One thing Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain knows about SEC football is that you can never have enough playmakers and speed on offense if you want to compete for both SEC and National Championships.
McElwain and linebackers Coach Randy Shannon took a step forward in that department on Tuesday when they offered JUCO athlete Dre Massey (6-0, 185, Goodman, MS Holmes JUCO), who has been clocked at 4.34 in the 40-yard dash.
“Coach Shannon was just talking to me and catching me up on stuff,” Massey said. “He was just talking to me about how they like what they’ve seen out of me and what they see me playing down there. Just stuff like that.”
Florida has a lot of receivers on its board for 2016, but the Gators have told Massey he’s a guy that can play multiple positions on offense in Gainesville.
“Coach Shannon said that I’m pretty versatile and that they want me to play everywhere,” he said. “Coach Shannon said that they can put me in the slot, put me at running back some and just play me a little bit everywhere. He said that he compared me to Reggie Bush because of my playing style.”
Massey is from South Carolina but he admits that the Florida Gators offer on Tuesday night changed his mind on his current leader.
“The offer is big and it means a lot,” Massey said. “They are one of my top choices now. I said previously that South Carolina was my leader, but now I would say that they are pretty even with Florida right now. When I take visits then everything will shape up.”
One thing that caught Massey’s attention during his conversation with Shannon was that Florida was still looking for playmakers, despite its success on the field this year.
“I’ve had a chance to watch their offense a lot this year and they have a pretty good offense,” he said. “They said they need more playmakers and more speed on offense and I was thinking to myself, you guys already have a pretty good offense. I guess everyone could use something extra.”
The next month or so of Massey’s recruitment will be packed full of visits as he hopes to make a decision in the near future on where he will go to school at in January.
“I enroll in school in January so my decision is coming pretty fast,” Massey said. “I’m planning to visit Cincinnati this weekend, South Carolina the next then the next week I’m going to Oklahoma. After that I’m going to Florida and then I’m going to leave my last official visit open. I’ll be making a decision after I take all five of my officials or at least this is the plan.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Massey admitted that South Carolina’s coaching situation has some impact on him, but he’s originally from South Carolina, so the Gamecocks will always be in the mix for him. Massey is speedster that can make plays so he’s a target that would be an added bonus to Florida.