Florida Gators still coming after Stewart hard

Florida Gators running backs coach Tim Skipper has never been afraid of recruiting parts of the country that most former Gators coaches were afraid of. Last year Skipper pulled Lamical Perine from Alabama and now this year he’s recruiting New Orleans and California hard for more prospects.

Last Thursday night Skipper was in Louisiana to watch safety Brad Stewart (6-0, 194, New Orleans, LA. McDonogh) play and that stood out to the talented safety.

“Coach Skipper was at my game. He couldn’t really talk to me but he watched me play,” Stewart said. “He came down to support me and I think it was good. It shows that I’m an important part of their recruiting class.”

Stewart has put recruiting on the back burner with his team starting out 8-0 this year but the New Orleans prospect admits he still speaks with Florida a lot.

“We still talk a lot,” he said of his talks with Florida. “He tells me that I would look good in the orange and blue and he tells me that I have a spot over there. He ends every conversation by telling me to play for the orange and blue.”

When Stewart talks to the Gators he speaks to Skipper, who has shared one common message with the safety throughout this entire time.

“He says they need defensive backs bad because they’ve got a lot of people leaving,” Stewart said. “He said that they’re losing three key players at the position for sure. He said that I would have a chance to come in and play early if I choose Florida.”

Since Stewart visited Florida in July, the prospect hasn’t visited anyone but he has started to plan some visits.

“I planned my first official visit to Virginia Tech but I don’t know the date yet,” he said of visits. “I’m also going to go to Arkansas but I don’t know the date to them either. I’m going to set one up to Florida soon. I’m still trying to set everything up.”

The Gators aren’t the only team pushing for Stewart, as three other SEC teams are coming after the safety.

“Virginia Tech and Georgia is coming on strong,” Stewart said of other teams recruiting hard. “Arkansas and Alabama are also recruiting me hard too. I’m just taking in everything and focusing on my team. I’ll start to focus on my recruitment after the season.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Look for Stewart to visit Florida in January so that the Gators are able to get the last word in with the defensive back. Right now Florida is still looking good for Stewart as running backs coach Tim Skipper has been working on him hard.

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.