McElwain selling early playing time to Imatorbhebhe

It was a family trip but also a recruiting trip for receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe (6-2, 202, Suwanee, GA North Gwinnett) when he visited the Florida Gators on Saturday for the Orange and Blue Debut.

Imatorbhehbe is a highly regarded prospect in the class of 2016 but his brother Daniel Imatorbhebhe is also a current member of the Gators team, so it was a trip where he got to do a little visiting as a recruit but a lot of visiting with his brother.

“It was pretty good,” Imatorbhebhe said. “It was pretty cool and I had fun there. It was refreshing to be out there you could say. I paid a lot of attention to the offense. They aren’t lying when they say they are trying to get the ball into the playmakers hands. It always encouraging to see that when you’re a receiver that has greater plans than to play college football.”

After the game on Saturday Imatorbhebhe and his family went to a postgame dinner for players and family members and there he got to talk in-depth with receivers coach Kerry Dixon.

“Coach Dixon said he will start me outside but work me inside as well,” Imatorbhebhe said. “He wants me to know both inside and outside so that I can create mismatches so that I can get the ball in my hands. He talked with me and my parents a lot about everything.”

The Imatorbhebhe family are very classy people and they want to be around good people and that is exactly what Imatorbhebhe saw in Dixon.

“He’s a real good coach and he knows what he’s doing,” Imatorbhebhe said. “His players are making big plays and he’s a great guy. I’ve gotten to know him as a person and what he stands for. It’s always good to know that you’re getting coached by someone that cares about you.”

Despite being a 2016 prospect Imatorbhebhe was one of the first guys to meet head coach Jim McElwain when he visited the older Imatorbhehbe brother, but McElwain made sure to tell the 2016 receiver how much he’s needed in Gainesville.

“Coach McElwain said that I saw how bad of a need they had for receivers and he said that I could come in and play early,” Imatorbhebhe said. “He was telling me that he was glad to see me and that was obvious that he needs players like myself and that I can come in early and help them out.”

The Florida Gators have the family factor in their corner but Imatorbhebhe says that won’t play a factor into his decision as he starts to narrow things down.

“I’m still pretty open since I haven’t committed anywhere yet,” Imatorbhebhe said. “I have a pretty good mental image of who my top schools are and I’ve had good contact with those coaches at those schools. I’m not really ready to announce anything yet but I kind of have a mental picture of that.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida made a big impression on Imatorbhebhe this past week and Florida has a good shot with him but I think Imatorbhebhe will truly make his own decision and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up on the west coast at a USC or Stanford but Florida also wouldn’t be a surprise.

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.