Happy Thanksgiving: Four-Star OLB Chief Borders Doubles Down On Commitment To Florida

When Chief Borders spoke with GatorBait in June of this year, he mentioned his aspirations beyond the football field.

“My goal is to be the best pediatrician in the world,” Borders told GatorBait. For the four-star outside linebacker, this meant studying pre-med at the University of Florida before heading to med school – with football squeezing in between, of course.

Back in June, Borders also admitted that his “dream offers” consisted of Oregon and Stanford – both schools of which extended an offer to the Windy-City-native-turned-Georgia-resident.

Borders took to Twitter on August 1 to announce that he had been officially offered a full scholarship to Stanford. And though it was contingent on how he finished his high school career academically, Borders isn’t someone you have to worry about qualifying… even at a prestigious institution like Stanford.

And when Borders, who had been committed to Florida since Nov. 2019, announced on Monday that despite his commitment, he was still looking at his field of options and would make a final, recruitment-closing decision on Thanksgiving Day, many started sniffing out a possible flip.

Borders’ goal of being “the best pediatrician in the world” could be accomplished at the University of Florida, but all signs pointed towards the outside linebacker chasing his PhD as a member of the Cardinal.

As the fanbases of the Gators, Cardinal, Michigan State Spartans and Florida State Seminoles tuned into Twitter at 3 p.m. over a plate of turkey and mashed potatoes, Borders announced his final decision in a video that featured a virtual appearance from Dan Mullen:

Florida’s linebacker coach Christian Robinson, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and head coach Dan Mullen all had their hands in securing Borders’ commitment to Florida.

And though this recruiting cycle has been like no other thanks to Covid-19-induced restrictions, the work of Florida’s recruiters has paid off once again.