H-Back Chandler Cox and his good friend Martez Ivey have become regular visitors to Gainesville this year and on Friday the two returned to see the Gators take the field for spring practice.
“Florida was great today, it was awesome,” Cox said. “Both Martez and I enjoyed every second of the visit. I really liked the practice and the intensity they showed today. The players were going real fast and they were excited. You could tell they were working hard out there and working to win. That’s what I like to see.”
This was Cox’s first time to see a college go through spring practice and he says that college practices are a lot different than high school football practice.
“Their practice was a lot faster than my high school practices,” Cox said. “Everything was quicker and the tempo was quicker. Florida actually has shorter practices than we do at Apopka though.”
When Cox visited Florida on Friday it was his first chance to see new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper in action and he came away impressed with Florida’s new play caller.
“Coach Roper was fired up and energetic about everything out there today,” Cox said. “He was yelling at the guys with instructions and encouraging them. I definitely liked what I saw out of him as a coach today.”
Since Roper was hired by the Gators in January he has told prospects about his new offense and on Friday Cox got to see how he would fit into that offense with his own eyes.
“I really liked the offense that they were running they were using a tight end/h-back every play,” Cox said. “They moved the tight end to the h-back because they don’t really have a true h-back. I was talking to Coach Roper after practice and he was telling me that they want a true h-back that can play out of the slot and move to the backfield without having to sub a different guy in. I like that and Coach Roper said that they are missing that guy.”
After practice was over Cox went back to the coaches’ office where he had the chance to sit down with Will Muschamp who was glad to see the Apopka duo in Gainesville on Friday.
“I also got to talk to Coach Muschamp today and he was excited that we were there,” Cox said. “We talked about the practice and he was saying that I’m only an hour and a half from home and I can play in the home state and to just let him know if I want to be a Gator.”
For months now Cox has called Florida his dream school and his leader. While neither of those things have changed after his visit, Cox is still in no rush to make a commitment to any school.
“Florida is still my leader,” Cox said. “Florida has always been a dream and a dream to play in the Swamp. All the opportunities I have make it harder to decide on a school but at the end of the day you have to follow your hear. I’m not going to commit anywhere soon but maybe this summer or maybe during my spring football time.”
Cox and his side kick Ivey will make at least one more trip to Gainesville this spring but other than that, their travel plans are unclear.
“I don’t have any other visits planned,” Cox said. “Me and Martez will definitely get back up to Florida this spring.”