It’s no secret that the Florida Gators recruiting class for 2017 is going to be full of defensive backs to add depth to the current roster.
Florida has a lot of names on the recruiting board for that position and last week one of those visited Gainesville. Cornerback Ambry Thomas (5-11, 170, Detroit, MI. Martin Luther King) visited Florida last Tuesday and had a good trip.
“It was pretty good, it was a good visit,” Thomas said. “I got to chill with the players and talk to the coaches. I got to tour the campus and see the facilities. Everything was really cool. It lived up to my expectations.”
Head coach Jim McElwain and the Gators first met Thomas this summer at the Detroit satellite camp and last week the two got to catch up in Gainesville.
“I talked to all of the coaches really,” he said. “I talk to Coach McElwain for a little while by ourselves. He told me that they didn’t have a lot of defensive backs and they’re going to lose more after this year. He said that I’m needed and wanted.”
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray likes tall long defensive backs and he explained that to Thomas last week.
“Coach Gray asked me ‘what he had to do to make me feel comfortable and to make me a Gator,” Thomas said of Gray’s message. “He said that he liked my speed and my length as a corner. He said that I have good size and can play in the SEC and that he wants me.”
This was the first time to Gainesville for Thomas and he called the city nice, and plans to return to Florida.
“Florida is real nice and I’m going to come back down again real soon,” he said of Florida. “I’m going to take an official visit down there this fall. I’m not sure when it will be though.”
The two instate powerhouse schools have been rumored to be the favorites for Thomas but he says the Gators are also up there.
“Florida is up there with Michigan and Michigan State,” Thomas said. “Their other schools that are recruiting me hard too. I don’t want to make a decision until the end of the season though.”
INSIDERS TAKE: The Gators are riding a lot of momentum with Thomas, but the key is keeping that momentum with him being so close to Michigan and Coach Gray. If the Gators can get him back on campus again then they have a shot but it’s going to be tough.