The Florida Gators hit the road on Monday for the first this fall recruiting and they were in several different states.
With the Gators missing out on two home games this fall, it was very important for the staff to get some face time with prospects even though they can’t speak with them.
While out on the road the coaching staff offered several underclassmen prospects and one class of 2017 player.
Gator Country is going to talk about those guys, plus others in this Florida Gators recruiting notebook
One of the first players to receive a visit from Florida on Monday was defensive end Aaron Sterling (6-2, 260, Tucker, GA. High) who decommitted from Alabama last month.
Defensive line coach Chris Rumph stopped by to check on Sterling and he described how the meeting went.
“Coach Rumph just asked my coach how much I weighed and when I was coming down to see them,” Sterling said. “That’s all my coach told me.”
Sterling was committed to Alabama for so long that most teams stopped recruiting him but Sterling says he will listen if the Gators call.
“I’ll have to talk things over with my mom,” he said on if he will visit Florida. “I didn’t have interest in them because they didn’t recruit me much while I was committed but I would have interest in them.”
While in Georgia, offensive line coach Mike Summers checked in to see Georgia offensive line commit Andrew Thomas (6-5, 295, Atlanta, GA. Pace Academy) who says he talks to Florida still.
“Coach Summers came by on Monday,” Thomas said. “I talk to some of the Florida coaches still. I talk to Coach Summers and Coach Ryan Smith, he’s one of their recruiters.”
The Gators are still trying to get Thomas on campus, but it seems like that may be difficult to accomplish.
“They want me to give Florida a chance,” he said. “I haven’t been down there so I don’t want to expect. I have to talk to my parents to see if they will let me take anymore visits or not.”
New offers
The Gators also gave up several big offers while out on the road and the biggest one went out to defensive end Jordan Wright (6-4, 228, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Dillard) on Monday.
Wright will also have the chance to play basketball for Gators head coach Mike White if he wants that opportunity. Right now Florida State looks to be the team to beat but Wright has a lot of interest in the Gators.
On Tuesday, Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain personally handed out an offer to 2018 Michigan safety commit Otis Reese (6-2, 195, Leesburg, GA. Lee County) who says he wants to visit Florida.
2018 safety Gurvan Hall (6-1, 185, West Palm Beach, FL. Palm Beach Lakes) also picked up an offer on Tuesday.
The Gators coaching staff will be back on the road on Thursday and Gator Country will have much more on Gators recruiting then.