McElwain wants Florida Gators commit at WR

Head coach Jim McElwain started reaching out to prospects on Sunday and one of the first calls he made was to Florida receiver commit Kalif Jackson (6-4, 202, Neptune Beach, FL Fletcher) and the message was simple but strong.

“I talked to Coach McElwain on Sunday night for the first time,” Jackson said. “It went really well. He was telling me to stay strong with Florida and to stay committed to Florida. He thinks that I can play at Florida and he believes that I have a lot of potential at the next level.”

One thing that Jackson did learn during the conversation was that McElwain believes he’s a better fit at receiver instead of tight end like the last staff recruited him at.

“Coach McElwain says he sees me as more of a big receiver instead of a tight end,” Jackson said. “I had feeling that Coach McElwain was going to want me there but it’s fine with me. It doesn’t bother me at all and it doesn’t affect me or my status with Florida. I’m just going in with the mentality to work hard and learn the playbook.”

Jackson is a quiet guy in the recruiting game but he does his part in keeping up with the recruiting class and McElwain made sure to let him know that Florida would be just fine in the Class of 2015.

“Coach McElwain said that he’s just trying to keep the class together and that he’s going to finish this class out strong,” Jackson said. “He said that he was going to be out recruiting this week and that he was going to be seeing as many people as he could.”

Jackson left the conversation with McElwain feeling very comfortable with the Gators as his first impression of his future coach was great.

“He came off as a great guy and very heartfelt person,” Jackson said. “My first impression of him was a great. I loved his message to me and I loved his mindset about Florida. He’s a good coach and he’s a people person. He understands the players.”

Next up for Jackson is an official to Florida.

“I’ll be going down to Florida for my official visit this weekend,” Jackson said.

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Jackson doesn’t seem to care where he plays at Florida as long as he gets on the field. Jackson should be a good redzone threat with size and athletic ability. Jackson also has really good hands and good speed for his size.

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.

8 COMMENTS

    • Could be deceiving because of how long he is. He runs a 4.6 with a 38″ vertical, which is pretty good for a 6’4″ guy. Definitely good redzone guy nonetheless.

      This is the second TE that Mac wants at receiver, the other being Auden Tate. I think this is a great sign because he wants to create mismatches downfield. The only other big guy I can think of that we have is Fullwood, and we never seemed to use him. Either that or he couldn’t grasp our offensive concept of block for the running back.

    • Not shocking that you disagree. He looks slow to you on what? You tube? The dude is tall so he’s going to have long strides, which makes it appear as if he’s slow.

  1. Yes, I have seen him in person and I don’t believe he runs a 4.6 forty. I take reported 40 times with a grain of salt. I believe them when I see them happen at events like “The Opening,” but never believe what a high school coach says because they always inflate their player’s abilities.

    • P.S. Another big receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, ran a 4.61 at the NFL combine. He wasn’t a slow receiver, 4.6 is pretty fast and I didn’t see Jackson display that type of speed the only time I saw him.