Clark to decide between Florida and Syracuse

The need for offensive linemen for the Florida Gators is huge and this weekend the Gators hosted Syracuse offensive line commit Steven Clark (6-2, 300, Guntersville, AL Brindlee Mountain School) on an official visit and the trip was a success.

“It was good, it was real fun, I had a blast,” Clark said. “I got to talk to all of the coaches and meet all of them and talk to the players. It was a real good experience this weekend. We all enjoyed it a lot. My mom loved it and she likes that it’s closer to home. It’s going to be hard to beat that visit.”

Clark was very impressed by some of the facilities that Florida has to offer and was impressed by the news of the Gators getting an indoor practice facility soon.

“The facilities were nice and they have a lot stuff that other schools don’t have,” Clark said. “Gatorade being there was cool. I like the running machines they have. They showed us the sketches of the indoor practice facility. It’s going to look amazing. 120 yards of field plus an extra few yards for the OL/DL to be able to do their thing. Plus they are going to have garage doors so that we can come in and out. It’s awesome and it’s suppose to be done by the time we start fall practice.”

Offensive line coach Mike Summers spent a large amount of time with Clark and his parents and Clark enjoyed the time he spent with Summers.

“Coach Summers was saying that they don’t really have any linemen returning, ”Clark said. “He said that if I come in and work my butt off then I have a good chance of playing as a freshman. Playing as a freshman in the SEC is a great opportunity. He said that he sees me as a center and guard but more than likely as a center.”

The one thing that Summers drove home to Clark was that he has the mental makeup to play center.

“Coach said that he thinks I’m smart enough to play center because I can make all of the calls,” Clark said. “He said that he thinks I understand the defense well enough to be able to make all of the calls that are needed for a center.”

The Syracuse commit noticed that all of the Florida Gators coaches had a lot of energy about themselves and that stood out to him but he also thinks McElwain is the right guy for Florida.

“Coach Summers is a very good person and he loves football,” Clark said. “He gets fired up around football. I love his energy. Coach McElwain is the same way and he’s really smart. Coach McElwain is going to have Florida back to winning SEC and national championships soon.”

McElwain did have a chance to meet one on one with Clark before he left Gainesville and the message was simple between the two parties.

“Coach McElwain said that the reason they didn’t get to me earlier was because of the coaching change and that he really loved my film,” Clark said. “He thinks that I have a really good chance of coming in early and helping them out. He said that I need to continue to work to improve but he likes me.”

Clark left Gainesville still committed to Syracuse but that could change in the near future as he ponders his decision.

“I’m still committed to Syracuse and I’ll know more about decision later tonight or in the morning,” Clark said. “I’m going to talk to my family some tonight and tomorrow and I’ll have a decision in the morning or tomorrow afternoon.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida is in great shape for Clark after this weekend’s visit. Florida really blew away the entire Clark family and that is going to help the Gators out.

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.

6 COMMENTS

    • At the moment the following are facts. And, yes I am upset and frustrated over what the poor judgment of our AD has allowed this program to become. The slog during the next 3-4 years will be hard and slow. Five-Star Ivey is split between Auburn and Florida. The Gators have the upper hand on Furman, Arkansas State, Western Kentucky, Troy, Georgia State and, of course, 1950-1960s powerhouse, Syracuse.

  1. Steven if you’re out there, take it from someone born in Syracuse and lived up there 18 years, but is now a Florida Alum…choose Florida, its not close.

    The obvious things are the SEC, and we need lineman bad = playing time

    But lets get to the intangibles:
    There are some things I love about Syracuse, but I hope you went and visited in the winter. Cause it is terrible. Its cold, continually overcast gloomy, winter is 6 months or more and you’ll quickly learn about lake effect snow. You’ll never see more snow in your life. I don’t think I need to talk about Florida weather and beaches.

    Florida, Get it done

  2. Cuse…hmmm, perhaps he’s just a loyal kid that is feeling bad not keeping his word? Other than that there should be zero thought about a decision between Syracuse and the Florida Gators. As one poster said, it isn’t even close. I haven’t even heard of them in the last 10 years or so. I remember the bowl game against them when they had that big-arse QB and we had Spurrier. We won, and that was the last I remember. Respectfully, unless his daddy went there, his mommy went there, his brother went there, and his grandpa went there it shouldn’t take that long to decide. And, if they all did go there, he needs to change the family DNA immediately and get his large O-line butt down yonder here at Florida. Come join the good guys and be famous in Syracuse. Go Gators.