After playing host to several recruits over the weekend the Florida Gators coaching staff is once again back on the road recruiting as the staff tries to gain some much needed momentum on the recruiting trail.
On Monday the Gators had head coach Jim McElwain and linebackers coach Randy Shannon in South Florida visiting linebacker Rayshad Jackson (6-1, 205, Miami, FL Norland) and Jackson was impressed by the two coaches on Monday.
“Coach McElwain and Coach Shannon came by for in-home visit today [Monday],” Jackson said. “Coach Mac is a great guy and he’s a guy that motivates you. Coach Shannon is a tremendous guy and someone I can be around. It was good to see those guys.”
Shannon, who was recruiting Jackson to Arkansas, was selling the fact that Florida is a good place to be a student-athlete at.
“Coach Shannon was telling me that Florida’s education is great and he was explaining how many of the football players that graduate each year,” Jackson said. “He was telling me that he wants me as outside linebacker at Florida and that he thinks Florida is a great place for me.”
Jackson was impressed by Shannon’s message but what really caught his eye was that McElwain was really pushing him to be a Gator and that Florida’s head coach liked Jackson’s highlight film.
“Coach McElwain was telling me the same thing about how Florida has a good education and how they need me at the outside linebacker position,” Jackson said. “He was saying that he impressed with my highlight tape and that he was glad to meet me in-person.”
There is no question that Florida has flat out stunk on the football field the last two years but McElwain is selling the future of the program and Jackson was listening.
“Coach McElwain said that Florida is on the rise and that he’s going to get them back to the top,” Jackson said. “He was saying that the last few years were just a bump in the road and not to worry about that. He said that I’m a good fit for the program.”
Now that Florida has visited Jackson in Miami the linebacker will visit Florida as he closes in on decision day.
“I’m taking my official visit to Florida this weekend and my parents are going with me,” Jackson said. “I went to Arkansas last weekend and right now I’m 50/50 between Florida and Arkansas. I plan on making my decision on Sunday.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Randy Shannon has done a great job recruiting Jackson and I think the Gators win out after this weekend as long as Jackson’s parents enjoy the trip.
Rayshad Jackson seems like a nice young man. But he is undersigned (6’1″ – 205 lbs.) and slow (4.58) and has received offers from only Arkansas and UF (rated 2-Stars by Rivals). Rayshad Jackson seems like a noce young man.
undersize? 6-1 is fine and he will be 220 when it’s his time to play.
Can he play is the question? Go watch his film on YouTube. Kid flies around the football field and has great instincts. As a linebacker, one step in the wrong direction and your speed doesn’t really matter.
Rayshad Jackson may develop into All-SEC. Yet, both the prior UF head coach and McElwain did not show any interest in Jackson until Brown (4-Star) changed his Gator commit to OSU, Thomas (4-Star) committed to Alabama and Smith (4-Star) eliminated UF and is deciding between Auburn and Alabama and finally Holland who will probably follow the prior UF head coach to Auburn. I feel McElwain has what is needed to rebuild the Gator football program but it is going to be hard and will, in my humble opinion, take 3-4 years.