The Florida Gators have been on an offering spree over the last few days as the coaching staff starts to build their 2016 recruiting board.
Sunday night the Gators dipped into Georgia to offer cornerback Chad Clay (5-11, 168, Suwanee, GA Peachtree Ridge) who said the offer was big to him but it wasn’t all that unexpected.
“Coach [Kirk]Callahan told me to call him on Sunday and when I did he told me that I had the offer from Florida,” Clay said. “He had kind of already offered me a couple of weekends ago when I was on campus for a visit but it wasn’t official so he finally gave me an official offer from Florida.”
When Callahan offered Clay on Sunday night the Gators cornerbacks coach told Clay how he would fit into the Gators defense.
“He tells me that they really want me to be a Gator and come be apart of their team,” Clay said. “He said that the coaching staff has watched my film a lot and they like it and they think I can help them out at cornerback. Coach Callahan said he can use me as a nickel cornerback and as an outside corner too.”
One thing is for sure and that is that Florida made a big impression on the Georgia cornerback when Clay visited Gainesville a few weeks ago.
“I had a great time during my visit down there and I like Florida,” Clay said. “Florida is a great place with a nice campus and great tradition. Ben Hill Griffin stadium is crazy on gameday. Overall I just like it down there.”
When Clay was in Gainesville visiting Florida he got the chance to meet the Gators new head coach Jim McElwain and the first impression was a good one for Clay.
“I like Coach McElwain and it was good to finally meet him,” Clay said. “He seems like he has big plans for the future of the team and he has a lot of energy. I think he’s going to be a great coach for Florida. He really was excited to see me down there.”
McElwain talks to Clay some but the Georgia cornerback is talking more to Callahan as the two build a relationship.
“Me and coach Callahan are building a real good relationship with each other,” Clay said. “I really like coach Callahan a lot and he’s a great guy. I think he’s a good coach and he will do great at Florida.”
Heading into Sunday the Gators were on the outside looking in on the list of Clay’s top schools, but the offer from Florida pushed the Gators into the mix.
“LSU and Georgia were my top 2 but now that Florida offered me they are now in my top group too,” Clay said. “I really want to decide this summer before my season starts but I want to take some more visits first. I’ll definitely be back down to Florida for sure.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Callahan has made a big impression on Clay so far and the Gators will be a dog fight with Georgia for Clay as the recruiting process continues to play out.