Florida Gators improve chances with Briggs after visit

Wednesday was a busy day for the Florida Gators football staff as they hosted two big targets for the 2018 class on visits.

One of those was defensive lineman Dennis Briggs (6-4, 252, Kissimmee, FL. Gateway) who got to see a lot of things that he wanted to see.

“The visit was great, I liked the visit,” Briggs said of his visit to Florida on Wednesday. “It was great being back at Florida and great hearing from the coaches. It was great seeing everything. We took a tour to see everything and got to see the basketball arena.”

A few of the Gators coaches were on vacation on Wednesday but Briggs still had the chance to talk to a majority of them.

“Coach [Randy] Shannon, Coach [Brad] Davis and Coach Mac,” he said on the coaches he got to speak too. “I talked to a few more of them but mainly those three coaches.”

Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon spent the most time with Briggs on Wednesday and explained just want coming to Florida should mean to him.

“He was just keeping it real with me and saying it isn’t all about football,” Briggs said of Shannon’s message. “He said that academics are always a first and that I’m not the only person they’re recruiting so if I come to Florida, I’m coming there to compete. He said that I would have a chance to play early because they recruit guys who can take someone’s spot.”

Head coach Jim McElwain also explained how bad that the Gators really want Briggs in this year’s class.

“He was just telling me that the Florida brand is something special,” he said on McElwain’s message. “He said that’s all family and he let me know that I’m welcomed at Florida anytime. He said he would love to have me.”

This was the first visit to Florida for Briggs since he picked up his offer this spring and he says the visit was a positive for Florida.

“It helps them out a little bit,” Briggs said on if the visit improved Florida’s chances or not. “I would say that I have high interest in them after this visit. This was an eye opening visit and it raised the interest for me.”

Now that Briggs has visited Florida, he says he may return in July but he’s in no rush to make any decisions.

“After the season,” he said on when he wants to make a decision. “I’m going to take some official visits and stuff first.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida, Florida State and Miami are all schools mentioned by Briggs a lot but it looks like he will continue to take visits before narrowing things down. Florida likes Briggs as a hybrid guy that can play both defensive tackle and defensive end.

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.