Last Saturday, the Florida Gators hosted their first junior day for the Class of 2025 and an instate defensive lineman was on campus.
2025 defensive lineman Jarquez Carter (6-2, 284, Newberry, FL. High) was on campus and got to meet new defensive line coach Gerald Chatman for the first time.
“It went great,” Carter said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “At first when we got there, we ate and got to talk with Coach [Gerald] Chatman. He came up to me and we talked, and he was with me most of the day. After that we went to the academic center and talked to some of them, then we toured the facility and talked with the nutrition side of things. We finished by talking with Coach Napier one on one.”
While on campus, Carter picked up an offer from the Gators after he sat down with head coach Billy Napier.
“Coach Napier did,” he said on which coach from Florida offered him. “He was saying he has always been a fan of my game and he just loved the way I improved year to year. He was just saying he sees all the hard work I’ve been putting in and he would love to offer me.”
Carter had a good first impression of Chatman and he feels like he’s building a good relationship with the defensive line coach.
“I got a good vibe from him after being around him all day,” Carter said of Chatman. “I think we connected pretty strong right from the get-go. We were just talking, we weren’t even talking about football at first, we was just about each other and he was asking me about our school and how my family was doing. Just who I was outside of football.”
Chatman broke down some film with Carter on Saturday and explained to him just where he would fit into the defense if he picked Florida.
“The three technique,” he said on where Chatman wants him at. “He said that I’m a great guy on third and fourth down to get the quarterback and for first and second down that I can hold my own because I’m the type of guy that will strike first.”
Napier also spoke with Carter about what the Gators like about his game and why they wanted to offer him.
“He was just saying that he sees the leadership I have,” Carter said of the message from Napier. “He sees the football IQ in me from my film and based off of what he has seen from me.”
After picking up an offer from Florida on Saturday, Carter says he liked Florida but he isn’t ready to narrow things down in his recruitment.
“I have them high, I don’t really have a top 10 yet,” he said on where Florida stands for him. “I definitely know they would be in there. Miami, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, UCF, and Tennessee are all recruiting me hard.”