Linebacker James Houston (6-1, 225, Plantation, FL American Heritage) was one of eight prospects to visit the Florida Gators on Monday for spring practice.
Houston, who plays a position of need for the Gators in 2017, was able to do a lot of things during his visit to Gainesville.
“It was really good, I liked Florida,” Houston said of his Florida visit on Monday. “I like Florida, I had been there before last summer but this was my first time since I got the offer. I went to the practice, saw the stadium, spoke to Coach [Randy] Shannon, Coach [Jim] McElwain and the strength and conditioning coach. I also saw the academic center.”
The American Heritage linebacker has watched Florida a lot on TV was able to see the Gators tough defense in person.
“I was really impressed by their practice,” he said. “The defense looks like it’s going to be another top defense in the SEC, I was impressed by them. I love the way Coach Shannon coaches those guys, he doesn’t really focus that much on the starters, he focuses on the second team and third team because he wants them to get better. I really like that.”
Shannon didn’t mince words with speaking Houston after practice, as the Gators coach laid out the depth chart for him to see.
“He just told me that he knows that they have some linebackers leaving this year and that he knows that I can come in and be a big factor for them,” Houston said of Shannon’s message. “He thinks that if I come in and do what I’m supposed to do then I can play early.”
Growing up in South Florida, Houston has heard a lot of good things about Shannon’s coaching background and that’s something that catches his attention.
“Coach Shannon has coached all of the great linebackers and he’s going to continue to put out linebackers like that,” he said. “I really like Coach Shannon, he’s really straight forward with you and I just like him.”
Not only did Shannon give Houston a pitch for the Gators, but head coach Jim McElwain also laid out a message for him.
“He was just reemphasizing that Florida is the place for me,” Houston said of McElwain’s message. “He doesn’t want to push me too hard but he wants me to take a close at Florida and look at the education at Florida. He said he wants me to make sure that Florida is the program for me.”
Heading into Monday’s visit the Gators were a team high on Houston’s list and he says the visit only increased his interest in Florida.
“This visit definitely helped their chances with me,” he said of this Florida visit. “I’ll definitely be visiting Florida again, but I need to visit some other schools so I can compare them and yeah it really helped their cause. I would say right now I’m still in the evaluation period of my recruiting process. This spring I think I’ll be cutting down my list.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Houston is one of the top linebackers in the state of Florida and is a high target for the Florida Gators this year. Randy Shannon has a great relationship with Houston and that will keep Florida in the mix here.