One of the most highly sought after prospects to visit the Florida Gators for Friday Night Lights two weeks ago was a 2018 prospect.
Running back Ricky Slade (5-9, 185, Woodbridge, VA. C.D. Hylton) is one of the most sought after 2018 prospects for next year and he enjoyed his time in Gainesville for camp.
“The visit was fantastic,” Slade said. “It was amazing and it succeeded my expectations. I could see myself playing here and living here. It’s Florida and it’s nice.”
This was the first time for Slade to meet the new coaching staff and he says they continued to make him feel like a priority.
“They told me several times that they want me,” he said of the staff’s message to him. “They mentioned several times what they want to do with me when I get here. We went over some run schemes and met with everyone.”
Meeting running backs coach Tim Skipper was something that Slade wanted to make sure he did and it was a good first meeting according to the running back.
“Coach Skip is a strict man that knows what he’s doing,” Slade said of Skipper. “He has time for fun but he has time for business too. He’s going to coach you hard and make sure you get better.”
Skipper made sure to express a need for Slade in Gainesville as the Gators are only taking one back in 2017.
“He was telling me about all of the former backs they’ve had at Florida and the success they’ve had here,” he said of Skipper’s message. “He told me that he just wants me here and to coach me.”
The one coach that Slade has a good relationship with is defensive backs coach Torrian Gray and the two picked up where they left off while he was in Gainesville.
“Coach Gray and I had that connection at [Virginia] Tech and we still have it here,” Slade said of Gray. “It’s pretty much the same deal here and it’s pretty funny actually. We have that Virginia connection.”
Slade, who holds over 25 scholarship offers, says he’s in no rush to make a decision and he may be a rare case of taking it the distance in his recruitment.
“Florida is up there for sure,” he said. “Once I have a top 10 they will be there in the mix. Penn State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and UNC will also be in there. I’m going to try and wait until the last possible second to make a final decision.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Slade is one of the top backs in the country for 2018 and he says he wants to return for another visit to Gainesville. Slade has visited several times in the past with former Gators great Tony Lilly who’s a coach at his high school.