DUBLIN, Ohio – A late-July trip to the Sunshine State gave Dublin (Ohio) Coffman four-star running back Michael Drennen II his first looks at a pair of schools that are now high on his interest list.

The primary purpose of Drennen’s visit last month was to check out the University of Florida, a school that made his top ten list he released on July 4. Now having experienced Gainesville in-person, Drennen is already planning a return trip.

“They have a lot of history in The Swamp and it really held up to expectations. I really liked it a lot,” Drennen said. “They are definitely going to be one of my five official visits.”

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Florida State was not in Drennen’s top ten going into the trip, but a late decision to swing through Tallahassee before returning home has now catapulted the Seminoles back among his top contenders.

“They squeezed their way in there because that’s not something you can turn down easily,” Drennen said. “We were going to Florida and thought we might as well go to Florida State while we’re down here. We went and all the facilities, the brick – everything was beautiful. I liked it a lot.

The resurgence of Florida State in Drennen’s recruitment is evidenced by the Seminoles now being among a handful of schools the Rivals250 prospect considers strong contenders for his five official visit slots. Kentucky and Tennessee are two more programs Drennen listed in that group.

Ohio State is the local school and would not seem a strong candidate for an official visit due to the ease and frequency with which he can see the campius, but the Buckeyes may not be out of the running for one of those slots.

“We stay in touch a lot. We never really lost contact,” Drennen said of Ohio State. “Coach (Tony) Alford lives in Dublin and I’m friends with his son. I’d stay in contact even if I didn’t go there, but they do have a chance at me.”

Other schools that were listed in Drennen’s top ten from last month were Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame.