An excited Tillman always wanted to join the Florida Gators

Last week the Florida Gators picked up another 2019 commitment after one of Jim McElwain’s football camps.

2019 athlete Marcus Tillman (6-0, 195, Orlando, FL. Jones) decided to commit to Florida after a meeting with the head man himself.

“Coach McElwain was telling me what I wanted to hear and Florida is my dream school,” Tillman said on why he committed. “I’ve always wanted to go there so I just decide to commit.”

Tillman was in McElwain’s office when he told the Gators about his decision to commit and the news was well received.

“He was real happy and he give me a big hug,” he said on how McElwain reacted when he told him. “He went to tell the other coaches about it and they were all real happy.”

During his meeting with McElwain, the Gators head coach explained how big of a need Tillman was to Florida and that was what the athlete wanted to hear.

“He was just telling me that he wanted me to be a part of the family,” Tillman said on McElwain’s message to him. “He said that they were going to be great if I come and he told me a lot of other stuff that I liked. I just wanted to commit when he was telling me that.”

Tillman says this was a day he has been waiting on and his commitment is something that left him speechless.

“It’s crazy, it’s blessing that’s all I can say,” he said on what it means to be committed. “It has always been a dream of mine to play there because it was my favorite school and close by.”

While on campus, Tillman met with the defensive coaches who explained how they see the athlete fitting into the Gators defense.

“They like me as a hybrid guy,” Tillman said on how the coaches see him fitting in. “They see me playing some linebacker and some safety too. I fine with that because I did that my sophomore year.”

Tillman had only met a few of the coaches before last Wednesday’s visit but he hit it off with all of the coaches while on campus.

“I talked too all of the coaches, they were cool and I liked them,” he said. “They’re funny and I like the personality they have. They’re almost like friends like I have here in Orlando.”

Now that Tillman has committed, the athlete plans to turn his attention to helping the Gators recruiting class get the best players possible.

“I’ve got John Campbell, Ed [Montilus], Will Barnes and a few more guys that I’m going to try and recruit them,” Tillman said on the guys he’s recruiting. “I’m telling them that we can all be on the same team and do something great and make a national championship happen.”

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.