Will Muschamp was known as the man that could recruit Texas but he didn’t have any success there while he was at Florida, so head coach Jim McElwain is trying his luck for the Florida Gators in the state of Texas now.
Over the last month several offers have gone out in the state of Texas and the most recent one went out on Monday to cornerback Jared Mayden (6-0, 187, Sachse, TX Sachse) who heard the news from two of the Florida coaches.
“Coach [Geoff] Collins and coach [Kirk] Callahan both were the coaches that offered me,” Mayden said. “They said that they really don’t offer a lot of guys out of state so when they do they want to gauge the interest level first. After that we talked about how interested I was and that’s when they offered me.”
During the conversation on Monday, Collins and Callahan told the talented cornerback that he was needed at Florida despite the perception that the Gators are loaded at the position.
“They told me that after Vernon [Hargreaves] and [Brian] Poole leave that they are really going to be in need for some corners,” Mayden said. “They told me that they need me down there and that like what they’ve seen on tape so they would love to have me at Florida.”
Mayden has done some research on Florida already and he likes the history the Gators have with defensive backs.
“I have a big interest in Florida,” Mayden said. “Florida has a good rep with defensive backs and they are known as DBU in the SEC and are considered one of the top schools in the SEC.”
Now that Mayden has an offer from Florida the cornerback is now trying to plan a trip to see Gainesville.
“I plan to visit Florida this summer,” Mayden said. “I’m mostly likely going to go out of state for college so I’m going to try and take visits out of state this summer and Florida is one of them that I want to see how the vibe is there.”
The Texas prospect admits that going out of state is very possible and he has a few schools that are standing out to him.
“I’m pretty open to everyone,” Mayden said. “Ohio State, Florida, Oregon, Florida State, Miami and Michigan are recruiting me pretty hard right now so those are the schools that I’m looking at a lot.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Mayden’s father played basketball at Oklahoma so they’re considered to be the top team but Mayden says that he’s open to everyone. Getting him on campus this summer would be huge because he’s one of the best defensive backs in the country.
I will be much more impressed when the Gators recruit Tampa and Central Florida better than Clemson, FSU and Alabama. Until the Gators win a few SEC Championships and/or a couple of National Championships no one of significance is coming to Gainesville from the State of Texas.