Five-star defensive end Byron Cowart told ESPN he has narrowed his choices to two schools, Auburn and Florida.

To many casual fans, this weekend is the first since August with no football. But for Florida Gators football recruiting, this weekend is crucial, with visits from several key recruits.

The Gators football recruiting is ranked terribly at 99th, based on Rivals.com ranking. But the Gators have only 8 committed recruits so far, out of a goal of 22 to 25 signees. That’s a lot of room for talented players who want a chance to compete for playing time at Florida, which is surely a selling point for coach Jim McElwain.

Coach Jim McElwain still has a chance to land two of possibly the best five recruits in the country. They are part of the so-called “Big 3” that that Gators hope to land on National Signing Day on Feb. 4, and if the Gators can get commitments from all three, the recruiting class will look much better.

They are Martez Ivey, an offensive tackle from Apopka, Fla., Byron Cowart, a defensive end from Seffner, Fla., and Cece Jefferson, a defensive end from Glen St. Mary, Fla. Scout.com has all three going to Florida. The Gators are very thin at offensive line and also losing players on the defensive line, like NFL draft top-10 prospect Dante Fowler Jr., giving all three a chance to make a bigger early impact.

Cowart is perhaps the most visible of the three and both he and Ivey will be on Florida’s campus this week, though Ivey’s visit is listed as unofficial. Miami running back Jordan Scarlett, Palmetto Bay running back Jordan Cronkrite and FSU quarterback-commit Deondre Francois also plan Florida visits this weekend.

Cowart told ESPN he has narrowed his choices to two schools, Auburn and Florida. Cowart will visit Florida this weekend. However, he also has Florida State on the list and is scheduled to visit there next weekend, making it further unclear what his intentions are. However, CeCe Jefferson recently said he believes that he, Cowart and four-star Jacksonville linebacker Jeffrey Holland will attend the same school. All three visited Auburn last weekend.

Several defensive recruits this season first developed their relationship with former coach Will Muschamp, who will now make the case that they should come play for him at Auburn. This could also be further complicated by Florida State’s hiring of Brad Lawing, the former Florida defensive line coach. He had an impact on recruiting when he was a coach at Florida last season and could lure talent to our in-state rivals.