Thursday and Friday the Gators hosted one of the premiere prospects in the Class of 2008 in Norfolk (VA) Maury Vinston Painter, a 6-6/315 lineman. The versatile two-way player enjoyed his two day visit in Gainesville and left early this morning.
It has yet to be determined which side of the ball Painter will play in college and his long and lean frame really screams offensive tackle. However, his aggressive play could put him on the defensive side of the ball. Regardless of where he may end up, the Gators showed Painter a lot of interest.
“I came in yesterday morning and stayed up here this morning,” Painter said on his way out of town. “I wanted to come and see the spring workouts and see the coaches. I really enjoyed the guys working out and being around the coaching staff.”
Wide receiver Coach Billy Gonzales is recruiting Painter to Florida and has a good track record of signing prospects from the that region of the country
“Coach Gonzales is a nice guy and real good guy,” Painter said. The coaching staff talked to me about school and academics, the program, game day, the Gator Walk, and everything. They went into some details on workouts, weight room workouts, and I spent a lot of time with the strength coach.”
He came away with a real appreciation of Florida. Being in the Swamp was the highlight of his first trip to Gainesville, the beloved home of the University of Florida.
“I loved it, I really loved it a lot,” he said about the visit. “I really liked when we went on the field and they played the highlight video on the big screen with all the music. We watched some game film with the coaches too. I learned a lot of techniques and learned that their offensive line is real athletic.”
He is still wide open at the moment, but says five schools that stand out right now. Florida, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Penn State, and Oklahoma have the upper hand in his recruitment which he says “will be a while” before it is over.
He describes himself as a player that is, “very aggressive, fast, and plays real hard.”
In the end it will be the “football program, academics, and the coaches” that sway him to one school over the other. In the meantime, there will be frentic sales jobs all over the country to land Vinston Painter.