Florida-Georgia Recruiting Rivalry: 5 Players To Watch On National Signing Day

College football rivalries are fun — understatement of the year. In all seriousness, it’s the clash of colors and the fighting fan bases that pump up the emotion of the sport.

Unfortunately, we’re about six months away from the 2016 college football season. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about National Signing Day because, ladies and gentlemen, that’s in one day.

Even off of the field and on the recruiting trail, rivalries have a place. The history behind Florida and Georgia is extensive, and it always heats back up around this time with plenty of prospects being recruited by both the Gators and Bulldogs.

Below are five recruits being targeted by both Florida and Georgia as we head into National Signing Day.

Brian Burns

5-star, No. 5 DE, No. 22 Overall

Prediction: Florida State Seminoles

While Florida and Georgia have both been after Brian Burns for a long time, the feeling is he’s leaning toward taking his talents to Tallahassee, Fla. instead of taking part in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” The Gators seem more likely to land Burns than the Bulldogs do, but this one could end up with a goose egg for both Jim McElwain and Kirby Smart.

Jeawon Taylor

4-star, No. 13 S, No. 208 Overall

Prediction: Florida Gators

Smart has been after Jeawon Taylor … a lot. Taylor has been committed to the Gators since August, and there are still positive vibes coming from him about playing at Florida. It certainly won’t be easy for McElwain to hold onto his commitment though. Lyndell “Mack” Wilson recently eliminated Florida from consideration, and he’s friends with Taylor. Can you guess who one of Wilson’s top two teams is? Georgia. Either the Gators or Bulldogs will end up with a talented safety on National Signing Day, and it really is a toss up, but the gut feeling is he’ll stick with his initial pledge.

John Simpson

4-star, No. 13 OG, No. 183 Overall

Prediction: Clemson Tigers

Both the Gators and Bulldogs have taken a long, hard look at the 6-foot-4, 288-pound offensive gaurd. Georgia is just about out of it at this point, and Florida seems like a dark horse to land a commitment from Simpson, too. Clemson is the heavy favrorite to land him, but McElwain is holding out hope he can sway Simpson to Gainesville.

Jaleel Laguins

4-star, No. 17 OLB, No. 272 Overall

Prediction: Georgia Bulldogs

If you had asked when the calendar still said 2015, there would have been no chance Jaleel Laguins would be ending up wearing any color combination other than black and red. And that’s still the feeling in Laguins’ recruitment — he’ll be a Bulldog. But McElwain has certainly put the work in, and Laguins had a great time on his official visit to Gainesville, Fla. two weeks ago. It’s just hard to imagine him flipping from Georgia, but anything can happen. Alabama will also get a hat on the table, this seems to be coming down to the the Gators and Bulldogs.

Mecole Hardman Jr.

5-star, No. 2 Athlete, No. 16 Overall

Prediction: Georgia Bulldogs

Look, the Gators are a complete long shot to receive a commitment from Mecole Hardman Jr. Georgia has been the favorite to land Hardman for a while, and it makes sense because the 5-star athlete is from Elberton, Ga. Hardman can play alongside 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason and 5-star tight end Isaac Nauta. Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan are just a few of the teams vying for Hardman’s services, but the smart bet is on, well, Smart.

Note: Scout.com rankings and ratings used in this article.