Gator Country

Florida picked up its seventh commitment on Tuesday night as New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine offensive lineman Joseph Paul committed to Florida.

“I woke up this morning with a good feeling,” Paul said. “I felt like Florida was the place for me after praying about and looking at all of the depth charts. I wanted to go to a place that I felt wanted and needed at and Florida was that place. They have been recruiting me the hardest for a long time now.”

Paul’s family, who visited with him this past weekend, agreed with the decision Paul made to commit to Florida.

“Everyone was smiling ear to ear and so happy when I told them,” Paul said. “My mom said she thought Florida was the best place for me too so that was nice to hear.”

When the 6-foot-4, 340-pound Paul told Will Muschamp he wanted to commit, the junior offensive lineman could feel the excitement over the phone.

“He was real excited when I told him I wanted to commit,” Paul said. “He said I had a big opportunity to play early at Florida and he was glad to have a player from the state of Louisiana. He wanted to personally welcome me to the family of the Gator Nation. He said everyone was going to be happy to have me there.”

While playing early is important to Paul, he isn’t in any kind of rush to start as a true freshman.

“I want to get to Florida and learn from the coaches,” Paul said. “I’m ok with redshirting and not playing as a freshman. But I wanted to go to a school I could play earlier than my junior year or later at. Coach Muschamp says he needs guard and he wants me to playthere.”

St. Augustine high school is one of the top high school’s in the southeast and has some of the top prospects in the country. Paul plans to recruit his teammates hard.

“I’m going to start recruiting everyone real hard,” Paul said. “We have some guys that are good including one of the top players in the country in Leonard (Fournette). Me and Leonard talk all the time so I’m going to recruit him to Florida, but he has to choose the best place for him.”

Paul says this is his final decision because he wants to keep his word. He plans to visit Gainesville this summer.

Paul is the seventh commitment in the Class of 2014 and the third offensive lineman to commit.

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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