Florida Gators football coach Jim McElwain has always been known for using the tight end a lot in his pro-style offense, but he’s missing that big tight end at Florida right now.
That should change after this recruiting cycle and one of his targets is tight end Peyton Aucoin (6-5, 255, New Orleans, LA Brother Martin) who now has a top two after receiving an offer from the Gators.
“My top two schools are Florida and Texas,” Aucoin said of his recruitment. “Coach [Tim] Skipper from Florida offered me a few weeks ago and he tells me that they are in need of a big tight end so they say that I have a chance to come in play early.”
Aucoin visited the Texas Longhorns in April and last weekend he got the chance to see the Gainesville campus and also meet McElwain.
“I visited Florida last weekend and I met Coach McElwain and sat down and talked with him,” he said of his recent visit to Gainesville. “He was talking to me about the need for tight ends in his offense and he said that they have a lot of spread offense tight ends and that he’s looking to bring in bigger guys that can block in the pro-style offense.”
The Louisiana native had the chance to get a campus tour and he likes where the Gators are heading in the future.
“I really enjoyed my visit to Florida,” Aucoin said. “I really liked the school and the facilities. They are about to renovate everything there with the three-year plan they have going on there now. I really like it over there a lot.”
Recently the Florida Gator coaching staff has been talked about a lot because of their personality and that was something Aucoin noticed as well.
“I really like the coaching staff there because when speaking with them they are honest,” he said of his impression of the staff. “They are very straight up and they told me how much they really like my film.”
The Gators likely won’t have to wait much longer for a decision from Aucoin as he plans to make one sometime in July.
“I want to make a decision before my senior season starts,” Aucoin said. “I’m going to visit Texas in July and then after that I will make my choice.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Aucoin is a true pro-style tight end and is someone that has been missing at Florida for years now. McElwain knows he needs to add size at the position and Aucoin is a big target for the Florida Gators coaching staff.
Man, he’d be a nice snag…Come to the good guys :) Go Gators.