Burney recruiting others to join the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators had several members of their 2018 recruiting class on campus last Friday night for Friday Night Lights and those came to help the class get better.

Athlete Amari Burney (6-1, 215, Clearwater, FL. Calvary Christian) was one of those guys on campus he says he visited for several reasons.

“Just my first time being back since committing,” Burney said on visiting Florida. “I wanted it to be special, and then see a lot of talented people that I wanted to recruit.”

When Burney committed to Florida in June, it was a long time coming according to the athlete who says he almost did it earlier in the winter.

“Just a feeling,” he said on why he committed in June. “It was supposed to be a decision in February when I visited for the Elite Junior Day, but my parents were like, ‘Just think about it.’ They still wanted me to visit Ohio State and see about them. It was pretty solid from then, but it was just a feeling of me being comfortable with all the coaches. I got to know all the coaches, Coach Mac. And then it was just about me, about feeling home, playing for my family.”

Burney who plays offense and defense in high school has been told he can play wherever in college but he says he’s leaning one way right now.

“I’m leaning towards defense,” Burney said on where he will play at. “I just love to hit, love defense. Then, Coach Mac just said it’s really up to me and Coach [Doug] Nuss.”

Several coaches are fighting to get Burney on their side of the ball but the athlete says he really doesn’t care where he plays.

“Anyway to help the team win,” he said on if it matters where he plays. “But I just want to play, just want to be a Gator and play.”

While on campus on Friday, Burney put his recruiting hat on and he was recruiting two guys in particular with a common message.

“Probably William Barnes and Richard (Gouraige). Just got down time with them, seeing where their heads are at,” Burney said on the guys he was recruiting on Friday. “Be a Gator. Just talking to them, seeing what schools they’re looking at, which school is leading and then just telling them what Florida’s got to offer for them.”

Moving forward, Burney plans to focus on his high school season and he only has one school in mind to visit.

“Just Florida,” he said on visits going forward. “I know for a game. I know LSU for a fact. I know that game for a fact, but any other games I’ll be here.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Burney says he plans to early enrollee at Florida and plans to take his official visit to Florida in December. The instate athlete is solid to the Gators and is one of their top recruiters off the field.

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.