Florida signed five defensive tackles (only four made it to campus) in the 2013 recruiting cycle but with the losses of Sharrif Floyd and Omar Hunter, Florida was in desperate need to add that much depth last recruiting cycle.
With Damien Jacobs and Dominique Easley set to graduate after this season, Florida is once again looking to add more depth at the position. A couple of weeks ago, the Gators had two commitments in Khairi Clark and Anthony Moten but, Moten recently decommitted from Florida, saying he didn’t want to get lost in the shuffle at Florida. Clark and Moten had bonded while the two were in Oregon for the Opening and Moten’s decommitment caught Clark by surprise.
“I haven’t talked to him since he decommitted but we’re still on good terms,” Clark said of Moten. “It was good talking to him at The Opening, while he was still committed at Florida. To hear that he decommitted, it was just weird, different.” As the only committed defensive tackle in the class now, Clark made the trip from South Florida to Gainesville for Friday Night Lights. It was Clark’s first trip back to Gainesville since announcing his commitment back in June.
“It was good, “ Clark said of his trip to Gainesville. “I felt real comfortable today now that I’m committed out here. I started to bond with some of the players today and it felt real good. I got to talk to all of the coaching staff and the trip was a success.”
Most recruits normally talk to just one or two coaches throughout their recruitment. There is a coach assigned to recruit their area and their future position is the other coach who needs to build a strong relationship with the prospect. Recruits will occasionally speak with the head coach at a university, but it isn’t the coach they have the most contact with. This trip to Gainesville gave Clark a chance to visit with head coach Will Muschamp a little more than he had in the past. Muschamp even surprised Clark while he visited on Thursday before FNL.
“Oh, man it was great man,” Clark said of his visit with Muschamp. “I was actually surprised because I told Coach Muschamp that I was hoping to take a picture with him one day and he said ‘why don’t we just do it right now and you can hold this [BCS crystal ball trophy]’ I was happy and excited, it felt real good.”
Clark said it was cool to hold the trophy and hang out with his future head coach but that both he and Coach Muschamp are already thinking about the future and winning a trophy of their own.
“Oh yeah, he tells me that this program is all about winning,” Clark said, “ To be the best, you have to recruit the best players, have the best attitudes, and have the hardest workers.”
Clark told Gator Country that he has shut down his recruitment and he is 100% Gator and doesn’t plan on visiting any other schools.
“I’ll take my official here but that’s about it,” Clark said, “I’m solid.”
With his recruitment and commitment all wrapped up, Clark is turning his attention to his senior season and his future at Florida.
“I’m just trying to get better on the field. I’m trying to become a better leader on the field and I’m just trying to get better conditioning for the next level,” Clark said. “The coaches haven’t really told me what I need to work on. They just told me keep doing what you’re doing and stay humble.”