Rayburn building a good relationship with the Florida Gators staff

Last weekend the Florida Gators hosted several big time prospects on campus for the Great Gator cookout and several instate targets were on hand as well.

Offensive lineman Hunter Rayburn (6-4, 320, Pensacola, FL. High) was one of those guys on campus and he enjoyed his time with two coaches on the staff.

“The visit awesome, it was real laid back,” Rayburn said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “It was fun, I got a lot of one on one time with Coach [Sal] Sunseri our area recruiter. I talked with Coach [John Hevesy], it was just a really good time.”

The laid back non football related events were something that stood out to Rayburn during his visit to Florida.

“Most trips you go on you have a tour guide and you go into the weight room and the dining hall and go to everything like that but this was just go to the indoor and eat some barbecue,” he said of the environment on Saturday. “We played some games, corn hole, played Madden and just did whatever you wanted to do. Just enjoy yourself. It was very laid back and fun.”

Saturday was also another chance for Rayburn to get to know the Florida coaches more and he says he learned some new things about the assistant coaches.

“Yeah we definitely did,” Rayburn said on if he got to know Sunseri and Hevesy more. “When we into the indoor Coach Sunseri sat down at our table and talked to us for awhile, me and Adrian [Medley]. It was real good to get to know him more and learn more about him. The same with Coach Hevesy, we talked to him a little bit to.”

After Saturday, Rayburn says he has built a good relationship with both Hevesy and Sunseri and he likes what they’ve done on and off the field.

“Both are awesome, really easy to talk to,” he said on what he likes about the coaches. “I agree with a lot of what they say and obviously on field speaks for itself. Coach Sunseri was telling us about the national championships he has won at other places and what Coach Hevesy did with the offensive line at Mississippi State speaks for itself.”

Hevesy and Sunseri both had a football message for Rayburn on Saturday and the message revolved around why Florida can help the lineman.

“A lot of it was about making the best decision for us,” Rayburn said on the football message he was given. “Not so much you have to come to Florida to do what you want to do but it was more about going through the process and figuring out what’s best for me. Then they told us why Florida could get us where we want to go. Much more about how they like what we do in high school and how they can help us.”

This summer is looking to be a busy one for Rayburn as he has several visits planned to schools.

“I’m going to talk to some of the coaches about getting back down there in June with my family,” he said on plans for the summer. “I’m going to visit Texas A&M for an official visit and I’m going to Auburn on June 8th.

After Saturday’s visit to Florida, Rayburn says a few schools are starting to separate themselves from the others in his recruitment.

“Subject to change, I like Clemson a lot, Texas A&M, Auburn, I like Florida a lot and like both Mississippi State and UCF a lot,” Rayburn said on schools standing out to him. “Those are the schools that are starting to separate themselves.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Rayburn said he would like to make decision by the start of the season after he takes visits this summer.

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.