Last week a lot of prospects made their way to Gainesville for visits as the dead period was finally lifted.
Safety Tre Donaldson (6-2, 190, Tallahassee, FL. University School) visited Gainesville on Wednesday and Thursday with his dad and was able to see what it takes to be a player for Florida.
“It went good, I was just glad to be able to see it for myself,” Donaldson said of his visit to Florida on Wednesday. “It’s all good on zoom but it’s nothing like seeing it for yourself. They made me a player for a day, I went to meetings, I was there early for the weight room. It was pretty fun to watch.”
Donaldson had never seen the Gainesville campus in person and he says it was nice just to be able to walk into buildings that he had seen on zoom calls.
“It was way better, just to be able to see it for myself,” he said on his first impressions of the campus compared to just seeing it online. “Riding on a golf cart and seeing the buildings, it was really fun. The zoom calls definitely show you everything pretty well.”
While on campus Donaldson spent most of his time watching film and receiving a message from the Gators’ coaching staff.
“I was with Coach [Wesley] McGriff,” Donaldson said on whom he spent the most time. “He said if I come there that he just wants me to come and compete, that’s the big thing they’re big on is competing and that’s what I do. It won’t be nothing out of the ordinary.”
Donaldson also had the chance to meet with head coach Dan Mullen during the visit for the first time.
“I got to meet with Coach Mullen, it went really well,” he said. “Me and Coach Mullen, he got to talk to my dad so did Coach [Todd] Grantham, they were all on the same page. It was a good talk, they were just glad to see me, they just wanted to see me in person.”
Heading into the visit Donaldson said the Gators were his leader and he says last week’s visit sold him even more on Florida.
“Florida is still on top,” Donaldson said of Florida. “Just the way they treat me, I’ve been to Ole Miss, Wake Forest, and Florida State and they [Florida] just recruit me way better. They were hands-on with me and they made me a player for the day, that was a big thing to me because I was able to be in a player’s shoes.”
Donaldson is also being recruited by the Gators for basketball and last week he was able to meet with the basketball staff as well.
“I did get to go over to Coach [Mike] White and Coach Al [Perkins],” he said. “Coach White and Coach Mullen talk about me a lot, Coach Mullen says he’s always calling over there and checking in to see where they stand with me.”
Next up for the Tallahassee safety will be a trip to see an ACC team and that will be followed by a return trip to Gainesville.
“I have Louisville on the 11th-13th, I’m going to go on another unofficial to Florida this summer,” Donaldson said on what’s next for him. “I’m going to take my official visit at the end of the season.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Donaldson says he wants to make a commitment after the summer.