Florida, Florida State and Miami Are All Duking It out for CB Tracy Howard

As we continue to count down the final week until National Signing Day, it seems that Florida’s top three college football programs—Florida, Florida State and Miami—are all involved in a good old-fashioned recruiting battle to land one of the state's top prospects.

That is, cornerback Tracy Howard.

Howard, who is rated as a five-star prospect by both Scout and Rivals, is one of the top recruits still available on the market. After receiving offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, USC and West Virginia, he's now made it clear that he wants to stay in the Sunshine state. 

The 5'11", 175-pound blue-chip recruit has all the traits you look for in potential star cornerback, with the size, speed and athleticism to go toe-to-toe with any receiver. What's more, he's got the type of elite skills to see the field early on in his freshman season. 

Howard played for Miramar high school, one of the top talent producers in southern Florida, and it was there where he really made a name for himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the country.

All three programs would love to land his services, but at this point, it appears that Florida is the school to beat. This past weekend, Howard took a trip to Gainesville to get a good feel for the Gators, and he reportedly really enjoyed his visit.

Al Golden and the Hurricanes will get the last crack at the top cornerback prospect, though, as Howard is set to take his final official visit to Miami this weekend.

Even though no one is quite sure what type of NCAA sanctions Miami will face in the future due to the Nevin Shapiro fallout, it surprisingly hasn’t stopped Golden from assembling one of the top overall classes in the country this year.

The question that needs to be answered, though, is will Golden be able to outbid both Jimbo Fisher and Will Muschamp for the top remaining recruit in the state?

We'll have to wait until National Signing Day to finally find out. Until then, one thing's for sure.

No matter where Tracy Howard ultimately ends up playing his college ball, he's got a great chance to be the type of instant impact player that can really solidify a secondary.