On Saturday when the Florida Gators hosted the first Great Gator cookout, several of the Gators top defensive back targets were in town.
Defensive back Jaden Davis (5-10, 166, Fort Lauderdale, FL. St. Thomas Aquinas) was one of those guys on campus.
“It was fun, it was actually really fun,” Davis said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “We got in a water balloon fight with Coach [Charlton] Warren and Coach [Ron] English and got to bond with them. That was real fun.”
The event was meant to be a bonding event for the coaches and players and that’s the environment that Davis saw as well.
“It wasn’t serious at all,” he said on the environment on Saturday. “I just got to just chill. I know the little thing on Twitter got blew up but that was just a dare from Mike [Hartley, receiver at Miami], I didn’t mean any disrespect or anything. I wouldn’t be up here if I wasn’t interested in a school.”
Davis liked the laid back approach on Saturday as he felt like he got a chance to know the coaches more during the event.
“I like that, I like the fact that we’re able to come up to a barbecue and just talk,” Davis said on if he liked the laid back environment. “We were able to talk, just man to man. Just talk about other stuff other than football, relationships, family and stuff like that. That was another great thing about this visit.”
Receiver coach Billy Gonzales is the area recruiter for Davis and he along with another coach is the main recruiters for Davis.
“Coach Gonzales and Coach Warren are the guys I communicate with the most,” he said on the coaches from Florida he talks to. “Coach Gonzales will hit up once a week not talking football stuff, just trying to get me back up here and stuff.”
The Gators are taking a different approach with Davis as they aren’t pushing for a decision from the defensive back.
“They aren’t putting pressure on me, they’re letting me enjoy my process,” Davis said of Florida. “Florida is always one of my high options and I’m always thinking about them.”
Davis hasn’t had the chance to really get around defensive backs coach Charlton Warren but what he hears about his personality, Davis likes.
“I haven’t really had the opportunity to really see him coach,” he said on what he likes about Warren. “From what I’ve heard, he’s a great guy from Marco Wilson and CJ Henderson just talking to them. He’s a great guy that progresses them as a player and as a man. Things like that are what I like about him.”
The St. Thomas product also noticed a little difference with Dan Mullen’s staff but ultimately he says the Gators are still the Gators.
“They asked me how it feels a little bit different and what I though the changes were,” Davis said on the difference in this staff from McElwain’s staff. “Football wise it’s Florida, you commit to a school not to a coach. I felt great about the school before Coach Mullen and them came along.”
Davis is set to make a decision in July but the defensive back says the process may force that date to be moved.
“I don’t know, I might have to push it back,” he said on if he’s ready for his commitment date in July. “That’s my birthday, I just wanted to get everything over with by then. That should still be the date.”