“It’s like a Temple” says Burrell

Offensive lineman Matthew Burrell (6-4, 286, Woodbridge, VA C.D. Hylton) is considered one of the top offensive linemen in the country and on Friday he didn’t shy away from competing when others chose not to.

“I’m a competitor and my family was here so I want to compete and work hands with Coach [Mike] Summers,” Burrell said. “I could get the best of both worlds; visit and work out and learn some things. I was able to learn a few things that I needed to work on.”

The visit was something that Burrell has been waiting a long time to take and he walked away impressed.

“I loved it, it felt great man and I was finally able to see a great place,” he said. “My coach always told me about Florida and honestly everything of it was true. Florida is a great place.”

His coach is former Florida safety Tony Lilly and he prepared Burrell well for his visit to Florida including the description of the campus.

“Florida lived up to my expectations and my father loved it,” Burrell said. “I expected it to be like this from what my coach told me. It’s like a temple out here and, oh my gosh, the Swamp.”

Not only did the Florida campus impress Burrell but offensive line coach Mike Summers made him feel comfortable.

“I enjoyed his laid back personality,” Burrell said. “I can take the yelling but when he leans in and says I told you to go inside it just helps you. He’s like your grandfather or godfather that has all the money and just wants to help you.”

After camp was over Burrell had the opportunity to head up to the coach’s office to talk with Will Muschamp and Summers and they had a simple message for him.

“Coach Muschamp and Coach Summers say that I’m a good fit at Florida,” Burrell said. “They want me to work at tackle and at guard. They want me to work on both.”

Burrell has handled the recruiting process very well and he continued that on Friday by keeping all schools even.

“No leaders right now,” Burrell said. “We will let everyone know about officials this fall.”

 

INSIDER TAKE: Florida definitely made a great impression on Burrell and will be in the mix until the end. Burrell is a very good player and could be a right tackle or guard at the next level and the early playing time is something that should help Florida with Burrell. Ohio State has been the team to beat early on and they will be a school to battle with for Florida but getting Burrell back on campus this fall will be huge.

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.