American Heritage's Vargas picks Gators.

Byline: Fabian Lyon

Sep. 28--For the past few weeks, Plantation American Heritage 6-10 forward Eloy Vargas has entertained teammates with his version of the Gator Chomp.

That gesture of extending arms to form a 7-foot-plus wingspan and clapping them together was a sign Vargas was leaning toward the University of Florida.

On Wednesday night, Vargas, a Dominican Republic native, called UF coach Billy Donovan and gave his oral commitment to the two-time defending national champions.

"Coach Donovan sounded real happy when I called," Vargas said. "He is a really good coach. I took a visit last month and saw they really didn't have a player at my position. He told me I still have to develop my game to get more playing time."

Vargas, who has risen to five-star recruit status after dominating on the AAU summer circuit and leading Team Breakdown to the Under-17 national title, is the No. 3 power forward in the 2008 class and No. 10 senior overall by Rivals.com.

As a junior, Vargas averaged a career-high 20 points and 16 rebounds and is expected to easily surpass those numbers for a team favored by many to win the 3A title.

"The last two years, I have been working hard so I've earned it," Vargas said. "I still need to get bigger and work on my shot. I'm glad the recruiting is over. I was getting tired of other coaches calling me."

Adding Vargas to a class that already includes Bradenton IMG Academy 6-10…