Florida Gators talking to Philly OL

The Florida Gators are doing better on the offensive line but they are still looking to add bodies for the class of 2016 to go with the three commits they have already in the class.

A new name has now surfaced on the Florida Gators’ radar as offensive lineman Johncarlo Valentine (6-5, 337, Philadelphia, PA Imhotep Inst Charter School) has been in communication with one of the Gators assistant coaches.

“A couple of the coaches started following me on Twitter and then I’ve been talking to Coach [Drew] Hughes over the phone,” Valentine said. “He’s been telling me that he’s interested in me and that he wanted to see where I was in the recruiting process. I told him that I’m open to all schools.”

Florida has yet to offer the Philadelphia prospect but a former Gator great who is close to Valentine has been sharing some positive things about Gainesville and the University of Florida.

“Sharrif Floyd is like my older brother and he’s been telling me a lot about Florida so that’s why I have interest in them,” he said of his interest level. “I know that they have a lot of guys in the NFL and you can get a world class education at Florida. Sharrif has told me a lot of good things about the campus and the football team.”

Valentine spoke to Hughes on Wednesday night and an offer could be coming at any time.Valentine says that he would be very excited to receive an offer from the Orange and Blue.

“An offer from Florida would mean a lot, I would be ecstatic if they offered,” Valentine said. “If they offer me then I will definitely get down there to check them out and meet all of the coaches.”

Despite having several big offers from the likes of Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma and South Carolina, the offensive lineman says he has no leaders at this time.

“Nobody is really standing out for me at this time because I’m waiting on some more offers to come in,” he said. “I have two officials planned already. I have an official to Arizona State and Oklahoma planned already.

INSIDERS TAKE: Valentine said that he expects Florida to talk to him over the next several days about the offer and that he believes that they are evaluating his tape now. If the Florida Gators do offer Valentine then they would be squarely in the mix.

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.

1 COMMENT

  1. How big is this guy, 6’5″ 340lbs, with that size it shouldn’t be a slam dunk to give him an offer, can he move, stay low, be able to pull (now a days they all have to pull) Who was the line man many years ago, who’s father ran a funeral parlor, Stock or something like that, to me he was the perfect lineman. What separated him from most was his intelligence and commitment. You put five guys like him on the field and I could run for a 1000 yards a season. He is friends with Floyd, so that’s a big plus, if he has his disposition and attitude, send the form to him. Go Gators