The Florida Gators picked up two defensive backs this weekend but they hosted several others on campus this weekend for official visits.
One of those was defensive back Brian Edwards (6-3, 195, Hollywood, FL. Miramar) who enjoyed seeing some old friends while in town.
“Florida was good,” Edwards said of the visit. “It was good getting back down in Gainesville and being back in the town and seeing the nice people. Especially the nice players I have played against like [Josh] Hammond and the rest of those guys. It was great.”
The highlight of the trip for Edwards was getting the chance to see where he would be studying at for his major while in school at Florida.
“Being in the school of Journalism and Communications to see what I want to major in,” he said of the highlight. “It’s nice man seeing all the hands on stuff that I can do a lot with. Seeing that and knowing I can make an impact early on the [football] program is great. Also being around the coaches and players.”
While on campus, Edwards was hosted by South Florida native and current Gators cornerback C.J. McWilliams and the two connected well.
“It was a Miami guy like me,” Edwards said of C.J. McWilliams hosting him.. “I was around a lot of South Florida guys like [Kadeem] Telfort, guys like Hammond, and the rest of the South Florida guys. They have a lot of guys from South Florida and from Alabama and those guys are ones I would be around and they are fun to be around.”
When Edwards was around the coaching staff including head coach Jim McElwain, the message was very simple and straight forward.
“I was around Coach [Randy] Shannon and Coach Mac and they said I can come in and make an impact,” he said. “ Seeing how they don’t have a lot of DB’s because of them losing [Teez] Tabor and Quincy [Wilson]. Seeing that I can come in and make an impact early and do well in academics is a standout.”
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray shared where Edwards would play at on defense and Shannon explains that the Gators have always wanted him.
“They said they can see me fitting in at corner right away so I would start out there and then move around to show I am versatile and I can play every where,” Edwards said of Florida’s message. “It’s appealing that they lost some guys and it’s a huge eye opening thing and it’s DBU so a lot great DB’s that have come from there. They explained to me how I have been a priority and I have seen how Coach Shannon was hitting me up even when Elijah [Blades] was committed and even when CJ [Henderson] was thinking about coming here, they were still on me.”
Edwards doesn’t hide the fact that he knows about Florida’s defensive back history and he says the Gators are a good fit.
“Yeah it is,” Edwards said on if Florida is good for DB’s. “Just by coaching wise and learning the scheme and learning the things. These other schools recruiting me have some great coaches as well but Florida really has it here as well.”
This visit Edwards was able to see a lot of different things and it was different from his past visits to Florida he says.
“I came for the 7on7 camp in the summer and we were only able to see really half of the campus,” he said on what was different this time. “So my official I was able to see even more of the campus and it was really good. I liked seeing the town and how things go here. It helped them, it really did.”
Now that visits are over, Edwards says he’s down to three schools and he knows when he will decide on his future.
“I am still down to my three schools and I am just going home to talk to my family and it and pray,” Edwards said on if Florida, Miami and Louisville were his leaders. “ On signing day I will put that hat on. I can’t really say anyone has the edge, but somebody will have it by Monday or Tuesday. In my head I probably know where I am going, but I want to sit down with my family and let them know where I am going so it’s official with them as well.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Right now all three schools feel like they have a shot but this ultimately comes down to Florida and Miami. We know that Edwards like Randy Shannon a lot and that’s something that should help Florida out.