Fagan has a good first impression of new Florida Gators DB coach

Jim McElwain and the Florida Gators made big news two weeks ago when they announced Torrian Gray as the new defensive backs coach at Florida.

Gray hasn’t been able to meet with prospects due to the dead period, but that all changed last Friday when he got to meet safety Cyrus Fagan (6-2, 182, Daytona Beach, FL Mainland) when he visited the Gators.

“The visit was great, I got to meet the new coach [Torrian Gray],” Fagan said. “Coach Gray was telling me everything I wanted to hear. I sat down and talked to him and then we went and watched the team workout. We got a chance to get to know each other a little bit.”

First impressions are huge and Gray passed that test for Fagan, as the safety really believed that Gray was being honest with him.

“He’s cool dude and he’s going to keep it 100 with you,” he said of his first impressions of Gray. “He’s going to tell you everything you want to hear and need to hear. He’s going to put you in the right spot and teach everything you need to know abut football. He’s going to make you the best player you can be.”

All it takes for Gray to sell himself to prospects is for him to talk about the guys he has coached in the past, and Fagan learned about his time at Virginia Tech during his visit to Florida.

“He came from Virginia Tech from what he said,” Fagan said. “He said that he had DBU with the Fuller brothers and now he’s joining DBU at Florida. He said that he also coached Kam Chancellor and he taught the guys how to be successful. Those guys are doing big things in the NFL and that’s where I want to be.”

Gray hasn’t had a lot of time on campus at Florida but he was able to lie out a plan for Fagan if the safety chooses the Gators.

“Coach was telling me that he could work with me at both safety and corner,” he said. “He said that he wants me to come play for him so that he can make me the best player I can be.”

Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain was off campus on Friday, due to a prior commitment, but Fagan still got to chat with McElwain during the visit.

“I talked to Coach McElwain on FaceTime,” Fagan said. “He apologized for not being there but he said that he hoped that I had a good time. He said that he would see me real soon when I come back for more visits. He wants me to come back for the spring game and stuff like that.”

McElwain and the rest of the coaches are trying to gain momentum in the state of Florida and they certainly made Fagan feel wanted in Gainesville.

“I feel like a big priority for Florida,” he said. “Coach [Kerry] Dixon and the defensive coordinator [Geoff Collins] and really all of the coaches talked to me during the visit. Coach Collins was like, I’ve got to get you in the Orange and Blue.”

Fagan has been to Florida several times over the last year and just had a teammate sign with the Gators. He believes Florida is regaining its momentum on the field.

“Florida is on the rise and they’ve always been DBU,” Fagan said of his thoughts on Florida. “They’re always putting DBs into the league and they’re going to be a team to watch next year in the SEC and competing for a national championship. Also my friend Jachai Polite is going to be there.”

For quite some time people have pegged Fagan to Florida State but the Daytona Beach prospect says he has no leaders right now.

“I don’t really have a leader, but I just have schools that have put in the effort for me that I’m high on,” he said. “Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Alabama and Tennessee are those schools.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Fagan is one of the best safeties in the country for 2017 and the Gators are showing him that he’s a priority. Florida State seems to be the team to beat early on but the Gators are gaining some momentum here.

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.

1 COMMENT