RECRUITING: Jay Howard sold on Florida

Gator commitment Jay Howard really likes what he is seeing from his Florida Gators these days. The 6-5, 230 pound, four-star defensive end from Orlando Jones is having a good year while his team is battling in district play. Howard was on hand Saturday to see Florida dismantle Alabama in the Swamp.

His Jones team won 32-8 against Umatilla Friday night and it was the first district game of the season. On the upswing in recent weeks, Howard is a big part of the improvement. Friday night he had six solo tackles, one sack, and a fumble recovery.

Howard has been in Gainesville the last two weeks watching his future college teammates claim the Swamp to themselves. Saturday was electric with a capacity crowd and two heavy-weights slugging it out in Gainesville. Howard knows the Swamp is definitely an added bonus for the Gators.

“It was exciting, but they scared me for a bit there,” Howard said as the Gators trailed 10-7 at halftime. “The crowd was real crazy. I didn’t know a crowd could have that much effect on how a team plays. The quarterback can’t even get the ball snapped.”

Howard loves the way the Florida defense plays and he can see himself fitting in rather nicely with his teammates next season.

“It’s a great defensive group,” he said. “It will be hard to replace those guys, but I am just ready to go up there and fill their shoes.”

Don’t think that Howard isn’t keeping up with the Gators. He understands how big the next two weeks are for Florida.

“I will be back next week,” he said. “If we get past LSU and Auburn we might be the number two team in the nation. The schedule has to be the number one schedule in the nation. Luckily they drop Alabama and pick up Ole Miss next year.”

Despite his obvious desire to don the Orange and Blue, Howard is planning on taking his official visits that are offered by teams that also want to sign him. In a week he will be announcing when and who he will specifically visit, but he has somewhat of an idea.

“I am going to announce my official visits in about two more weeks. Of course Florida will get one.” He said about a paid trip to Gainesville. “The others might be Auburn, Florida State, Nebraska, and N.C. State. There are some other teams in there, but I am just sold on Florida right now.”