Last week the Florida Gators hit the road recruiting and one of the prospects they visited was running back Shi’kim Coward (5-8, 176, Niceville, FL High) at his high school.
“Coach [Drew] Hughes visited me last week at my school,” Coward said. “It was a great visit and Florida is a school that I’ve always dreamed about going too. Coach Hughes said that I was one of the top running backs on film and that my stats looked like video game numbers. That got me pumped.”
Coward hasn’t heard much from Florida this year but the running back is no stranger to Gainesville.
“I’ve been visiting Florida since my freshman year and I’ve gotten close to the coaching staff there but this was really the first time I had heard from them in a while,” Coward said. “Coach Hughes said that he would keep in touch with me.”
The running back is also looking to speak to new Gators head coach Jim McElwain and that conversation should happen this week.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Coach McElwain yet,” Coward said. “Coach Hughes said that Coach McElwain would be getting in touch with me soon. I don’t know if they are visiting me this week or not yet though.”
Coward doesn’t have an offer from Florida yet but that could change very soon as Florida’s coaching staff continues to evaluate him.
“Coach Hughes said to give Coach McElwain a few weeks to watch my film and then they would talk about a potential offer,” Coward said. “It would be a big offer for me because it’s been one of my dream schools since I was little.”
If the Gators do offer Coward, Florida would jump straight into the mix but two other schools have already lined up potential visits for next month.
“I don’t think I’ll take an official to Florida because I’ve been there so many times already,” Coward said. “I have an official to Washington set up for January already and I’m going to Georgia Tech sometime in January too.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Coward had a knee injury his sophomore year that hurt him from becoming a big time prospect but Coward had a great senior year that saw him rush for 1,258 yards on just 176 carries and scored 19 touchdowns. I think Coward is someone that Jim McElwain will evaluate.