Blake's McFarland to grayshirt with Gators

Blake tight end Michael McFarland, who has since long committed to Florida, has accepted the Gators' offer to take a grayshirt, meaning he won't enroll at UF until January 2011.

"I've just gotta do it," McFarland said Sunday evening. "I can really use that extra six months to get bigger, faster and stronger."

McFarland made his official visit to Florida this weekend ("I just hung out with the players and I felt real comfortable there," he said), but the grayshirt offer didn't come as a surprise.

"I had known about it about two weeks ago."

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound McFarland, was one of the first UF commits for the Class of 2010, giving the Gators his verbal commitment back in March. He is a three-star recruit and is rated the No. 10 best tight end nationally by Scout.com and the No. 24 tight end by Rivals.com.

-- EDUARDO A. ENCINA (eencina@sptimes.com)

Recruiting updates more

Players in post

• Michael McFarland

Teams in post

• Blake High School