Upland's Nunes impressive in Vegas

Nunes had an impressive performance in Las Vegas last weekend.

That was the assessment from Rivals.com recruiting editor Jeremy Crabtree after seeing Nunes at the Elite 11 regional qualifier in Las Vegas this past weekend. Nunes, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound recruit, wasn't the best quarterback there - that went to UCLA commit Richard Brehaut - but he did a lot of things well and was one of the better uncommitted recruits at the event.

"He has really good upside and he can learn an offense quickly," Crabtree said. "He's very smart. He's a heady player who throws a good ball and just does a lot of things well."

Florida did not sign a quarterback in its 2008 recruiting class and the general thinking is the Gators want one this cycle. Nunes lists an offer from Florida and has said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen has been in close contact.

The California recruit recently narrowed his list to eight and the Gators made the cut along with Arizona State, BYU, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee and Harvard. Reached by phone the last two weekends, Nunes' father said he was unsure when the family would find an open weekend to visit Gainesville.

Last season, Nunes completed 124 of 216 passes for 2,105 yards with 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. One thing about Florida that has stood out in interviews with Nunes is coach Urban Meyer's and Mullen's success with their quarterbacks. The different ways the coaches have utilized Alex Smith, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow has impressed him. Nunes said he is more like Smith than the other two quarterbacks.

Rivals.com rates Nunes, who boasts a 4.6 grade-point average and a 1980 SAT score, as the 10th best pro-style quarterback in the 2009 class. He's also a member of the Rivals 250 checking in at No. 181.

Not many of Rivals' top-rated quarterbacks are left on the board. The only other pro-style quarterback in the top 10 who is uncommitted is Frisco (Texas) Centennial's Ryan Mossakowski, who does not list interest in Florida. Mossakowski is No. 6 on the list. All the others have already picked their school although their commitment is not binding until Signing Day in February.

Going down the list, Matt Barkley, the nation's top player regardless of position, has verbally committed to USC. Garrett Gilbert is headed to Texas. Tom Savage pledged to Rutgers. Aaron Murray committed to Georgia. AJ McCarron is headed to Alabama. Brehaut committed to UCLA. Allan Bridgford pledged to California and Zach Mettenberger is headed to Georgia as well.

There are no quarterbacks left in the top 100 of 2009 that are uncommitted. Only three quarterbacks other than Mossakowski are uncommitted and rated higher than Nunes.

They are Sulphur Springs (Texas) prospect Tyrik Rollison at No. 101, San Diego (Calif.) Scripps Ranch quarterback Tate Forcier at No. 145 and Miramar's Eugene Smith at No. 149. Crabtree said whichever program of the eight remaining that lands Nunes is getting a major talent.