Florida Gators offer a big safety prospect

Saturday was a busy day for the Florida Gators due to the fact the Gators coaching staff handed out four new offers to prospects in the class of 2016.

Safety Spencer Perry (6-3, 202, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) was one of the prospects that received an offer and he heard the news from defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan.

“Coach Callahan offered me a scholarship to Florida on Saturday,” Perry told Gator Country. “He just told me that he was offering me a scholarship to the University of Florida and he said come be a Gator. I’m very happy to get that offer from Florida.”

Perry, who is from Auburn, Alabama, has been watching the Gators play for several years now and he says that he knows the Gators put defensive backs in the league.

“I know that Florida produces the best DB’s in the country,” Perry said. “They have Joe Haden in the league right now and he’s one of the best DB’s in the league. They have Vernon Hargreaves who’s on campus now and Matt Elam who came out a few years ago so they produce good DB’s.”

Despite knowing that Florida has a lot of good defensive backs he doesn’t know much about Florida but he did hear a positive and to the point message from Callahan on Saturday.

“This was actually the first time that I’ve ever spoken to Coach Callahan but it was a good talk,” Perry said. “He was telling me that they only signed one defensive back in the class of 2015 and that they have two pretty good safeties that are juniors but he thinks they could possibly go pro early. He said that I could possibly compete for a job early at free safety.”

After hearing Callahan’s message on Saturday the safety prospect says he now needs to look into Florida and the coaching staff more and that will all happen in a few weeks when he takes an unofficial visit to Florida.

“I’m not very familiar with Coach Callahan but I’m going to go down there for a spring practice and get more familiar with him,” Perry said. “I’ve never been to Florida or Gainesville so I’m going to down there and see the facilities and get a feel for the campus. I also want to meet all of the coaches.”

Perry says he’s asked about being from Auburn in every interview but that the Tigers don’t lead just because he’s from the Alabama school.

“I’m open, completely open,” Perry said. “It could be Florida or whoever but I’m just looking at what’s best for me. It could be up north or in the south or wherever. I’m just open.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: I think Florida has a shot here with Perry because he’s very open in the process and he also sees a big opportunity at Florida. Perry is a long, athletic safety that could be a big time playmaker in the SEC.

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.