Defensive tackles have been a main focus for the Florida Gators recruiting class of 2017 as the Gators need to add depth at the position.
Over the weekend the Gators hosted Georgia defensive tackle commit Devonte Wyatt (6-4, 300, Decatur, GA. Towers) on a visit and his coach who spoke about the defensive tackles visit to Gainesville joined him and his family.
“He [Wyatt] had a good visit with Florida,” Coach Montgomery said. “The parents really liked it so it just made things that much more interesting. He is probably a lot more confused to have such great options before him. He isn’t used to getting this type of attention and having such high caliber teams wanting him to come to their school.”
One of the things that stood out to Wyatt was the attention to detail that Florida pays to everything including off the field stuff.
“He liked the new academic center [Hawkins Center] they have built over there because he is eager about not only playing at the next level but be able to sharpen his skills in the classroom,” Montgomery said of what stood out to Wyatt. “He knows that kind of resources UF has can definitely be a plus for him. The coaching staff was great from the head coach all the way down to the GA and support guys. He had a great time and liked the facilities, which is a toss up because every school has nice stadiums and facilities. They had a great plan for their guys with the nutrition.”
While on the visit Wyatt had the chance to sit down with defensive line coach Chris Rumph and the coach broke everything down for the Georgia commit.
“This was his first visit and he set down and went over the roster with him and he saw where certain guys will be playing,” Montgomery said what the coaches were telling Wyatt. “ Rosters really don’t matter because wherever he goes a school will have decent guys and he will need to work wherever he goes to get on the field. It’s more about him having a comfortable fit to where he can be the next three to five years.”
Heading into the visit South Carolina and Georgia were the two teams talked about the most but Wyatt’s coach says the Gators are now squarely in the mix.
“Like I said before Florida just made things more difficult for him,” said Coach Montgomery on where things stand now. “He is going to weigh in on everything this evening [Monday night] and do a comparison of all three places and look at the pros and the cons. Whatever school outweighs more pros is the schools he’s rolling with. We don’t want to get down to trying to make a dog and pony show on signing day because the two schools that he doesn’t choose need to use that scholarship for someone else. So he is trying to get everything in perspective tonight [Monday]. By the morning [Tuesday] he should be able to call some schools and let them know what he is doing. If it was up to him he would go to all three schools, but that isn’t the case.”
With a decision still lurking, his coach says that a few things will help determine where Wyatt attends school at next year.
“I am kind of speaking for him now these aren’t his actual words but I think it will be those small particular things he’s going to look at as deciding factors,” Coach Montgomery said on what factors are weighing on Wyatt’s mind. “The things he needs to decide tonight are those small non-negotiable things that have to be there at a school.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Wyatt is a really good prospect and is going to play early at whichever school he picks if everything works out off of the field. Right now I would say South Carolina is the team I would pick but Florida has made things very close.