Texas tight end interested in Florida

Tight end is a position of need for Florida in the 2014 recruiting class and the Gators would like to add multiple players at the position.

On Tuesday, the Gators visited Houston (Tx.) Kinkaid tight end Mavin Saunders despite him not holding a Florida offer.

“Coach (Brent) Pease was at my school very earlier this morning (Tuesday),” Saunders said. “He seemed very interested in me and told me that he wants me to come down to Florida in June for a camp and that he would evaluate me then. I think it’s a very good possibility that I’ll camp at Florida but I have to look at my schedule and make sure.”

Despite the 6-foot-5, 233-pound living in Texas, he is originally from the Bahamas so staying in Texas is not a huge priority.

“I like the state of Florida a lot because it’s close to home in the Bahamas,” Saunders said. “I want to play ball either  in Florida because it’s close to home or in Texas. Miami, Florida and Florida State are all recruiting me hard from the state of Florida and Texas and Texas Tech are recruiting me hard in Texas right now.”

With Saunders growing up following the colleges in Florida, he knows some things about Florida’s football program.

“I know Florida has a lot of tradition with their team,” Saunders said. “They have a great school and they are in a great state for football. I like the program and the coaching staff there and how they like to win. They want me at tight end and I know they have had some good tight ends in the past that have went onto the NFL.”

Right now two schools are standing out with summer visits upcoming for the junior tight end prospect.

“Florida State and Texas Tech are my top 2 right now,” Saunders said. ‘But I want to visit Texas, Florida State, Miami and Florida this summer.”

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.