Jacksonville receiver visits the Florida Gators

The state of Florida is absolutely loaded with top-notch receivers in the class of 2016 and that has caused several big time players to fly under the radar this year.

One of the biggest names that doesn’t get talked about a lot is receiver Kevin Stepherson (6-1, 180, Jacksonville, FL First Coast) and he recently visited the Florida Gators campus.

“I visited Florida with some of my teammates and it went very well,” Stepherson said. “We just took a tour of the campus and sat down with all of the coaches to see what they had to say. I talked to Coach Mac, Coach [Tim] Skipper and to Coach [Kerry] Dixon.”

Stepherson picked up a Florida offer during the spring, so this was his first trip to Gainesville since getting that news, and he and his family had a few questions they wanted to ask head coach Jim McElwain.

“My dad had a couple of questions for Coach Mac about where they see me playing if I come to Florida,” Stepherson said. “Coach Mac was just telling me how important I was to them. He was telling me that it looks like that I can play the slot and the outside receiver position because he likes my speed.”

Receivers coach Kerry Dixon has talked to Stepherson several times over the phone but this was the first time for the two to meet in person and it was a successful meeting.

“Coach Dixon is a great guy,” he said. “I heard everything I wanted to hear from him about his coaching style and what he thought of me. He was saying that they really need receivers and that he likes the way I play.”

The Jacksonville prospect has visited Florida several times in the last few years but he admits that this visit was different and helped the Gators chances here.

“My dad had a lot of fun on the visit,” Stepherson said. “I think we both got all of our questions answered and this visit was very helpful for us and for my interest in Florida.”

Since the state is so loaded there is no guarantee that Stepherson will stay in state for college, and that’s why he has planned a big trip up north in the coming weeks.

“I’m still pretty wide open,” Stepherson said. “I’ve got a Notre Dame trip planned for this summer, plus I plan to come back to Florida for another visit this summer for a camp.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Any other year and Stepherson is a top-five receiver in the state, but it’s such a crowded year for receivers that some other great players overshadow him. Notre Dame is the team to watch out for in regards to landing a commitment from Stepherson 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.