Florida Gators put a smile on Lamar’s face

Last week the Florida Gators coaches were all over the state and country watching and checking in on prospects while the Gators were on a bye week.

On Friday, defensive line coach Chris Rumph got to watch 2018 defensive end Malcolm Lamar (6-5, 250, Seffner, FL. Armwood) play and later that night spoke with him about some good news.

“Coach Rumph offered me a scholarship on Friday over the phone,” Lamar said. “He told me that he’s been wanting to offer me but he didn’t want to do it too soon. He said other schools had offered me and he didn’t want me to feel like he was offering me because of that. He wanted to offer me because of the way I played.”

Lamar posted the news on his Twitter account, was very excited about the offer and he described the emotions he had when he learned of the news.

“When I got the offer I was just smiling,” he said of what the offer means to him. “I’ve been waiting for this since my recruitment started up. It’s a blessing to have the offer from Florida. It was a dream come true.”

Lamar has been to Gainesville a lot this year and during those trips he has spoken to Rumph about what the Gators like in his game.

“Coach Rumph tells me that he likes my style of play and the way I play,” Lamar said of what Rumph has been telling him. “He said that he likes watching my film and that he saw a lot of sacks on my highlight film. He said that he likes my pass rushing skills.”

The 2018 defensive end has already been able to witness what Florida fans and the Swamp are all about and he has enjoyed his times in Gainesville.

“The atmosphere is amazing at Florida,” he said of his trips to Florida. “The fans are great. As soon as you get out of the car, you have people talking to you and saying that they want me to be a future Gator.”

Lamar has been watching the Gators defense very closely and he has been impressed by the job Rumph has done with his position group.

“The defense and defensive line has been playing real good,” Lamar said. “I can see myself playing there and along side those guys. I think they’re doing really good.”

Despite the big offer from Florida, Lamar says he plans to take things slow in his recruitment.

“I don’t have a leader or narrowed things down yet,” he said. “I think I’m going to wait until my senior year.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Lamar says he will be back in Gainesville for the South Carolina game, which will be his fourth game to attend this year. The Gators are the team to beat despite Lamar saying he doesn’t have a leader at this time.

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.