Florida signed three defensive tackles last year and the Gators already have Khairi Clark committed in the Class of 2014 but they would like to add one more to the class.
The top target remaining is defensive tackle Thomas Holley (6-4, 299, Brooklyn, NY Abraham Lincoln) who took an official to Florida this past weekend and was joined by his uncle Scott Benjamin.
“Thomas and I took an official to Florida this past weekend from Friday to Sunday,” Scott Benjamin said. “I thought the visit went very well overall. The result wasn’t good for the game but the visit was overall very good. I think Thomas got a lot of his questions answered and learned more about Florida during his time there.”
According to Holley’s uncle the reason for the interest in Florida is a simple. It’s about playing in the best conference in college football.
“Anytime it’s an SEC school you have to be intrigued by them,” Benjamin said. “You are playing against the best of the best. That in itself is a very big plus. The coaches at Florida make him feel very comfortable with them and he talks to them a lot and has a great relationship with them and that is big for him as well.”
Not only does Holley’s position coach talk to him but the head coach Will Muschamp is also very heavily involved in recruiting the New York prospect to Florida.
“He talks to coach (Brad) Lawing a lot,” Benjamin said. “Coach Muschamp also calls him some as well but mostly it’s Lawing. They tell him that they want him at defensive tackle but they also want to move him around and play him some at defensive end.”
After all the conversations and the second trip to Gainesville concluded, the Gators have drawn even at the top of his recruiting list.
“Florida is right there with Penn State right now,” Benjamin said. “The distance is not a big deal at all for Thomas. Right now we just finishing up his season and then we will sit down and weigh the pros and cons for each team and make a decision hopefully sometime soon.”
One thing that Florida has playing in the favor is that Holley looks at former New York prep star Dominque Easley as an example of what he could be at Florida.
“He looks at the success that Easley had at Florida and that intrigues him,” Benjamin said. “They have similar backgrounds they both played basketball and grew up in the New York area. I think he looks at that a lot.”