Florida Gators offensive line coach Mike Summers made one of his first stops last week in South Carolina when he visited offensive lineman John Simpson (6-4, 288, North Charleston, S.C. Fort Dorchester) at his school and home.
A few months back it looked like Florida was going to be on the outside looking in with Simpson but Summers constant contact has kept the Florida Gators in the mix.
“One thing that attracts me about Florida is the offensive line coach Coach Summers,” Simpson said. “Coach Summers always keeps in contact with me and I really like that. I want to keep in contact with my offensive line coach because I want to develop a relationship with the guy that I’m going to be spending my next 4-5 years with.”
Simpson has only made one trip to Gainesville and that was last spring but Simpson says it was a successful visit to see the Florida Gators.
“I was down there for their spring game and it was pretty fun,” he said. “I got to meet a lot of the players and the staff and it was a good time. I really liked all of the staff and the coaches.”
When Simpson was in Gainesville last spring he didn’t expect the Gators to have much success this year but he was surprised and happy to see Jim McElwain succeed in year one.
“It’s real big,” Simpson said of Florida’s success this year. “This was Coach [Jim] McElwain’s first year and he already made it to the SEC championship so that was pretty good. Even though they lost it was still good because they were there. I know they’re building and getting better.”
Despite the recent push from the Florida Gators, one other SEC team and a local school is still squarely in the mix.
“Right now my top three schools are Florida, Clemson and LSU in order,” he said. “I’m going to be taking my official visit to Clemson and Florida after the dead period ends next month.”
INSIDERS TAKE: If Simpson actually takes his official visit to Florida then the Gators have a great shot here. There is some talk that Simpson has cooled on Clemson some and that looks to be benefiting the Florida Gators.