The Florida Gators are set to host its first of three big recruiting weekends starting on Friday afternoon and while the quantity isn’t high, the level of talent in town this weekend will be.
As of posting time this morning the Gators are schedule to host six official visitors for this weekend with two of these being Florida Gator commits already.
That, however, is good news for Florida as the Gator commits will be able to help this coaching staff recruit the other four prospects that will be on campus.
Two Gator commits in town
Offensive linemen Tyler Jordan and Michael Horton will be in Gainesville to take their official visits to Florida and this will also be Horton’s first chance to meet the entire coaching staff in person.
Horton did have the opportunity to meet with Jim McElwain and tight ends coach Greg Nord as they visited Horton at his home in Georgia on Thursday evening and the visit went well between the two parties.
The Gators coaching staff has to be happy to have Tyler Jordan on campus this weekend as Jordan is the Gators’ top recruiter as far as commits go and he’s also one of the Gators biggest communicators as far as commits go.
South Florida defensive backs invade Gainesville
Defensive back Rashad Fenton (5-11, 175, Miami, FL Carol City) and Kentucky defensive back commit Jeremiah Dinson (6-0, 180, Hialeah, FL American) will both make their first trips to Gainesville to see Florida.
Both defensive backs were big time targets of linebackers coach Randy Shannon when he was at Arkansas and they quickly picked up offers from Florida when Shannon arrived in Gainesville.
Dinson — who is committed to Kentucky — has said that he has a great relationship with Florida and that he’s looking forward to the trip to Gainesville.
Fenton is currently uncommitted and has trips to Louisville and South Carolina on deck after he visits Florida this coming weekend.
Florida trying to flip Pellage
South Carolina offensive line commit Christian Pellage (6-7, 282, Brooksville, FL Nature Coast) was never really given a lot of attention from Will Muschamp and his staff but McElwain has made him priority since the start.
Pellage remains very solid to South Carolina but the lure of playing close to home is something that he’s looking hard at and his parents are also beginning to become fond of the close distance to Florida for Pellage.
McElwain wants the big back
One of the first messages Jim McElwain said was that he wanted to get some backs at Florida and this weekend he will host Arizona State running back commit Jaason Lewis (6-2, 240, Virginia Beach, VA Ocean Lakes) who is giving Florida a hard look under this new staff.
Lewis is a guy that can play multiple positions on offense and could even be a linebacker on defense so getting a guy like Lewis at Florida is a huge plus for the Gators.
Thanks, Andrew. Love it! Now it’s time to see what these guys can do within a limited time-frame. I really like our odds with these kids and some of the others on the boards. A new paradigm at Florida, albeit, somewhat familiar. LET”S DO IT! Come to the good guys! Go Gators.
Trying to look at the big picture with the hard facts in front of us, there are some obvious situation that should be addressed and in most cases have been addressed. Next year we will have one of the best defensive back field in the country. With that said, the defensive ends and tackles should be lined up wanting to come to Gator Nation. When we have all the receivers covered, there’s only three things that can happen, the ball (running backs) goes around the ends, the QB holds on to the ball longer, or he eats the ball. By the end of the season, the recruits coming to play quickly at tackle or DE, will make a name for themselves. Hit the cash registers gentlemen, it’s time to get paid.