Florida opens ‘Bama commitment’s eyes

The Florida Gators’ football staff has been on the road the past few days visiting prospects across the southeast region.

On Tuesday, Florida focused on the Jacksonville area in particular and one of the stops was to visit an Alabama verbal commitment.

Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn checked in on Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood defensive end Demarcus Walker, who has been committed to the Crimson Tide since August.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Walker last visited Florida for Friday Night Lights in late July, but the Gators have more than just their 11-1 season on their side. Walker is close friends with Gators commitments Ahmad Fulwood and Nick Washington.

With that being said, Walker admits a visit by Florida gave him plenty to ponder.

“Some good came out of today’s visit,” Walker said. “I’m going to look into them more. They shocked the whole entire world with the way they have been playing this year.”

Even though he says the visit and the Gators’ success re-opened his eyes, Walker is still unsure as to whether he will visit Florida.

“I’m still debating whether to visit or not,” Walker said. “But I’m early enrolling, so I have to do something real soon.”

With Walker being an early enrollee Florida basically has five weeks to change Walker’s mind. Walker can even take an official visit to the Gators and receive an in-home visit from Will Muschamp before the signing period for mid-year enrollees opens up next month.

If either or both of those happen, then Walker’s recruitment will certainly be worth following for Florida Gators recruiting fans.

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.