4-star WR Amare Patterson back at Florida as Gators push for his pledge

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It looks to be an SEC battle in the recruitment of Ridgeland (S.C.) Bluffton four-star wide receiver Amare Patterson. Florida is in the thick of it.

The 6-foot pass-catcher was in Gainesville for a visit in January and he’s back this week checking out Jon Sumrall’s program for a spring practice. The Gators continue to prioritize Patterson.

On Tuesday, he posed alongside UF legend Steve Spurrier:

Patterson has already locked in an official visit with Florida, too. He’s set to return for that on the weekend June 11. LSU and South Carolina are other contenders, but it’s Georgia that looks like the biggest challenger for Patterson right now.

“Florida and Georgia are back and forth with me,” Patterson told Rivals’ Chad Simmons in January. “Both coaching staffs are competing to see who can recruit me the hardest. Every day, they hit me up.”

The Gators were pushing for Patterson under the old staff. Sumrall and the new coaches in Gainesville have kept the foot on the gas.

“The old staff was on me hard, and the new staff has jumped in the same way,” Patterson told Simmons. “They are on me heavy. They’re telling me I’m the guy for them and that they want me. I talk to Coach Davis, Coach McKnight and some other coaches — they’re definitely up there for me.”

Florida has some real recruiting momentum early on in the spring and it would love to turn that into some early commitments. It has two pledges in the boat thus far and it continues to trend for a few more, per the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine. Patterson is among that slew.

The blue-chipper is now the No. 247 overall prospect and No. 33 WR in the 2027 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 5 player in South Carolina.

Patterson is not rushing his decision. He intends on seeing his contenders throughout the spring, then log official visits, which will no doubt be crucial in his process. It would be s surprise if Florida doesn’t have a hat on the table when his commitment date comes, though.

“I want to make sure I’m 100-percent confident in my decision,” Patterson recently said. “When I commit, it’ll be about development, relationships, education, and finding a place that feels like home for me and my family.”

Rivals’ Chad Simmons has new intel on Florida’s push for elite recruits here.

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