There is still a shortage of offensive linemen for the Florida Gators football team and offensive line coach Mike Summers is out on the road this week recruiting big men.
On Wednesday Summers visited with offensive lineman John Simpson (6-4, 288, North Charleston, SC Fort Dorchester) at his home in South Carolina.
“Coach Summers came by on Wednesday to visit with me,” Simpson said. “He came by to see me at my school and then came by house to meet with me. He watched me practice while he was at my school.”
Simpson, who hasn’t been focusing on his recruitment much, received a message from Summers on Wednesday about the Florida Gators.
“He was telling me to focus on winning the state championship this week with my team,” he said. “He said after that he wants to start talking more recruiting because they’re going to recruit me hard now that the season is over with.”
The offensive lineman has played both inside and outside and he says that the Gators haven’t specified where they want him, but it doesn’t matter to the lineman.
“Coach Summers just tells me that I will be a good fit there and that they would love to have me there,” Simpson said. “They haven’t really said whether they want me as a tackle or a guard but it doesn’t really matter to me where I play as long as I play.”
Simpson didn’t get a chance to visit Gainesville this year but he was watching on TV and the Florida Gators impressed him in 2015.
“They did really amazing in their first year of having Coach McElwain as they’re coach,” he said. “I was really happy to see what they were able to do on offense and as a team. Coach McElwain is a good coach and a lot of people got upset when he got in the running back’s face but things happen and they got better after that happened.”
Despite not visiting the Gators this year, Simpson still has a lot of interest in Florida and considers them a top team for his signature.
“Florida is one of the schools standing out,” Simpson said. “Florida, LSU and Clemson are standing out, they are not really my top three schools but they’re standing out the most. I’m going to take my official to Clemson and Florida in January. I’ve already taken one to LSU.”
INSIDERS TAKE: For a while it seemed that Simpson was a lock to Clemson, but Florida is now squarely in the picture and Simpson loved his visit to Florida last spring. The Gators are hoping to keep the momentum up and get him in on a visit in January.