The Florida Gators hosted its first two official visitors this fall this weekend and they were both at positions of needs.
One of those was offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz (6-3, 315, Bradenton, FL. IMG) who had a better than expected visit to Florida this weekend.
“The visit was good overall, I saw a lot of things that I wasn’t expecting to see,” Ruiz said of his official visit. “The players did a good job of making it a good experience. I didn’t know what to expect prior to my visit. They have a new academic center for the players and I just wasn’t expecting to see that.”
This was Ruiz’s first game day in the Swamp and he came away impressed by the Gator Nation and the team.
“It was a great experience,” he said of his first game in the Swamp. “They played a great game as well, after the game was pretty good too. I was with Jawaan Taylor the right tackle and it took us awhile to get to where we needed to be, because little kids were talking to him and wanting to take pictures with him. I can tell that Gators fan love their football players.”
During the game Ruiz noticed that there a lot of young players on the field and he credits coach Jim McElwain for that.
“It definitely shows me that Coach Mac isn’t scared to play young guys,” Ruiz said of his impression of the young guys playing early. “It caught my attention because of the guys that were playing so young.”
Before Ruiz left on Sunday he had the opportunity to sit down with offensive line coach Mike Summers to talk about his plans for the center.
“The message from Coach Summers hasn’t changed really,” he said of Summers’ message. “He thinks that I fit in great with the players and the team right now. He said that I could be a big part for them in the future. They say they need me.”
After he met with Summers, Ruiz had the chance to sit down with McElwain to talk about the future of the Gators program and more.
“Coach Mac was basically just telling me the same thing as Coach Summers, but a little different,” Ruiz said of Mac’s message to him. “He was emphasizing just how much they need me and making sure I had a great visit.”
The one thing missing during the visit were his parents, but according to the center that isn’t a factor or unusual for him.
“No, it isn’t a factor at all,” he said of his parents not coming on the visit. “They haven’t been on any of my visits with me.”
Now that Ruiz has visited Florida, he has two more visits left but he’s already trying to compare the visits and it’s a tough process to do.
“Auburn and Oklahoma are my next two official visits, “ Ruiz said of what’s up next. “I’ve already taken three trips already and really I can’t even compare the official visits. They were all similar but then completely different.”
One thing that Ruiz can say after the official to Florida is that the Gators helped their chances with him.
“I definitely had a great time at Florida and they fit all of my needs,” he said. “Florida is in good shape with me and they fit everything that I’m looking for in my decision.”
Ruiz is planning to early enroll, so he doesn’t have much more time left of this recruiting process and he has a decision date in mind.
“I’m going to announce on December 18th is the day I plan on committing,” Ruiz said. “If that doesn’t work out then it will be at the Under Armour game in January.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Michigan is the favorite for Ruiz but the Gators did help their chances out this weekend. Right now it’s tough to pick anyone but Michigan but the Gators still have time to get the talented center.