Athlete Devan Barrett (6-1, 195, Tampa, FL Catholic) was one of the prospects on campus on Saturday during the Florida Gators recruiting weekend.
Barrett, who has visited the Gainesville campus several times, got to see a few new things on Saturday.
“It was good, they showed me everything and stuff like that,” Barrett said. “I’ve been down there a couple times so it wasn’t a lot of things that was new to me. The indoor practice facility was really nice. I was like, ‘wow’, when they showed us around there.”
A lot of prospects are meeting new defensive backs coach Torrian Gray for the first time, but Barrett has a previous relationship with Gray.
“I got to see Coach Gray and he’s a great coach,” he said. “I’ve talked to him several times when he was at Virginia Tech so it’s was kind of a friendly thing. We talk to each other a lot. He recruited me at Virginia Tech but he said Florida was like family. I really like it at Florida and it does feel like family to me.”
Jim McElwain has told Barrett, who plays all over the field in high school, that he can play wherever he wants in college.
“When I talked to Coach Mac he said it was up to me which position I played,” Barrett said. “They’re recruiting me as an athlete so that I could play either side of the ball. I play running back and defensive back in high school so I’ll choose one of them.”
McElwain also sat Barrett down on Saturday to explain the atmosphere around the football program and the athlete agreed with McElwain.
“Coach McElwain said that Florida was just a big family and it really is. They have great people down there,” he said. “The atmosphere is great and everything about Florida is good. They have a lot of great coaches that I like talking too.”
The visit to Florida was a good one for Barrett, but he’s in no rush to make a decision. He does, however, have a few schools that are standing out to him.
“Florida is one of my top choices,” he said. “West Virginia, South Carolina and really all of the schools that are showing me love are top choices right now. I’m looking for a school that shows me how bad that they want me.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Barrett says he plans to return to Florida for a spring practice where he hopes to see Coach Gray and Coach Skipper in action. Barrett project as a defensive back at the next level, but he can play either position.
So you think Barrett is gonna play safety in college. It would be nice if they could get him and then either Cyrus Fagan or Daniel Wright. Jeffrey Okudah would be great of course but I doubt he’s going to Florida. Kendarian Handy-Holly is really underrated at Safety too, he would be a good fit for Florida.