Smith still listening to the Florida Gators and others

Several prospects that were committed to other schools attended the Florida Gators Orange and Blue game on Saturday as dozens of prospects visited.

Georgia defensive end commit Nolan Smith (6-3, 232, Bradenton, FL. IMG) was one of those guys and enjoyed the spring game.

“We were out here having a good time,” Smith said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “We were just chilling out here. It was nice [atmosphere] even though it was hot.”

One of things that stood out to Smith on Saturday was how involved the coaches were with the players.

“The coaches, the coaches really care,” he said on what stood out to him during the spring game. “The new coaching staff is just really paying attention to the little details, just how we do it at IMG. That goes a long way.”

While on campus, Smith talked to a few coaches and he’s hoping to play a certain position on defense in college.

“I talked to the defensive coordinator [Todd Grantham] and the defensive line coach [Sal Sunseri],” Smith said on which coaches he talked to on Saturday. “But hopefully I will be playing outside linebacker.”

Defensive line coach Sal Sunseri spent the most time with Smith on Saturday and the defensive end likes the coaching style of Sunseri.

“He was just talking to me and telling me to keep my head on straight,” he said of the message from Sunseri. “He was telling me that he appreciated me coming up there. He’s an NFL type coach and I need to play in a NFL type defense.”

Head coach Dan Mullen and Smith also spoke on Saturday but the conversation wasn’t about football but instead of something outside of the field.

“Honestly we haven’t even talked about that,” Smith said on if Mullen talked about how he would fit in. “We were up there talking about shoes because he used to be with Adidas and I’m a big shoe guy. He was the first one to wear the suit and the Yeezy’s.”

Despite Smith’s commitment to Georgia, the defensive end says that three other schools including Florida are recruiting him hard.

“I’m just looking at other places,” he said on his recruitment. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t actually looking at them. I’m looking at Alabama, Clemson and obviously Georgia. I said it in my commitment that my recruitment is still open.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Smith said his commitment status is undisclosed with Georgia right now but Smith says Florida is one of the four schools recruiting him the hardest right now.

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.