It was a busy first week on the recruiting for Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen as he was visiting prospects all over the southeast last week.
Mullen ended his week by seeing Mississippi State kicker Evan McPherson (6-0, 165, Fort Payne, AL. High) who was excited to Mullen and saw the excitement on his face.
“I mean, it was really good to see him again. Different school colors, but it was cool,” McPherson said of seeing Mullen on Friday. I liked seeing him, I mean, for a minute [weird seeing him in Florida colors], but then you kind of got used to it. You know how happy he is to be at Florida now. I was happy for him when he made the move.”
McPherson committed to Mullen back in April and the Gators head coach made sure to let him know that he wants him to follow him to Gainesville.
“He said that he really wants me to play for him,” he said on Mullen’s message to him. “He knows that he’s gonna build a big team in the next couple years and he just wanted for me to be a part of it.”
For Mullen to see McPherson so early left a big impression on the kicker and one that confirmed his relationship with Mullen was real.
“It’s just big to see that you really did make that connection earlier with him,” McPherson said on the feeling of getting a visit from Mullen so soon. “Because I know I made a big connection with him, but I didn’t know if he had that same connection back with me. Just him calling me whenever he got down to Gainesville, that really meant a lot to me because I knew that he really did care about me and he really wanted me to play for him.”
Mullen expressed his interest that he wants McPherson in Gainesville but also made sure to not put pressure on the Mississippi State kicker commit.
“He just told us that he wants us to take our time and come down whenever we want, so I mean, he’s being patient with it,” he said on Mullen’s message about visiting Florida. “He really wants me to get down there and see Gainesville and the facilities and everything. I’m trying to go down there as soon as possible. This week, I’ll plan on coming down, maybe this weekend.”
The Gators don’t have much time to flip the kicker as McPherson says he plans to get his recruitment over with in just a few short weeks.
“I’m not. I’m just enrolling in June,” McPherson said. “But I plan to sign early.”
McPherson who is hoping to take a visit to Florida this weekend says he’s looking for a few things when he visits Gainesville.
“To me, relationships are big with me. If I go somewhere, I want to feel like I belong there and not just like overseen and stuff like that,” he said on what he wants to see from Florida during his visit. “Whenever I go there, I just want to be able to interact with people and just be able to talk to them. I mean, really talk to them like I’ve known them. That’s big for me.”
After his visit to Gainesville, McPherson hopes that he gets some clarity on a final decision between Florida and Mississippi State.
“I haven’t really decided that. It’ll be sometime after the visit,” he said on when he wants to make a final decision.
INSIDERS TAKE: The Gators are in good shape with McPherson as long as he visits Florida as planned. Mullen has made a good impression on McPherson since his time at Mississippi State.