The Florida Gators played host to three prospects on Saturday including offensive lineman Marcus Tatum (6-6, 257, Daytona Beach, FL Mainland) who came to campus without an offer.
Tatum certainly left his visit to Florida impressed though, as the Gators gave him the red carpet treatment, giving Tatum a tour of the campus and more.
“It was a wonderful time and visit,” Tatum said. “I love the coaching staff that Florida has and the atmosphere was great. I got to do everything that you can think of, honestly. I got to sit down with the head coach and the offensive line coach and my mom got to meet everyone.”
After the tours were over Tatum and his mother sat down with Jim McElwain and offensive line coach Mike Summers and that was when Tatum got the news he has been looking for for sometime now.
“When my mom and I were sitting down with the head coach and the offensive line coach they told me that they were offering me a scholarship to Florida,” Tatum said. “They told me that they see me as a tackle and that they love my character and that they would love to have me play for them.”
Tatum, who now has double digit offers, says that receiving the offer from Florida was a big deal to him and his family.
“The offer means a lot to me and is just another blessing for me,” Tatum said. “It’s another step in the recruiting process and this is one that is big to me. I don’t have any kind of leaders yet though.”
Florida certainly made Tatum feel at home during the visit as he was shown around and also was given a sneak peak of two new facilities the Gators are currently building.
“The facilities were beautiful and we got to try on the helmet, the jersey and the gloves in the locker room too,” Tatum said. “The new indoor practice facility is going to be real nice and the new academic center is going to be great too. They are going to be beautiful when they are done.”
When coach McElwain sat Tatum down for his one-on-one meeting, the Gators head coach explained to Tatum his message about the program, plus where Florida liked the offensive lineman.
“Coach McElwain said that he’s going to get Florida heading in the right direction soon,” Tatum said. He said that he liked my film and he also liked my academic drive in the classroom too.”
This was the first time for Tatum to meet McElwain and the talented lineman walked away very impressed by the Gators’ head coach.
“He’s very passionate about what he does and he has a lot of energy about himself,” Tatum said. “He does a good job of selling his message to you and he did a good job of selling what he was talking about to me and my mom.”
Offensive line coach Mike Summers certainly didn’t disappoint Tatum either as the Dayton Beach prospect says Summers reminds him of someone close to him now.
“Coach Summers is almost the same thing as coach McElwain, he has a lot of energy,” Tatum said. “They way he talks about technique and the way he coaches is almost the same way as my high school offensive line coach so I felt like I was being coached by him already. I feel like we can build a good relationship because of that.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Florida made a very good impression on Tatum and the Gators are likely the team to beat early on for him, but the offensive lineman insists that he’s in no rush to make any kind of decision.