Carter explains his Friday visit to the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators are trying to restock the defensive end position in the class of 2017 and they had one of their top targets on campus for Friday’s spring practice.

Defensive end Zach Carter (6-4, 237, Tampa, FL Hillsborough) got to campus very early on Friday and stayed through the afternoon for his unofficial visit to Florida.

“It went pretty good,” Carter said. “I got there early in the morning and went to the team meetings first, then I shadowed a couple of classes with Nick Washington. After that I hung out with the coaches a little bit and then I went to practice. That was pretty much my day, my dad was also with me.”

This was Carter’s first chance to see the Florida Gators practice and also his first chance to see defensive line coach Chris Rumph in action. Both things impressed the Tampa defensive end.

“I enjoyed practice, I liked the intensity of practice,” he said. “They go after each other in practice and go fast. I liked Coach Rumph’s coaching style, I’m used to that from my high school coach right now. He gets on you if you don’t do things right.”

Before practice started Carter and his father had the chance to sit down and hear Rumph’s message for the defensive end.

“He tells me that I’m his guy at defensive end for this year,” Carter said. “He’s telling me that I can be a special player in a couple of years when I get to Florida. He wants me to come help change the defensive line at Florida.”

Rumph’s message was a good one towards Carter, but McElwain made sure to let Carter know that he was a big need in Gainesville.

“I sat down in Coach McElwain’s office with my dad and Coach Rumph after practice,” he said. “He was just telling me what Florida could do for me and how Florida can take care of me now and after college. He said that he was ready for me to commit and that I could tell him at anytime.”

Carter had planned on waiting until after he took official visits to announce, but he told McElwain that his plan might be moved up some.

“I told him that I was taking my time and he said that I’m going to be in Orange and Blue when it’s all said and done,” Carter said. “I told him that I’m not sure when I’m going to make my decision. Right now at this point I really don’t know when I’ll make a decision. It could be this summer or before the season starts.”

Not only did Carter enjoy his Friday visit to Florida, but the things Florida has to offer also impressed his father.

“My dad enjoyed the trip, he was blown away by the visit,” he said. “He was blown by the academic stuff too. He likes Florida and the coaches at Florida.”

The Tampa prospect has a busy April coming up that includes four more visits to schools.

“I’m going to Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Clemson in April,” Carter said. “I’m probably going to Florida’s spring game too.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida has done a really good job of recruiting Carter and he has a good relationship with Chris Rumph. Carter says that he speaks to Rumph a few times a week. Right now Florida and Clemson are two schools to watch for Carter but he doesn’t have any leaders right now.

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.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Carter is the DE Florida needs. I hope he commits to Florida this summer so he can help with recruiting the D like Jake Allen is doing for the O. Getting a top notch player like him would really help.

    • Did you get to interview Jarez Parks when he was on campus Monday? Carter and Parks would be a heck of of DE combo in next year’s class. The state of Florida is stacked this year. Hopefully the Gators can translate that into a good recruiting class.

  2. I think the one thing that separates U of F from most schools is the attention you get after you’re done with athletics. I was a good competitor for the Gators back in the 70’s, but not a great one worthy of the Hall of Fame and I still get communications and invitations to attend functions all the time. Hog Town really is a special place, it makes you think, develops your mind as well as your physical status. What I learned and developed there I use almost every day. Not giving 100% is not an option, quitting is never a thought. Florida by far is a place (and will always be) that gives you a connection to greatness. If you’re able to get into U of F, you will be considered apart of something special. I didn’t realize that for years after graduation. During my career, I lived in six different states and when someone asked me about my college and I said Florida, I would get “Really, was it as great as it looks?” Besides with the last name of Carter, he’s a lock we’ve put a few Carters in the NFL if memory serves me correctly.

    • Seems like Parks and Carter are a very likely possibility from what I’ve seen. I’m really hoping they can get Parks and Carter at DE,and Aubrey Solomon at DT. Those three and their DL class and be done for the year and they can focus more on LBs and DBs.