The Florida Gators had several important visitors on campus this weekend including a few guys that are committed elsewhere.
North Carolina defensive tackle commit Clyde Pinder (6-1, 303, Seffner, FL. Armwood) was on campus and enjoyed his time watching Florida beat Florida State.
“It was a cool visit,” Pinder said of his visit to Florida. “I came up a little but Florida showed a lot of love, they were taking me around the facilities. A lot of the staff was coming up and checking up on me during the game. It was cool, afterwards I talked to the coaches and I talked to Zach Carter who’s from the Tampa area.”
Pinder’s parents were out of town this weekend so he brought his aunt and uncle with him and they enjoyed watching their favorite team play.
“The environment was cool, it was really cool,” he said on the environment. “I had my aunt and uncle with me because they’re big time Florida fans and I wanted them to experience it and talk to the coaches. They got the full experience.”
While on campus on Saturday, Pinder had the chance to talk to several coaches including head coach Dan Mullen.
“Coach [David] Turner, Coach Mullen and Coach [Larry] Scott told me a lot on Saturday,” Pinder said of the message from the coaching staff. “They were telling me that I can come up there and make a big impact but I have to come up there and work hard. They want me as a nose tackle.”
Mullen made sure to let Pinder know he was wanted in Gainesville and greeted the North Carolina commit as soon as he arrived on campus.
“Coach Mullen came up and showed me a lot of love, he came up and jumped in my arms,” he said of his relationship with the staff. “Coach Mullen was giving me a run down of what Florida football is all about.”
The Gators just offered Pinder two weeks ago but he says he has a good relationship with Florida and the offer was one he was expecting.
“I’ve been cool with Florida, we’ve been talking for awhile so it isn’t like they just offered me out of the blue,” Pinder said on his relationship with Florida. “I think I would’ve have the offer a long time of ago if I would’ve come up there when I was supposed to.”
Next up for Pinder will be a trip to North Carolina but after that the defensive tackle is still trying to plan visits.
“I’m not sure if I am or not,” he said on if he plans to sign early or not. “I’m taking my official visit to North Carolina this weekend and then I’m not sure what’s next.”