Last weekend Gainesville played host to two of Volusia county’s finest junior prospects. Daytona Beach Seabreeze quarterback Troy Dannehower and running back Leroy Houston were present at Saturday’s junior day and enjoyed what Gainesville had to offer. They both took time to talk with us about their visits, as well as updating their recruiting process.
Troy Dannehower made the trip to Gainesville on Saturday for Florida’s Junior Day to see what the school had to offer. What the Seabreeze quarterback saw left him very impressed.
“The trip was good,” Dannehower said. “I got to watch practice and talk to coaches a lot. It was their first day in pads, so it was cool to see them hit a little bit. They’re a very young team but I think they show a lot of promise. I also got to see the national championship trophy.”
“I got to meet the quarterbacks coach (Dan Mullen),” Dannehower said. “It was also good to talk to Billy Gonzales. He’s been recruiting my area for a while, so I got to talk some more with him.”
The 6-1, 210 pound quarterback prospect also says that he is very interested in Florida, however also understands the depth chart that the quarterback position already possesses.
“Florida is definitely high on my list,” Dannehower said. “They just have a lot of quarterbacks right now. There’s going to be competition anywhere though, so that isn’t a big deal to me.”
“Outside of Florida, right now I’d say I’m interested in Florida, Louisville, LSU, Tennessee, and USF,” Dannehower said. “The only team that has offered me from those is USF.”
In the near future, Dannehower has a list of visits he would like to take as he continues to go through the recruiting process.
“Miami has their spring game coming soon, so I may go down there,” Dannehower said. “I’ll probably go to the USF spring game too. Tennessee has also been talking to me a little bit, saying that they want me to come see their spring game, too.”
As Dannehower looks at the Florida offense, he also sees where his 4.8 speed can fit into Urban Meyer’s offense.
“Well they threw the ball quite a bit last year with Leak,” Dannehower said. “I think they will run the ball a little bit more this season. I’m a mobile quarterback, so I think I fit in well.”
Troy Dannehower’s counterpart in the backfield at Seabreeze is running back Leroy Houston. Houston was also in Gainesville this past weekend, and shared his thoughts on the overall visit.
“It was a nice visit,” Houston said. “I liked practice a lot. There was so much intensity on the field. I got to talk with all the coaches. Coach Gonzales and I got to talk for a bit, and I even got to talk to the defensive backs coach. Then I talked to Coach Meyer for a bit too. It was a good visit.”
The 5-10, 167 pound prospect also talked about the position which the Florida coaching staff is recruiting him. Right now, it doesn’t seem like Houston or the coaching staff are quite sure what position that might be.
“I don’t really know right now,” Houston said. “I talked to the wide receiver and defensive backs coach, so it’s kind of up in the air right now. They asked me where I would prefer to play, and I told them wide receiver. But right now, it doesn’t matter to me.”
When thinking about schools he is looking at right now, Houston speaks of one school which is not only his leader, but the only school he is hearing from.
“To be honest, it’s just Florida right now,” Houston said. “They’re really the only school that I’ve been in contact with throughout the process. They’re definitely my leader.”
With the athleticism Houston will bring to his school of choice, he sees one offense that fits him extremely well.
“I think I fit in that offense well,” Houston said. “I think I would be a perfect fit for the slot receiver position. I could play cornerback too, though. I don’t play defense here at Seabreeze because our coaches don’t want us to.”
While his final position may not be sure, he is sure of what he likes about the coaching staff in Gainesville, specifically his area recruiter, wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.
“The coaches told me that it may depend on what position they need me to play,” Houston said. “Coach Gonzales is really cool and he said he wants to get to know me better. He said he wants to come to Seabreeze in June and spend some time with me.”
As the recruiting process continues for the Seabreeze duo, we will continue to maintain contact with the two. As one of the most dominant teams in Volusia County, they will not only be searching for scholarships, but eventually a state championship.