Gator Country

Florida recruiting coordinator Chuck Heater will be visiting the Panama City area today. His primary focus will be to check-in on Bay High School wide receiver commit Bert Reed.

“Coach (Chuck) Heater will be in town tomorrow (Wednesday),” Reed said. “I’m looking forward to that. He has been text messaging me everyday. I got a text from him everyday when they were in Arizona getting ready for the national championship game.”

“I was just blown away with the Gators in the championship game,” he added. “Ohio State had no answers. None. They had no answer on offense. They didn’t have an answer on defense. They couldn’t do anything about Florida’s speed.”

From the moment he stepped onto the University of Florida campus, Urban Meyer stated that he wanted the fastest football team in America. Sitting nearly center square in a state that serves as the mecca for football recruiting east of the Mississippi River has provided Meyer with the opportunity to quickly accomplish that goal.

Meyer and his staff put together a 2006 signing class that was faster than a speeding bullet (Percy Harvin), able to leap small buildings (Wondy Pierre-Louis) in a single bound, with a quarterback (Tim Tebow) stronger than a locomotive, or at least most outside linebackers.

The Gators are currently in the process of nailing down the nation’s top recruiting class. Scout.com currently has Florida as the top ranked class in the country. One of the speed components in this 2007 class is Bert Reed, who has run a blistering 4.31 in the forty.

“Coach Heater texts me that I’m his guy,” Reed stated. “He always tells me how much they want me at Florida and that he expects me to be there. He wants me ready to go to work. It’s exciting to be a part of that. I know this is an incredible group of players. I saw John Brantley play and he has it. His coming over (from Texas) was huge.”

The Tornadoes basketball team returned to Panama City after dropping a four point decision to top ranked (4A) East Gadsden last night. The Tornadoes are 13-6 overall and 6-2 in the district.

Reed has outstanding footwork and hips to complement his blazing speed, which when combined make him an attractive cornerback prospect. That is certainly not lost on Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, who has told Reed that he’d be a terrific fit in the Seminoles secondary. Florida State is recruiting Reed to play receiver as well.

Will the addition of Jimbo Fisher (offensive coordinator) and/or Lawrence Dawsey (receivers coach) provide Florida State with an opportunity to get Reed in Tallahassee for an official visit?

“No, that’s done,” Reed emphatically stated. “I’ve made my decision. I’m sure they’ll help their program, but that doesn’t affect me.”

What about those negative recruiters who say the Gators have too many playmakers?

“I can see the (Florida) coaches finding ways to get the ball to each of us,” he said. “Look at what they did this season and in that national championship game. I really believe that the competition makes you better and we’ll be stronger as a team. I look around and see all of those playmakers. How are they going to stop us? You can’t cover all of those guys. No team has the speed to cover that many guys who can run. It’s just think it’s going to be fun.”

More Football Recruiting | RSS