ORLANDO- The Florida Gators coaching staff wasn’t taking New Years Eve off as Dan Mullen and his coaching staff sent out an offer on Sunday night.
Defensive back Olaijah Griffin (6-0, 170, Mission Viejo, CA. High) picked up an offer form defensive backs coach Charlton Warren on Sunday night.
Griffin who decomitted from UCLA in December was excited to get an offer from Florida and a former Gator great reached out to him as well.
“It’s really big, I know they’re DBU. They asked me if I was interested and I said yeah so that’s how I got it,” Griffin said of picking up the Florida offer on Sunday. “I was like ‘Wow’ Florida that’s big. Then I posted a picture on Twitter and Vernon Hargreaves reached out. It was amazing, I was in shock. I’m going to for sure take a visit.”
The California defensive back hasn’t visited Florida before but he has watched the Gators on TV a lot.
“I’ve been watching them since I was younger,” he said on what he knows about Florida. “For them to just contact me, I was like man this is crazy. I couldn’t believe it.”
Griffin has been talking to Warren a lot since he was at Tennessee and he says that has continued at Florida.
“I talked to him on Twitter and over the phone,” Griffin said of his talk with Coach Warren
Distance won’t be an issue for Griffin as the defensive back says a recent trip to Tennessee opened his eyes on the SEC.
“Yeah, after going to Tennessee and seeing them, I was like the SEC is way different than California,” he said on if he could himself going across the country to play ball. “It’s way different.”
Heading into January visits, Griffin says that an SEC rival is the leader but he has four other visits planned right now.
“Tennessee is my leader right now,” Griffin said. “Auburn, Michigan, USC and Florida. Those schools will get official visits.”
Griffin is no stranger to celebrities as his father is rapper Warren G and the rapper is ready to move with his son.
“He just want to be my side, he doesn’t really care where I go,” he said on his dad’s involvement. “He just wants to be there to support me. He said wherever I go he’s going to move.”
INSIDERS TAKE: February 2nd is when Griffin is planning on visiting Florida for his last official visit. Right now Tennessee is the leader but several other schools will get a chance to impress him before he announces a decision.