On a night the Florida Gators defense dominated the Kentucky Wildcats, the Florida Gators recruiting visitors list was also hosting a top defensive target for 2017.
Defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell (6-3, 325, Augusta, GA. Laney) was in attendance on Saturday for the second time in a month and he enjoyed his visit.
“It’s always a good day in the Swamp, even the last time I came,” Truesdell said of his Florida visit. “This time it felt like home. They ended it with a nice blowout, it always good to start off with that.”
Truesdell was excited about the Gators almost pitching a shutout, but he was more impressed with the defensive line.
“It showed proof that Coach [Chris] Rumph knows what he’s talking about,” he said of the Gators defensive line performance. “I would be lucky to get any type of advice from him.”
Gators defensive line coach Chris Rumph has been the main recruiter for Truesdell since day one and the two have built a solid bond.
“Me and him have a good relationship,” Truesdell said of his relationship with Rumph. “We talk pretty much every day, we just mainly be talking how the season is going for me. He talks to me about some stuff he sees on field so he can go ahead and critique it.”
Rumph’s message from the start has been about how Florida is low at defensive tackle and that has Truesdell’s attention.
“It does,” he said when asked if needing defensive tackles sticks out. “It actually shows that they’re going to try and get you ready because they need someone there.”
When Truesdell visited the Gators last month, he said he almost committed, but on Saturday he admitted what is holding him back.
“The only thing holding me back is that they got me but they’ve got to get my parents,” Truesdell said on if he thought about committing again. “The only thing they’re looking for is does Florida have my best interest. I hadn’t talked to my parents yet but I’ve got to call her [mom didn’t visit]. I know she wants to come down here and see it for herself.”
The Gators will have the opportunity to impress Truesdell’s mother at the start of the new year.
“I’m going to bring her down on the official,” he said of when his mom will visit. “She doesn’t like driving so it will be nice to come down on the plane.”
Florida isn’t the only school pushing for an official visit from the defensive tackle as two other SEC school wants one.
“I’m still setting everything up for official visits,” Truesdell said. “Louisville wants it to be in January, I talked to Ole Miss about it too. Really they all want me to do it in January. West Virginia, Florida, Auburn also want me to take one.”
Louisville and the other schools are going to have to play catch up, though, because Truesdell says one school sits on top.
“After a day like this, they [Florida] are kind of on top,” he said. “Colleges are really going to have to step up to beat them. The last two visits have just been memorable here. I don’t know [who’s second] but all of the schools still hit me up.”
INSIDERS TAKE: The Gators have done a great job recruiting Truesdell and Rumph is leading the charge here. Florida is in a good position with Truesdell right now but must get mom on campus to seal the deal.