The Florida Gators recruiting efforts are in full force this week as the Gators coaching staff is on the road visiting prospects and high schools in the state of Florida.
On Monday after one of their stops running backs coach Tim Skipper and defensive backs coach Torrian Gray handed out an offer to 2018 cornerback Isaiah Bolden (6-3, 175, Jacksonville, FL Bartram Trail) over the phone.
“Coach Skipper and Coach Gray told me to call them and they offered me over the phone,” Bolden said. “Coach Gray told me that he was offering me as a cornerback and he just said that he liked my film and size. He said that he liked my attitude towards the game.”
Bolden, who was very excited about the offer, described himself as “speechless” when he heard the news from the Gators coaches.
“It’s a big offer for me because I grew up a Florida fan,” he said of the offer. “I was very excited for the offer and relieved to get it. They were the offer that I wanted going into the season, I was just really shocked. I’m the guy that usually has a joke or something to say but I was quiet when they told me. I told them thank you and that I was blessed.”
This is the first time Gray has been on the road recruiting for the Gators and he left a positive first impression on Bolden.
“Coach Gray is a great guy and very excited, this was my first time speaking to him,” Bolden said of his impression of Gray. “He’s someone that I see as a good coach and a good person. He’s an outspoken guy and just all-around great guy. He’s a person that I would enjoy being around.”
Skipper recruits the Jacksonville area and is very familiar with Bolden after working with him at a camp last summer knew that the 2018 prospect wanted this offer according to Bolden.
“Coach Skipper informed me that I was going to get offered and he knew that Florida was a dream school of mine,” Bolden said. “He told me that he wanted to make my dream come true and make it reality for me to have the offer.”
The Jacksonville prospect has visited Gainesville once but he already has plans to visit again as he wants to know more than he already knows about the Gators.
“I’m going to visit this summer and I can’t wait to possibly see myself as a Gator possibly,” he said. “I grew up watching Florida a lot so I know a lot about them and I feel like Florida has the best defense. They produce hall of famers, first round draft picks and it’s funny because Vernon Hargreaves grew up where I grew up. Overall I think they have the best defense in the country.”
Bolden still has way over a year to go before he has to decide says that he may not wait long to make a decision on where he will attend school at.
“I want to decide either before my junior year or during my junior year,” Bolden said. “I would say my top five schools are Florida, Oklahoma, Florida State, Auburn and Miami.”