The Florida Gators picked up their 8th commitment for the 2019 class on Thursday morning when they landed a top target from the state of Georgia.
Linebacker Tyron Hopper (6-2, 205, Roswell, GA. High) committed to Florida on Thursday but silently the linebacker has been in the class.
“I’ve been silently committed for some time now,” Hopper said. “I just wanted to put it out on my birthday today [Thursday].”
Hopper visited Florida in the spring and that visit ended up being the thing that pushed the Gators over the top.
“Just the visit, the visit played a huge role,” he said on why he decided to commit to Florida. “It was down to Florida, Miami and South Carolina but when I took the visit, I loved it. I loved everything about it, the atmosphere, the coaching staff and everything.”
The linebacker met the coaching staff for the first time during that visit and he walked away impressed by Dan Mullen’s staff.
“I just love the way they operate,” Hopper said on what he likes about the coaching staff. “Everything they do, they’re recruiting well, they know how to recruit. I just loved it, plus they’re just getting to Florida so I will be there first official recruiting class so that will help a lot.”
Linebackers coach Christian Robinson recruited Hopper and explained how he would fit into the Gators defense.
“Coach Robinson was the main one,” he said on the coach who recruited him the most. “He said I will play the money linebacker. I love that position, he said they have a big need there. Since this is there first recruiting class, the last coach didn’t really recruit that type of linebacker. I will be the first official linebacker like that, that they have recruited.”
This was the first big recruit that Robinson has landed and Hopper explained what makes Robinson appealing to recruits.
“Just his energy and he shows a lot of love,” Hopper said on his impressions of Robinson. “We’re on the phone a lot, texting and things like that. He just shows a lot of love.”
Head coach Dan Mullen also talked with Hopper a lot and he was excited when the linebacker committed to Florida.
“He said that he’s very excited, they’re very excited for me,” Hopper said on what Mullen has said to him. “They’re excited about me joining the family. They loved it when I told them, they were all in the room. They were ready for me to put it out that day.”
After meeting with the staff, Hopper walked away feeling confident in Mullen and his staff’s ability to get Florida going again.
“Yes sir, they’re going to turn it around,” he said on if he believes this staff can turn things around for Florida.”
Now that Hopper has committed, he plans to put on his recruiting cap as other recruits did the same to him.
“That’s what I like, I’m going to do that,” Hopper said on if he’s going to recruit others to join him at Florida. “As soon as I left the visit, the coaches told the other signees and recruits and they were all texting my phone. They were saying be a Gator things like that. I thought that was pretty cool and no other school does that.”