Florida showed Imatorbhebhe the royal treatment

Last weekend the Florida Gators hosted their first official visitor of the year when Missouri tight end commit Daniel Imatorbhebhe (6-4, 220, Suwanee, GA North Gwinnett) visited Florida for the Kentucky game and the tight end received the all-star treatment from the Gators.

“It was fun, we had a great time there and got the royal treatment,” Imatorbhebhe said. “This visit was definitely better than the last visit down to Florida. It’s an official visit so it was big deal and they treated us great. We got to do everything that players did and they let us see them preparing for the game so that was nice and we got to eat a lot.”

Most expected the Florida Gators to blow out Kentucky but that didn’t happen. Still, the crowd was in full support of the Gators and that was something that Imatorbhebhe took notice of.

“It was cool and a lot of them were in the stadium and around the stadium,”Imatorbhebhe said. “It was real loud for the game and everyone stayed for the whole game. They really support their team.”

When Imatorbhebhe arrived on campus on Friday he got to sit down with tight ends coach Derek Lewis about the offense but he left the official visit a little confused after watching the Kentucky game himself.

“It kind of had me confused a little bit because they showed me the offense and said they were going to throw the ball deep on vertical routes to the tight end,” Imatorbhebhe said. “Most of the passes in the game were to D-Rob [Demarcus Robinson] on like hitches or slants and then he took it down field besides that the offense looked good but I just have a few questions about how I’m going to fit into the offense because I don’t want to just block as a tight end. I plan to talk to them more about this.”

One thing that Will Muschamp did assure Imatorbhebhe of was that he could get on the field early as Kurt Roper’s offense uses the tight ends a lot.

“Coach Muschamp said that I saw that they played three tight ends so that I could get playing time in the offense,” Imatorbhebhe said. “He said that they are losing a few guys so there is a place for me and that they are trying to sign three tight ends this year.”

Before Imatorbhebhe left his official on Sunday he got the chance to talk to Muschamp about how he would fit in and Muschamp had a message for him.

“When I was talking to Coach Muschamp in the office he said that Florida is a great place for me and a great fit for me as a player and as a student,” Imatorbhebhe said. “They were telling me that they are trying to win a national championship on and off the field and that they want me.”

One of the best moments of the visit was Imatorbhebhe getting to hang around tight ends coach Derek Lewis.

“Coach Lewis is a great guy and I really enjoyed spending time with him,” Imatorbhebhe said. “He’s really passionate about the game and serious about what he does. I got to spend sometime with his family but he’s just really cool and down to earth.”

This was the first official visit for Imatorbhebhe who is trying to make sure he makes the right decision but he isn’t sure about any other visits right now as he’s taking things slow.

“I don’t have any other official visits planned right now,” Imatorbhebhe said. “As far as my commitment I’m taking it day by day and seeing where things go. My teammates want me to take them down to Gainesville for a game so I might do that but other than that I’m focusing on my high school team right now.”

 

INSIDER TAKE: The offense was something that Imatorbhebhe was definitely worried about when I spoke to him as he wants to play in a offense that gets him the ball. I think Lewis and company can show him that but also explain to him that Jake McGee was the guy to do that. If Florida solves that issue than I think you could see Imatorbhebhe end up a Florida Gator.

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.