Urban Meyer Reveals LSU Football vs. Florida Gators Recruiting Battle That Haunts Him

During Urban Meyer's time in Gainesville with the Florida Gators, the iconic head coach rarely swung and missed on the recruiting trail.

The Sunshine State breeds some of the top talent in America with Meyer benefiting from the impressive recruiting realm.

Despite signing a myriad of five-star prospects across his tenure with the Florida Gators, Meyer recently reflected on one that still haunts him to this day.

In a rigorous recruiting battle with the LSU Tigers, Meyer and the Florida Gators saw highly-touted defensive back Patrick Peterson commit to the program in Baton Rouge.

The five-star, Top-10 prospect made the move to depart Florida and take his talents to the Bayou State where he became one of the most iconic Tigers of all-time.

LSU Tigers Football: Patrick Peterson. — Jan 7, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson (7) in action against the Texas A&M Aggies during the 2011 Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium . Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Down the stretch of Peterson's process, Meyer believed the Florida Gators had him locked up, but a decision in crunch time swayed him LSU's way.

“It was a wrap,” Meyer said. “It was done. I had him. I went into his home, and he has got a beautiful family, his mom and dad. I remember sitting in his house, and I look over and on his laptop or personal computer there it’s Gator everything on the screen, and I looked at Doc Holliday.

"I have done that for so many years — 30 years in recruiting — that when you come across someone that has the ‘it’ — and I’m not just talking about the athleticism, because nothing against Patrick, but there’s a lot of great athletes out there.”

Coach had his eyes on these guys, but they slipped away 👀 pic.twitter.com/mln9cAaJvf
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) August 9, 2025

In a recent interview, Meyer revealed that Peterson was his second-biggest recruiting loss.

The iconic defensive back joined Jabrill Peppers, who signed with the Michigan Wolverines over Ohio State, and CJ Spiller, who picked the Clemson Tigers over Florida.

Peterson dove into his reasoning for selecting LSU over Florida down the stretch of his recruiting process.

“You guys did have me, Coach,” Peterson told Meyer a few years ago. “I was locked in, as you know. We had great communication. You guys were coming to the house a bunch of times. I remember the game you guys came to — you and Doc Holliday — I ran a punt return back … and did the Gator Chomp and everything.

"What it came down to, it was my dad giving me more insight on college football as far as giving a more deeper look into the recruiting process and understanding where you would fall in that totem pole as far as coming in and playing.

“I had no problem coming in and competing with the Joe Hadens, … Janoris Jenkins. Me and Janoris were in the same class. But he said, ‘I think it would be a better opportunity for you to go to LSU, where it’s a clean slate, where there’s no DB’s there. All the guys are seniors, and you can go and step in and dominate right now.’

"So when my dad gave me that advice, I was like, ‘You know what? You’re kind of right.’”

The rest is history across Peterson's illustrious playing career where became one of the most iconic LSU Tigers of all-time prior to be selected in the top-five of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

Peterson remains a staple in the Baton Rouge community where he's returned to campus on multiple occasions to assist the LSU program.

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