The tight end position for the Florida Gators has struggled the last few years and with the position being a key one in Dan Mullen’s offense, the Gators are looking to add players at the position in the 2019 class.
On Saturday, the Gators hosted several players at the position including tight end Luke Deal (6-5, 230, Greenwood, SC. Emerald) who had a good visit.
“It was a good trip for me,” Deal said of junior day. “We had a tour of the athletic and academics facilities. We talked with Coach [Larry] Scott, Coach [Charlton] Warren and Coach [Dan] Mullen too.”
While on the trip to Gainesville, Deal was pulled aside by Mullen where the Gators head coach shared some good news with the tight end.
“I got offered by him after we talked for about 45 minutes,” he said. “He was awesome and talked to me about expectations and opportunities.”
Mullen didn’t just offer Deal, the Gators head man also made sure to tell the tight end that the Gators are going to push for him to join the Orange and Blue.
“He said that they want me here,” Deal said of his talks with Mullen. “He said that they’re going to push me to be the best that I can be and that there’s nothing like being a Gator.”
Tight ends coach Larry Scott also spoke at length with Deal on Saturday about how big of a need he is for the Gators in 2019.
“He talked about their academics, athletic and moral expectations,” he said of Scott’s message to him. “He said that there is a big need for tight ends and that he would use me a lot. He talked about how much he loves my film.”
This was the first visit to Gainesville for Deal but he left praising the new coaching staff and saying the Gators helped themselves this weekend.
“I love the staff, the atmosphere is great there,” Deal said. “I really liked them. They’re cool as can be but I know they’ll push their players to be great.”
Next up for Deal is more trips but he has a plan set on his recruitment but he knows he needs to visit more schools to make a final decision.
“I plan on returning to Florida again,” he said. “All of the teams that have offered are recruiting me hard so I’m going to have to visit more places to compare them before I have a favorite. I’m planning on making a decision this summer though.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Deal really liked the Florida visit and even stayed for the Gators basketball game on Saturday night. Deal is set to visit Auburn next and is taking an official visit to Notre Dame this spring.