OT accepts UF Walk on status over UCF scholarship

fasonfan

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3 star OT Mark Pitts turns down a full ride at UCF to be a walk on at Florida. Heard it on Zach abolverdi podcast. That's crazy and shows UCF is still UCF.
 

SeabeeGator

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Fantastic WO for us though. No burned scholarship and you never know how these OL will develop. Could turn into a rotational guy. Unheralded story but one of the best of the recruiting season so far.
 

CaribGator

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I'm sure there was some stipulation that if he played he would earn the scholly, we've been shorthanded for a decade, and it's a position of need, so a win win for everyone.

Plus he wants to be a Gator !! sounds like he has confidence in himself to make it in to the rotation, I'm cheering for him.

Go Gators
 

ThreatMatrix

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According to UCF he was processed. Also they are having trouble recruiting this year because they are so loaded with talent.
2017 55th
2018 62nd
2019 60th
2020 59th
:dunno:
Maybe they 55th ranked class was loaded with diamonds in the rough.
 

78

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3 star OT Mark Pitts turns down a full ride at UCF to be a walk on at Florida. Heard it on Zach abolverdi podcast. That's crazy and shows UCF is still UCF.

It shows UF is still UF. I applaud the kid.
 

Maxxodd

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3 star OT Mark Pitts turns down a full ride at UCF to be a walk on at Florida. Heard it on Zach abolverdi podcast. That's crazy and shows UCF is still UCF.

Maybe. I don't know his situation. He could could come from a wealthy family where a scholarship isn't as important as playing at an elite institution.
 

SeabeeGator

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He's a big boy but he looks doughy and soft. He'll have to spend at least a year in an NCAA S&C program before he's ready to compete for playing time.

That said, he's definitely viewed as having some potential because he got over a couple dozen scholarship offers, including from Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Syracuse and Boston College. He was also offered by Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth, so he must be pretty damn smart.

He's a Gainesville kid who went to Buchholz, so it appears that he loves the Gators and values staying close to home more than getting an Ivy League education. That kind of desire to be part of the program is worth at least one extra star in my ratings book.
No offense to the kid if he had ivy offers and turned them down... not the brightest choice. UF is a fine school but a degree from one of those schools will go a lot longer for kid no projected to make his career in football.
 

Swamp Donkey

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No offense to the kid if he had ivy offers and turned them down... not the brightest choice. UF is a fine school but a degree from one of those schools will go a lot longer for kid no projected to make his career in football.
Some people just dont want to gomTHAT far from home and even w partual schollies, it is incomprehensibly expensive.
 

SeabeeGator

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Some people just dont want to gomTHAT far from home and even w partual schollies, it is incomprehensibly expensive.
Pays off quick as long as you aren’t aiming for a liberal arts degree. Those are life changing institutions. Totally worth the debt.
 

TN G8tr

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Need some bodies and depth there. Kid wants to be a Gator, so be it. This could be a real good test of Savage's work. SAVAGE, shape his azz up!
 

SeabeeGator

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I hear you, but let me go out on a limb and stereotype -- I've noticed that a lot of white O-linemen gravitate toward the engineering field for their majors. I could be wrong but I don't think an Ivy League engineering degree is worth a tremendous amount more than one from UF. Our engineering school is in the top 50 nationwide.

Or, maybe he already has a post-collegiate career lined up and is going to work for a business owned by family or friends, so it doesn't really matter where he gets his degree.
I’d like to see how many UF football players - at any position - are currently pursuing an engineering degree. As an UF engineering grad, I do not need my fingers or toes to count how football players I saw in my classes. Not precluding the possibility - just stating that’s highly unlikely. As to how much an Ivy engineering degree is worth - your guess is as good as mine.

I guess this is possible too but the point stands - that piece of paper with an Ivy crest is a heck of a back-up plan.
 

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