Offensive lineman Martez Ivey (6-5, 271, Apopka, FL High) was in Gainesville last Friday and he had the chance to talk to the coaching staff about what the Gators have to offer him as a player.
“I sat down with Coach [Will] Muschamp when I first got there and we just talked,” Ivey said. “We just talked about the regular things and what all the University of Florida can offer me as a student-athlete.”
After Ivey talked to Muschamp on Friday he went to talk to offensive line coach Mike Summers about the Gators offense.
“I got to sit down with Coach Summers and talk football with him,” Ivey said. “We went over some pass protections and how I would block certain styles of defenses. We just kind of went over his style of coaching the line.”
Ivey wasn’t able to stay for the Friday Night Lights camp on Friday because it was his birthday, but he did get to talk to some more people before he left campus.
“I got to hang out with some of the players after that,” Ivey said. “It was my 19th birthday so I left early so that I could go to the movies with my friends for my birthday.”
The one thing that Florida did accomplish on Friday was that Ivey was able to spend more time bonding with offensive line coach Mike Summers.
“We have a pretty good relationship going,” Ivey said. “He has a lot of knowledge and I respect what he’s done in the past so I’m just trying to soak everything in from him.”
Ivey has not hidden the fact that he likes Florida and that he grew up rooting for the Gators but he says there is a reason he hasn’t made a decision.
“I’ve said before that if Florida would have had a good season last year then I would already be committed,” Ivey said. “Everybody wants to win but there is more stuff that tied into last year for Florida. There is no doubt though that I will be watching Florida’s offense closely this year to see how they do.”
Since Ivey’s process is going on longer than he expected, he now has two teams on top but one school has more people recruiting him to their school.
“Florida and Auburn are the top two teams right now,” Ivey said. “Chandler Cox is recruiting me to Auburn but there are a lot of people recruiting me to Florida. I talk to Coach [Coleman] Hutzler a lot and he’s recruiting me hard and the commits over Twitter are recruiting me. Most of family and friends are recruiting me to Florida too.”
This fall Ivey has a busy schedule ahead of him with his high school season as well as five official visits he has planned.
“I’m going to take my officials this fall,” Ivey said. “I’m going to go to Florida, Auburn, Florida State, LSU and probably Alabama. I really don’t have a date set for my decision but I want to do it early so that’s why I’m taking my officials early.”
INSIDER TAKE: Ivey also noted that he will be in Gainesville for a few games this fall for unofficial visits. I have a hard imagining that Ivey goes anywhere besides Florida if the Gators win this year. Ivey just wants stability and that’s why he’s waiting on the season.