Welsh visiting his childhood team the Florida Gators

Defensive tackles aren’t a huge need for the Florida Gators right now but they would still like to sign two in the class of 2015.

While head coach Jim McElwain was in Jacksonville on Wednesday he stopped by to visit Wake Forest defensive tackle commit Kahlil Welsh (6-3, 263, Jacksonville, FL Sandalwood) and he the visit went perfect according to Lewis.

“I had a great visit with Coach McElwain on Wednesday,” Welsh said. “He had a lot of good things to say and I think he knows a lot about football. He’s a great man and he says that he’s going to get Florida back as a top program. It was one of my best recruiting days so far.”

McElwain didn’t sugar coat anything with Welsh but explained the situation to the defensive tackle and planned a visit from Welsh to get to campus.

“He basically said that he wanted me to be a Gator,” Welsh said. “I set up an official visit for January 30th and Coach McElwain said that they were going to have a meeting this coming Sunday about everything and he would call me on Sunday night to finalize everything and let me know where I stand with them.”

Welsh plays everywhere on the line in high school and that athletic ability is something that appeals to McElwain so far.

“He said that they were going to do whole a lot of things on the defensive side of the ball and he was going to run a mixture of the 4-3 defense,” Welsh said. “Coach McElwain said that he loves that I can come and play the 3 technique but that I’m also athletic enough to come off the edge. He said that he likes that I’m a hybrid player.”

McElwain wasn’t the only coach in Jacksonville on Wednesday as two other coaches visited Welsh with McElwain and that was something that Welsh noticed and appreciated.

“Coach Williams the defensive line and Drew Hughes was with him, they showed me a lot of love,” Welsh said. “Coach Williams looked like a mean guy but he’s a nice guy and I think he’s going to be a good coach. He seems like someone that I could learn a lot from because he’s coached in the NFL.”

Being from Jacksonville Welsh is no stranger to the Gator Nation and he doesn’t hide his passion for Florida.

“I’ve been a fan of Florida since I was six years old and I’ve been on campus numerous of times,” Welsh said. “I know what I want to see during my official visit and I’ve done my homework on Florida already.”

Welsh has been committed to Wake Forest for just over a month now but a Florida offer would make things very interesting.

“An offer from Florida would definitely impact my recruitment a lot,” Welsh said. “It would make my decision very hard but that would be a great thing.

 

INSIDERS TAKE: An offer from Florida would be hard to turn down for Welsh and I think he would probably commit on the spot if he was offered. This is one to watch going forward.

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.

4 COMMENTS

  1. no immediate offer? If reaching out to him, guessing they haven’t heard yet from Cowart and Co. Considering Cowart has stated he already has decided where he wants to go, that could be a very disappointing signing day with all those that may go with him. If he ends up taking his visit this weekend will be one of the biggest visits to impact UF in years and could make or break the next 2-3 yrs as to whether will be an immediate impact or full rebuild.

  2. I don’t know anything about Welsh but I can’t help in loving this quote of his: “I’ve been a fan of Florida since I was six years old and I’ve been on campus numerous of times, I know what I want to see during my official visit and I’ve done my homework on Florida already.”
    I’d be be tempted to offer him just from hearing that kind of straightforward response in a recruiting class rife with overinflated egos.