Leon's McGriff signs with Florida

After 10 months of flirtation with Auburn, Leon High quarterback and multi-purpose athlete D'Anfernee McGriff committed to a permanent relationship.

Only he had to break up first to find true love.

McGriff, who decommitted from the Tigers on Monday night amid a myriad of reasons, faxed in a national letter of intent early Wednesday morning to join the University of Florida and new head coach Jim McElwain.

"It was tough because being committed to Auburn for so long, the longer I was committed the closer I got to them," McGriff told the Tallahassee Democrat prior to his afternoon announcement.

"It's very emotional, but you have to suck it up because it's a business decision."

McGriff grew up a Gators fan and originally planned to commit to Florida but problems with the old coaching staff arose and he turned his attention to Auburn.

Ironically, former Florida coach Will Muschamp, who stepped down following the season-ending loss to Florida State, is now the defensive coordinator at Auburn, while McGriff is back on his original choice.

"Florida was my dream school," said McGriff, who first visited Florida on Feb. 1, 2014.

"Things went wrong then. For a dream opportunity to come around twice, I had to take it."

Getting the 6-foot-3, 230-pound four-star McGriff is a boon for Florida's previously subdued recruiting class, which also saw the addition Monday night of four-star St. Thomas Aquinas running back Jordan Scarlett, the No. 13 running back in the class of 2015. The Gators later acquired the services of five-star Apopka offensive tackle Martez Ivey.

McGriff rushed for 2,086 yards, passed for over 1,000, and accounted for 32 touchdowns as a junior quarterback before he was utilized in multiple capacities as a senior.

He moved between quarterback and wide receiver, rushing for 766 yards and 12 touchdowns, while catching 20 balls for 238 yards. He tore his right ACL in October, eliminating him from three more games, and is now in the third month of recovering post-surgery.

"(McElwain) has a plan and he's going to do something great for that program," McGriff said.

"He's laid back, but when it's gametime, it's gametime. He teaches you and talks to you like he's your daddy and I like that, being a father figure as the coach. The beauty of this is now it's wide open and I just have to come in ready to compete."