Florida going after a JUCO CB

Florida Gators coach Jim McElwain isn’t at Florida to win a participation ribbon, so in order for him to get his roster built up quickly the Gators coaching staff is looking for JUCO prospects to enroll for 2016.

The Gators already have two JUCO commitments and on Wednesday defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan offered JUCO cornerback JaMarcus King (6-1, 180, Coffeyville, KS JUCO) over the phone.

“Coach Cal [Callahan] called me and told me that Florida was ready to offer me today,” King said. “Coach Cal said that he loved me and I was a guy that he wants. He said he can’t wait for me to get down there for a visit. He told me that Florida needs a guy to come in and step up for them next year.”

Even though King is from Mobile, Alabama he says has watched the Florida Gators a lot growing up a calls the Florida offer a big one to receive.

“Florida is “DBU” and I feel like I can fit in with them down there,” King said. “It really is a big offer to me because I always watched Florida growing up and they’re close to home.”

Since King is from Mobile, you can expect that the instate schools of Auburn and Alabama are on him. He says that one of those schools, plus the Gators, are standing out to him right now.

“Right now I don’t have any leaders, everything is even,” King said. “Florida is high on my list since they offered. I would say Florida and Auburn are schools that I have high interest in.”

Florida does have one thing working in its favor and that’s that King’s teammate and friend Branton Autry committed to Florida on Wednesday afternoon.

“Me and him are best friends,” King said. “We have always talked about playing together at the next level but he has been telling to make the best decision for me but that he really wants to play with me again.”

The Gators will have to patiently wait as King visits an SEC rival this weekend but Florida’s coaching staff can rest easy as the JUCO corner says he and his good friend will be in Gainesville soon.

“I plan to visit Florida this summer,” King said. “I’m going to Auburn this weekend for Big Cat weekend. I think Branton and I are going to visit Florida together this summer sometime.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: If King doesn’t commit to Auburn this weekend while in town then I think the Gators are a serious contender. Florida has his best friend already, so getting them on campus together for a visit would be great.

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.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks Andrew: I think we have the best football coach since the Ole Ball Coach. The articles I see in the daily newspaper and your columns indicate they are very good recruiters. I think they are going about getting the instate talent the right way and going after some Juco players that it is pretty easy to see by last years film have the talent to play in the SEC. I really like what I see from our Staff so far.