Just one day before hosting Friday Night Lights, one of their biggest recruiting events of the year, the Florida Gators received a huge verbal commitment from five-star cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (Tampa, FL), who officially announced his decision via his Twitter account Thursday evening while on a visit to the University of Florida.

I can officially say I am committed to THE University of Florida ! #GoGators CHOMP CHOMP — Vernon Hargreaves (@VHargreaves24) July 26, 2012

Ranked as the No. 9 player in the nation and No. 2 at his position by Rivals, Hargreaves (5’11” 185 lbs.) is an immensely important commitment for the Gators, which brought in just two cornerbacks as part of their 2012 recruiting class.

Despite recently taking a trip to the West Coast in order to visit Oregon, Southern California and Stanford, Hargreaves released a top five last week that included Florida, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Miami and Notre Dame (in that order). He was previously high on USC and was also considering South Florida, where his father is an assistant coach.

Hargreaves is now the Gators’ top-ranked commitment both on Rivals and ESPN, where he is listed as the No. 4 overall player and top-rated cornerback. He is so talented, in fact, that he could push for a starting job the day he steps foot on a college field.

Florida’s top-ranked commitment, Hargreaves is the fourth defensive back to make a pledge for the Gators this recruiting cycle. He is the ninth defensive commitment overall and 13th (out of 18 total) from within the state.

Hargreaves visited Florida on Thursday to commit to head coach Will Muschamp because he will not be in attendance at FNL; instead he will be participating in the Champion Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 event from July 27-29 in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

His father is South Florida assistant coach Vernon Hargreaves II.