Florida Gators Lose Out on Priority OT Target Ethan Calloway to LSU

Florida's exterior offensive line recruiting woes remain as another high-caliber bookend tackle target is off the board, not in the Gators' favor.

Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) OT prospect Ethan Calloway has pledged himself to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers, he announced on Friday afternoon.

Calloway visited Florida during the first official visit weekend of the summer, June 2-4. He walked away impressed with the visit, saying the program set a "high standard" for his remaining trips, and what the Gators program had to offer.

"They definitely set a really high standard and I really had a lot of fun," Calloway told All Gators after the visit. "This was the first one of four. So, I was more excited for them to set a standard, because this kind of showed me what an official visit is like."

Despite UF's best efforts to lock him down during the multi-day stay in early June, he left Gainesville with an open mind regarding the other three stays on the schedule. Official visits to Georgia (June 9-11), Penn State (June 16-18) and LSU (June 23-25) ensued.

Ultimately, on the final visit in the highest tier of the top eight he released in April, the Tigers proved enough for the monstrous 6-foot-7, 300-pound tackle prospect to align with them. He's now set to continue his football career in Baton Rouge.

The loss further limits Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton's scope in their search for a bookend tackle prospect to protect franchise quarterback DJ Lagway when he arrives on campus in Gainesville.

Options left on the table for Florida include Tuscarora (Leesburg, Va.) High's Fletcher Westphal — committing July 10 — San Marcos (Texas) High's Ory Williams and IMG Academy's Jordan Seaton.

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