Pretty Girls and Florida weather impress Gaines

Florida has been on somewhat of a hot streak lately in recruiting but the one thing they are still lacking is commitments from defensive linemen as the Florida Gators currently only have one linemen committed to them. One defensive lineman that is hearing from Florida a lot is defensive end/BUCK Houshun Gaines (6-4, 225, Rocky Mount, NC Nash Central) who also has a few other schools hard after him. “Right now North Carolina State is recruiting me the hardest out of everyone,” Gaines said. “Virginia, Florida, Miami and my coach said that Georgia is starting to show interest in me. Now is the time that I’m about to get ready to narrow things down.” Florida is starting to put the full court press on for Gaines as he talks to the Gators coaching staff a lot. “I talk to either Coach [Brad] Lawing or Coach [Drew] Hughes daily,” Gaines said. “I talk to Coach Muschamp the other day too but I talk to those two coaches frequently from Florida. It was good talking to Coach Muschamp because he told me how much he wanted me.” Defensive line coach Brad Lawing has been recruiting Gaines now for a few months and he has a clear message to the prospect. “Coach Lawing tells me that he’s ready for me to commit to them,” Gaines said. “He said that he thinks that Florida is a great fit for me with them running the 3-4 and 4-3. Coach Lawing said that he can showcase all of my talent at Florida in the defense there.” Gaines visited Florida in late July with his father and the visit was everything the defensive end wanted it to be and had heard about Gainesville, Florida. “Friday Night Lights was great, I couldn’t wait to get on campus at Florida,” Gaines said. “It was everything that I envisioned it would be and more. I loved it there and it was great weather. They had a great atmosphere there with a lot of pretty girls and it was summer time there so I know it’s not half as good as it would be this fall.” Now that Gaines has taken an unofficial visit to Florida, he now has plans to take an official back to see the Gators. “After talking with my dad and Coach Muschamp I think Florida will be one of the last officials I take before I decide,” Gaines said. “My dad was leaning more towards Virginia Tech but after the visit he said he loves Florida as well.” Will Muschamp likes for prospects to take officials after the season but with Gaines has a quicker decision timeline so his will likely come in the fall. “I’m graduating early so I’m going to have to make a decision pretty quick,” Gaines said. “So I’m going to take officials this fall before I decide. I know that Florida and Miami are going to get officials for sure. If Georgia offers then I’ll probably visit them.”   INSIDER TAKE: Right now I think Florida is recruiting Gaines but not as hard as they are some others. I think Gaines is someone that Brad Lawing really likes and will keep tabs on him but with so many others on the board the Gators aren’t in desperation mode yet where they have to go all out on any defensive end/BUCK.

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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.