The Florida Gators hosted a lot of prospects on campus for Saturday’s scrimmage including most of the IMG football team.
Offensive lineman Dontae Lucas (6-3, 323, Bradenton, FL. IMG) was one of the players from IMG on campus and he enjoyed the visit.
“It was great, I liked it,” Lucas said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “We watched practice, it was great. We were around the players and the coaches and the campus.”
Lucas got the chance to watch Florida’s scrimmage and he liked what he watched from the linemen and the offense.
“It was great to see,” he said on watching Florida’s scrimmage. “I got see them run a lot of plays. They run the ball a lot.”
During the visit, head coach Dan Mullen spoke at length with Lucas about why the Gators want him.
“I talked with Coach Mullen a lot,” Lucas said. “He said he wants me to be the lead of the class and be the best lineman that comes out of Florida.”
Offensive line coach John Hevesy also spoke with Lucas about where the Gators see him playing if he chooses the Orange and Blue.
“He sees me playing offensive guard and he said I’m his number one guy to get,” he said of Hevesy’s message to him. “He wants to develop me into a true freshman that plays three years and out.”
This was Lucas’ first trip to Gainesville since the new coaching staff came to town and he saw a difference from this staff.
“They’re more energetic and more hype,” Lucas said on his impressions of the coaching staff. “They’re confident because they’ve done it before and they’ll do it again. They want to bring another ship again and they want to prove to everybody that he they can do it.”
Lucas named a top eight this past week but he admits Saturday’s visit helped Florida’s chances with him.
“Yes,” he said when asked if Florida improved its chances with the visit. “Because I finally had a man to man talk with him [Mullen.] I know his mind and we can do great things together.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Lucas said he plans to return to Florida sometime this summer and he just named a top 8 that included Florida.