Tampa DE Zach Carter has the Florida Gators out front

The Tampa area has always been a good recruiting ground for the Florida Gators in and looking ahead to the class of 2017, the Tampa area is once again loaded with talent for the Gators to recruit.

Head coach Jim McElwain has realized how loaded it is and he has two coaches recruiting the area and right now they are focused in on 2017 defensive end Zach Carter (6-4, 237, Tampa, FL Hillsborough), who has three schools after him hard right now.

“Florida, Miami and Kentucky are the three schools recruiting me the hardest right now,” Carter said of his recruitment. “I talk to Coach [Chris] Rumph and to Coach [Marquell] Blackwell from Florida because they both are recruiting my area. They both tell me different things.”

The Florida Gators early efforts on Carter have put them at the top in his recruitment and that has to do with the new coaching staff in Gainesville.

“Florida is still my leader,” Carter said. “I just really love what the new coaching staff has come in and done. I like that they are rebuilding the program and I like where the program is headed with the coaches.”

One of the best recruiters for the Tampa area is Florida Gators defensive line coach Chris Rumph and he’s taking a hands on approach to recruiting Carter right now.

“Coach Rumph is saying that he’s going to come check me out this season and that he likes my style of play at defensive end,” he said. “He tells me that he wants to build a good relationship first and then we will get into specifics of football. We are building a good relationship so far.”

Most prospects that meet Rumph instantly talk about how much they like him and the same holds true for the Tampa defensive end who called Rumph a “funny guy” after meeting him this summer.

“He’s energetic and has passion for the game,” Carter said. “He has coached a lot of good players and he seems like a coach that I want to play for in college. He’s a good guy.”

Now that football season is upon us the Florida Gators are hoping to get Carter up for some games this fall and it looks like they will do just that.

“I haven’t even set up any visits yet but I haven’t checked out Florida’s schedule yet,” he said of fall visits. “I know that I’m going to attend some games at Florida this year but I’m not sure yet. I’m going to try and go to the next home game.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Carter said he would like to make a decision after his junior year and right now the Florida Gators have a pretty sizeable lead over the Miami Hurricanes in Carter’s recruitment. Carter is also very close to a lot of other Tampa prospects, so getting him in the class would be huge for Florida.

 

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.