Offensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones (6-3, 292, Fort Lauderdale, FL St. Thomas Aquinas) made headlines on Saturday afternoon when he committed to Florida over FIU and others.
Desir-Jones committed during his official visit and on Sunday he talked to GatorCountry about why he committed to Florida.
“Coming to the campus and being around the coaches and seeing the family atmosphere made me want to commit to Florida,” Desir-Jones said. “I seen how much the coaches really care about the players and how much the coaches care about you getting your education here. Florida isn’t all about football and they are a family atmosphere group. I just felt like Florida was the best fit for me and my family.”
During the official visit Desir-Jones had the chance to sit down with offensive line coach Mike Summers and the meeting went well as Desir-Jones found out where Florida sees him playing.
“Coach Summers was just telling me that I would be able to come in and compete on the line,” Desir-Jones said. “We had some really good talks. He sees me more as a guard or center.”
Desir-Jones, who has met Summers before, got to really learn a lot about Summers past this weekend and that his the new Florida commit excited for his future.
“My impression of him was that he was a really good coach,” Desir Jones said. “He’s a good man and he’s a wise guy. He has a very great background resume. He has three players in the NFL right now and all three players were Rimington award winners in college. I can’t to get around him so he can coach me and I felt as if he was the best fit for me.”
Head coach Jim McElwain also did a really good job of impression Desir-Jones this weekend as the two have built a quick relationship.
“I liked Coach McElwain a lot, he’s a really good coach,” Desir-Jones said. “He had been talking to my coaches a lot so he said he really liked me and that he really liked my coaches. We clicked really well together. He was excited when I committed.”
Desir-Jones had the chance to meet two of Florida’s commits this weekend and together they are building a great relationship.
“All of the commits were good guys and we really got to connect this weekend,” Desir-Jones said. “I feel like this class is going to be great and with signing day coming down I feel like a lot of guys are going to make the right decision and we are going to get the ball rolling in this class.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Desir-Jones is interesting player in my mind because he can play really all positions on the line but I think he ends up at guard in college.
Desir-Jones says he’s going to turn his attention to recruiting Jordan Scarlett the next few days.