Florida Continues Pursuit of Playmakers as 4-Star Eli Stove Visits This Weekend

Despite having four receivers already committed, one of the biggest areas of focus down the stretch for the Florida Gators' 2016 recruiting class is at the wide receiver position.

While head coach Jim McElwain is hot on the trail of stud pass-catchers such as 4-stars Nate Craig-Myers, Binjimen Victor and Tre Nixon, another prospect committed to an SEC power has emerged on the Gators' radar.  

According to ESPN’s Derek Tyson, Auburn Tigers pledge and 4-star wideout Eli Stove will take a visit to Gainesville this weekend:

What does this development mean for the Gators and for Stove’s recruitment?

For Florida, it signifies that McElwain and his staff are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to add more talent and depth to a receiver unit that has five upperclassmen among its top eight players on the current depth chart, as noted by Ourlads.

In Stove’s case, the fact that he’s bringing his parents along for the trip means that his plan to check out the Gators is more than simply a courtesy visit. According to GatorBait’s Luke Stampini, the Gators will have to work on his parents—who seem to be in favor of their son sticking with his original commitment.

It will be tough to flip Stove—who was on Auburn’s campus last weekend and left the Plains stating that he was firm in his pledge, according to Keith Niebuhr of AuburnUndercover.

However, McElwain and his staff have consistently been recruiting Stove, and the visit is a payoff for their continued efforts.

Niebuhr also notes that in addition to his unofficial visit this weekend, Stove plans to take an official visit to Gainesville later in the process.

Given the momentum of the Gators program, especially when compared side-by-side to what’s going on with the Tigers, Stove’s recruitment has the potential to get interesting in the coming weeks and months.

The Gators' success this season has given receivers, even those who weren’t high on the program coming into the season, reason to start believing in McElwain and his offense.

"They're doing a great job putting receivers in spots where they can make plays," Nixon told Bleacher Report’s Tyler Donohue. "Even with the transition to another quarterback, Florida has a system that's still successful. They're spreading the ball around." 

With the Gators involved with so many receivers, it gives their chances of adding to a receiver haul that already includes 4-stars Freddie Swain and Joshua Hammond and 3-stars Rick Wells and Isaiah Johnson a boost.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.