Florida Gators hard after Bryant lately

The Florida Gators have recruited the defensive end position really well since head coach Jim McElwain arrived in Gainesville and that looks to be continuing in 2017.

Florida already has a commitment from Zach Carter and now they’re looking for someone to pair with him in 2017.

One of the top targets at the position is defensive end Markaviest Bryant (6-4, 228, Cordele, GA. Crisp County), who says several coaches from the Gators are recruiting him daily.

“Florida has been hitting me up all the time,” Bryant said. “The head coach text me everyday asking me how I’m doing and keeping me informed on everything. Florida has been talking to the most consistent lately. Coach [Chris] Rumph and the defensive coordinator have both been talking to me too. About eight coaches from Florida hit me up. A different one hits me up everyday.”

Over the summer months it seemed like the relationship between Bryant and Florida died off some but the defensive end says the Gators coaches have stepped up their game lately.

“They’re definitely turning it up on me. Earlier they wasn’t but now they’re,” he said of Florida’s recruitment of him. “They have just turned it up on me and really it’s exciting. It has gotten my attention because coming into my recruitment Florida was always one of my top schools because I grew up a Florida fan. It’s exciting because one of the teams that I grew up loving and liking is showing the love they’re showing.”

Defensive line coach Chris Rumph has been after Bryant for well over a year now and the defensive end says they’re building a solid relationship.

“Coach Rumph keeps it real with me and we really just talk,” Bryant said of his conversations with Rumph. “We just talk about everything. It doesn’t always be about football. He jokes around with me about things and he’s trying to get to know me. He’s trying to build a relationship with me and it’s getting stronger. Actually my coach and Coach Rumph have a little history together, they either played together or coached together.”

Bryant, who says he speaks with McElwain daily, says the conversations are not what you would expect from a head coach and a prospect.

“Man, Coach Mac hits me up and says ‘what’s up, what you doing, how you doing’, that kind of stuff,” he said of McElwain’s conversations with him. “He always ask me about my family and really a lot of them are just not all about football. I know they want me but they’re not always talking about recruiting. It’s like talking to a friend or a best friend relationship.”

The Gators coaching staff does talk football with Bryant and Rumph has shared with the Georgia prospect how Florida can use him on defense.

“Coach Rumph and me had a little meeting when I visited this offseason and we talked football then,” Bryant said of where Florida wants him at. “Coach Rumph says that I can be both a stand up end and a hand in the dirt end. My film has both of them in it so I can stand up or put my hand in the dirty. I’m a versatile player and they think that I can be a real big help on the defense to them.”

Bryant last visited Gainesville this spring but he says that will change this fall when he returns to Florida.

“I’m going down to Florida for a couple of games this fall, I wanted to get down there this summer,” he said of visiting Florida. “For some reason every time I planned to get down there this summer something came up. One time I had the ACT and the other time I had already promised to do something with my team.”

The defensive end is also in the process of setting up official visits and he has four schools set for visits.

“I’ve already planned to take some official visits after the season,” Bryant said of official visits. “I’m going to take one to Florida, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and then one to either USC, UCLA or Oregon. I’m going to take one to somewhere that I’ve never been to before.”

Bryant isn’t going to wait on official visits for a decision as a commitment could come as early as this fall.

“I’m honestly wanting to make my decision during my senior season,” he said of a decision. Probably week 9 or week 10 somewhere near the end of my senior season this fall.”

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Florida State and Alabama are all strongly in the mix for Bryant heading into the fall. Bryant is one of the Gators top targets at defensive end to be paired with Zach Carter in the class of 2017.

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.