sapp can help recruit other players to Gainesville. One of them is fellow Raider linebacker/defensive lineman Derek Wingo, who has his own task — recruiting stars players to Penn State, where he’s currently committed.
“(The Florida coaches) really like Wingo,” Sapp said. “They want me to talk to him.”
Sapp was a secondteam All-County pick last year after notching 26 tackles, including five for loss, four sacks and a fumble recovery.
Sapp, who is entering his junior year, is looking to become one of the Raiders’ leaders on a defense that’s once again loaded with talent.
“I know I’m going to have to step up and lead this defense,” Sapp said. “I’m going to be one of the power leaders of this defense — just keeping us family-oriented, keeping us together, the brotherhood, everything. … and just getting everybody ready to work.”
Although committed to the Gators, Sapp is still looking at Clemson, Floirida State and South Carolina, among others.
“We’ve just been talking, keeping in touch,” Sapp said. “Just letting them know I’m still open in the recruitment process.”