Amari Burney is wanted everywhere for the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators had a lot of prospects on campus last weekend for the Orange and Blue Debut that was held on Friday night for the first time under Jim McElwain.

One of those prospects on campus was 2018 athlete Amari Burney (6-1, 201, Clearwater, FL Central Catholic), who got to see the Gators pregame routine before the game.

“It was good, it was a great trip actually, I had a really good time,” Burney said. “I went to the Gator walk, went into the room where they walk out of the tunnel at and then watched the spring game.”

The Florida fan base that came out to support the spring game on Friday night also impressed Burney.

“It was good, for a spring game all those fans came out and it was a great atmosphere,” he said. “The offense was a little better than last year, it looked like it was progressing a lot. I liked it.”

The Clearwater athlete plays both sides of the ball in high school and Florida is leaving the door open for both sides in college.

“Florida has just told me that they see me playing on either side of the ball, whichever I choose,” Burney said. “I really don’t have a preference on which side of the ball I play in college.”

Burney, who plays a lot of receiver in high school, paid close attention to how the offense looked under McElwain in year two.

“I see a lot of growth in the offense and the program from last year,” he said. “I believe [Luke] Del Rio is really good and Feleipe [Franks] is going to be good too. I like their quarterbacks.”

Doug Nussmeier has been following Burney since the offensive coordinator arrived in Gainesville and he sends a simple message to the 2018 athlete when they talk.

“Coach Nussmeier is the main coach recruiting me right now,” Burney said. “He just told me that there is no time limit for me to commit to them and that they want me on either side of the ball. He doesn’t want me to say that I’m not going to Florida because they only want me on one side or the other. He said whichever side I choose is what side they want me at.”

Receivers coach Kerry Dixon also recruits Burney’s area and the two got the chance to talk a little on Friday while Burney also met the Gators new defensive back coach.

“I got to talk to Coach Dixon and he told me that he’s coming down for spring practice,” he said. “I got to meet with Coach [Torrian] Gray too. I knew him already because he coached my cousin Brandon Facyson at Virginia Tech. He’s a good dude.”

INSIDERS TAKE: I really think that Burney has the perfect game to be a good SEC receiver, but he does show good movement at defensive back. No matter where he ends up playing, I think the Gators have a good shot at landing him.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.