Jacob Mathis feels the Florida Gators recruiting efforts going up

There were several big name uncommitted targets on the Florida Gators recruiting visitor’s list on Saturday night including tight end Jacob Mathis (6-4, 227, Tampa, FL Berkeley Prep) who enjoyed the Swamp.

“It was a great visit,” Mathis said after the game. “It was a loud game and a crazy atmosphere to be apart of. It was nice to be in the Swamp and it was a joy to watch. I couldn’t hear anything during the game because of the noise.”

Mathis has been on the Florida Gators recruiting board for two years now, but he says things between he and Florida have picked up as of late.

“I’m focusing on Florida, Michigan Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama, Virginia Tech and I’m open to whoever wants to talk to me,” Mathis said. “I would say that Florida has made a positive move lately. The coaches are talking to me more than they ever have before. They write me a lot and that’s nice to see that they are taking time out of their day to do that.”

While Florida has turned up the heat on Mathis the other thing that is impressing him is that the Florida Gators offense features the tight end a lot.

“It’s always going to help that they throw to the tight ends a lot,” he said. “The tight ends are looking good in the offense and Will Grier was on target tonight [Saturday]. It was exciting to see the offense perform like they did against a defense as good as Ole Miss’.”

Next up for Mathis is a trip up north for an official visit, but the Florida Gators hope to get him back on campus soon as there is still a long ways to go in his recruitment.

“The Michigan visit for next weekend is the only official visit I have locked in right now,” Mathis said. “I don’t really have any visits locked in besides that one but I want to take one to Florida and Ole Miss. My recruiting will probably last until signing day though.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Mathis is a prospect that has the size and tools to fit well into Florida’s offense as an athletic tight end. Right now I get the impression that Florida has a few guys on the board that they like more.

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.

2 COMMENTS

  1. If you are a tight end and watching this team this year and they are recruiting you…you should be on your knees praying in front of the athletic department and in front of the Swamp and crying to be signed. I mean, come on…who uses their tight ends? The freaking Gators use their tight ends. “I’d like to narrow my schools down to all of the schools on the eastern seaboard, and a few more scattered around the nation” Maybe I don’t get recruiting. At any rate…Go GATORS!

    • I think tight ends see that Florida has Lewis and Goolsby already so that’s some of the draw back.