MILTON, Ga. — A #Team11 star decided Thursday where he's taking his talents.
Bryce Thornton, a 3-star senior defensive back at Milton High School, formally announced his commitment to the Florida Gators and head coach Billy Napier, turning down Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide.
Thornton received 31 total offers from a plethora of Power Five schools including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Miami, among others, according to Rivals.com.
The 5-foot-10-inch, 195-pound safety announced on Twitter Wednesday that his recruiting decision was down to just two finalists, the Crimson Tide of Alabama and the Gators of Florida. We now know that Thornton will be donning the orange and blue come 2023.
WATCH A REPLAY OF HIS COMMITMENT HERE
In a conversation with Rivals.com last month, Thornton described his relationship with assistant coach Travaris Robinson and head coach Nick Saban as a primary reason he is so attracted to attending Alabama. He said he likes how the Tide churns out NFL talent and creates "better people."
When talking about the Gators, Thornton described his relationship with defensive backs coach Patrick Toney and talked about a family atmosphere. He also talked about how the coaching staff has told him that a lot of players will be gone in 2023, opening up opportunities for incoming players, especially with one of the earliest recruiting classes under first-year head coach Billy Napier.
Thornton weighed his highly-anticipated decision as a true "50-50" call. Thornton has now ultimately made that difficult decision as he will publicly announce it Thursday afternoon at Milton High School.
Tide and Gator fans, grab your popcorn, as Thornton's decision is sure to have each of these fan bases on the edge of their seat.