Offensive lineman Fred Johnson (6-8, 285, West Palm Beach, FL Royal Palm Beach) was the 12th commit for the Florida Gators when he committed to Florida on Saturday evening.
Johnson was on his official visit when the news broke that he committed and on Sunday he talked to Gator Country about why he decided to commit to Florida over Miami.
“The first day there I could tell that Florida was the best fit for me,” Johnson said. “Coach McElwain was very excited when I told him I was committing. He said great, we’re fired up to have you. I really feel like Florida is the best for me and I can see myself here so that’s why I committed.”
For the past few months offensive line coach Mike Summers has been recruiting Johnson hard and after Summers heard the news of Johnson committing, he broke out into a happy dance.
“Coach Summers kept telling me how much he needed me at Florida,” Johnson said. “He said that I’ll have an opportunity to play as a freshman at one of the tackle positions. When I told him that I committed he started doing a little dance with his arms.”
One of the big reasons that Johnson felt at home at Florida was because his mother, who was on the visit with him this weekend, was also comfortable in Gainesville.
“My mom, she loved the visit,” Johnson said. “She’s very excited that I’m going to Florida and that I get to play football there.”
Johnson who considers himself a good student is serious about getting his degree and he felt Florida will give him all the resources to do that.
“My favorite part of the visit was the academics meetings we went on,” Johnson said. “Florida has one of the best academic programs in the nation. I really liked the structure that Florida has set up for you and the times that they have set up for studying. We also have some time to have a break too.”
Before Johnson committed on Saturday he was being courted by some of Florida’s commits and now Johnson will start to recruit some guys himself.
“All of the commits were talking to me about Florida and they were telling me the truth about stuff,” Johnson said. “They are cool guys. I really liked Tyler Jordan and Brandon [Sandifer]. I’ve already start to recruit [Jordan] Scarlett and Lamar [Jackson].”
INSIDERS TAKE: I really like the upside Johnson has and I think with a redshirt year he can help Florida out. There is a chance that Johnson could play some as a freshman but I think a redshirt year would do him so good.