Florida Gators show Fulton playing time

The Florida Gators and the LSU Tigers have been battling all summer long on social media about who is the real “DBU.” On Monday the Gators hosted one of the top defensive backs in the country for 2016 and he is from the state of Louisiana.

Cornerback Kristian Fulton (6-0, 177, Metairie, LA Archbishop Rummel) and his father visited Gainesville for the first time on Monday and had a successful visit.

“It was good, it was a good time,” Fulton said. “It wasn’t as long as I wanted it to be because I had to leave early to get back for something but I had a good time there. I got to meet with everyone and see a lot of stuff so it was good.”

Gators head coach Jim McElwain was in Hoover, Alabama taking part in SEC Media Days so he was unable to meet Fulton, but three coaches took over for McElwain.

“I talked to Coach [Kirk] Callahan, Coach Skip [Tim Skipper] and Coach [Drew] Hughes,” he said of the coaches he spoke to at length. “That was the main coaches that I talked too because those are the ones that I have the best relationship with.”

Callahan has been one of the coaches that has been leading Fulton’s recruitment and on Monday he impressed Fulton with his message.

“Coach Callahan was putting an emphasis on how important and needed I was at Florida,” Fulton said. “He was just showing me around campus and he showed me the depth chart. He was telling how I could come in and play early for them. He said that they need guys to come in and step up next year.”

Out of all of Florida’s coaches, Callahan is the guy that is least talked about as far as a recruiter goes, but Fulton has been impressed with the young defensive back coach so far.

“First off, he’s a good coach and he’s put some good defensive backs in the league,” he said. “He’s doing a good job at Florida and he’s a good recruiter. I know that he’s bringing in a good recruiting class because he wants everyone to compete against the best players.”

Florida had Derek Lewis on staff from Louisiana the last few years and now they have another one who can help recruit the state of Louisiana and he’s trying to help with Fulton now.

“Coach Skipper is from the New Orleans area and he was telling me about how he came from there,” he said. “He was just telling me about how things are at Florida and he could help me out. I have a good relationship with him.”

Heading into the visit Fulton liked Florida but he thought that he would never play early in Gainesville. After the trip his opinion has changed in a big way.

“I think I fit in good with the depth chart he showed me,” Fulton said. “Coach Callahan said that they are losing two corners after my freshman year and that they could start me at nickel or dime my freshman year. He’s looking to move me around and I know that I can play nickel or cornerback too.”

Florida has always been talked about as a school in the mix for Fulton, but it never seemed serious. However, following Monday’s visit things are trending up for the Florida Gators.

“The visit did help Florida out,” he said. “I was just really impressed with the depth chart because I expected it to be way deeper than it was. He told me that they only signed one cornerback last year so there is playing time there for me.”

Fulton was scheduled to make a decision before the start of his senior season but now says that those plans may be changing following the good visit to Gainesville.

“I plan to get back to Florida for most likely an official,” Fulton said. “I don’t know right now about my decision. This visit pushed everything back a little, but I’m going to talk to my parents about everything. I don’t know want to put out a top school right now but Florida and LSU are two schools that I really like.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Heading into the visit I thought no way that Florida could land Fulton but I think the Gators now have a legit shot here. It will be interesting to see what Fulton says after the visit high wears off.

 

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.

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