Florida improves its chances with FSU commit

Thursday was the final practice for the Florida Gators before the annual Orange and Blue game and the Gators coaching staff had a big target on hand for practice.

That prospect was Florida State defensive end commit Janarius Robinson (6-5, 224, Panama City, FL Bay), who got a lot of attention while he was on campus.

“The visit was a good visit,” Robinson said. “I just toured around the campus with two of my teammates and got to know the coaches a little more and then watched practice.”

Robinson has been talking to the Gators coaching staff quite a bit over the last few months but Thursday was his first ever chance to meet everyone.

“I liked all of them a lot,” Robinson said. “I liked coach Rumph, he was a pretty good dude really. I got to talk to him and he told me that he sees me playing as a outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense. He said it was like a hybrid defensive end.”

Head coach Jim McElwain has been personally recruiting Robinson for some time now and he kept the message short and sweet with Robinson on Thursday.

“He told me that he wanted me at Florida,” Robinson said. “He was telling me some things about the school and how they would use me there.”

Practice was shorter on Thursday than usual since it was the last one before the spring game but Robinson was impressed by what he saw.

“Practice was pretty good out there,” Robinson said. “It was an up-tempo practice that was short and sweet but they were getting after it and getting things done during it.”

Florida State will get a chance to get the momentum back in its favor on Saturday but Robinson admits that Thursday helped the Gators chances and he plans to return to Gainesville.

“I’ll be at Florida State this weekend for the spring game,” Robinson said. “I will be coming back to Florida some time because this visit helped give me more insight of how they do things around Florida.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Florida made a big impression on Robinson on Thursday but the Gators still have an uphill climb to make, but it’s a climb I think Florida can make. Robinson and defensive line coach Chris Rumph are building a good relationship with each other.

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.