In case you have not heard, Florida and Florida State do not typically get along very well. The seeds of the rivalry are planting in the high school talent pool as well. Thanks to the world of social media allowing us to get an inside glimpse at college football on a deeper level, we get a taste of rivalries earlier than ever.
Enter Florida State recruit Levonta Taylor. He happens to be a five-star defensive back from Virginia Beach, Virginia who committed to the Seminoles in April. Rivals rates him as the number one cornerback in the nation and the 12th best player in the entire country at any position. So his decision to join Florida State in the Class of 2016 is pretty noteworthy, and he is wasting no time getting into the middle of the rivalry with the Florida Gators. Comparing himself to Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III at this stage of their respective development at the high school level, Taylor did not mince words.I’m better 😉.. https://t.co/JPLaJKwici
— Levonta Taylor (@iamlevonta) June 9, 2015
Taylor was responding to a tweet directed at him saying he is another Hargreaves, and he later clarified he was talking specifically about comparing himself to Hargreaves heading into their senior years of high school. Hargreaves is coming off an All-American season, one of the few highlights of Florida’s otherwise forgettable 2014 season. Hargreaves was also a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award and nominee for the Lott IMPACT Trophy.
Vern is real but I’m on a higher level than he was in high school. I can’t speak on college yet I have another year of high school left!
— Levonta Taylor (@iamlevonta) June 9, 2015
Florida State has done well with top prospects in recent seasons, so the odds Taylor lives up to the hype are pretty good. However, this will certainly serve as some sort of bulletin board material in the Florida locker room, if not just that of Hargreaves.