Gator Country

Florida fans have heard the name Matt Elam a lot the past few years, and now there is another Matt Elam.

Elizabethtown (Ky.) John Hardin defensive tackle Matt Elam, who has been a hot name in the recruiting world lately, recently talked with Florida but doesn’t have a Gators offer yet.

“I talked with coach (Joker) Phillips last week,” Elam said. “He was telling me that Florida is about to start recruiting me hard and asked me if I was interested in the Gators. I told him yes I’m very interested in the program and then he told me to come down for a visit soon.”

The 6-foot-6, 325-pound Elam plans to do just that as he says he will visit the first week of April to watch one of Florida’s spring practices. Elam hopes to land a Florida offer on his visit.

While Elam doesn’t know much about Florida yet, he still knows a few things about the team and the program.

“I know they are a SEC team and played in the Sugar Bowl even though they lost,” Elam said. “I have been a fan of Florida for a long time. I like the way the defense plays hard and that Florida and coach (Will) Muschamp is a defensive minded coach. I watched their defensive tackles a lot last year on TV and they were good. I liked the way Dominique Easley played and how they used him on the defensive line last year.”

With Elam being from Kentucky he knows a lot about the former Kentucky head coach now Florida receiver coach, Joker Phillips.

“I really like coach Phillips,” Elam said. “He was a good coach at Kentucky and he is a nice and genuine coach and person. Me and him have a pretty good relationship and it’s improving each time we talk on the phone.”

Elam plans to visit Tennessee this weekend before visiting Florida in April.

About the author

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.

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