The Florida Gators are once again looking for offensive line help in the class of 2017 and they need tackles in this class bad.
JUCO offensive lineman D’Marcus Hayes (6-6, 320, Mississippi Gulf Coast JUCO) is one of those targets and he has been talking to offensive line coach Mike Summers a lot lately.
“Florida has been recruiting me a lot lately,” Hayes said. “Coach Summers, the offensive line coach has been recruiting me mainly. He hits me up on Twitter and checks up on me. He’s just seeing where my head is at and seeing where things are at.”
Summers has made sure to tell Hayes that he’s needed in Gainesville and can play early, but also talks to him about the school.
“Coach Summers really just tells me that he wants me to come down to Florida and check them out,” he said of Summers’ message. “He thinks that I will probably fall in love at the sight. Florida has been a dream school since I was in high school. It was a dream of mine to go play for them and I’m excited about the whole process.”
Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain has also reached out to Hayes to recruit him and tell him more about the program and the Gators brand.
“Coach McElwain has messaged me on Twitter,” Hayes said of McElwain. “We talked a little bit about Florida and the program then. I’m looking forward to talking to him and meeting him.”
Hayes has seen his recruitment heat up a lot over the last few months but he says his interest in Florida is high at the moment.
“Florida is definitely would one of my top schools right now,” he said of his interest in Florida. “Auburn and Mississippi State are kind of up there because I’m familiar with them but I haven’t had the chance to visit Florida yet. Florida is going to be one of my top schools regardless.”
The JUCO offensive lineman hasn’t visited Florida before but he says that will change this winter.
“I don’t have a date for my Florida visit yet,” Hayes said. “I’m going to take an official visit there after the season is over with. I might take an official to Auburn too, but I’m not sure who all else will get one. I’m enrolling in January so they will have to be after my season.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Auburn and Mississippi State are the teams to beat right now but Florida and Arkansas are also two teams to watch out for. The Gators can offer early playing time for the JUCO offensive lineman.