Several offensive linemen that the Florida Gators are high on were on campus in Gainesville on Saturday to watch practice and visit with the coaches.
Offensive lineman Monroe Freeling (6-7, 282, Mount Pleasant, SC. Oceanside Collegiate Academy) spent two days in Gainesville and enjoyed his time on campus.
“I’ve walked around campus, it’s a really pretty campus,” Freeling said on his impressions of the campus. “This might be one of the prettiest campuses I’ve been to and just the academics, they have really good academics.”
Freeling knew heading into the visit that things were changing in Gainesville under Billy Napier but he wasn’t sure of how much of a change it was but quickly realized it was a big change.
“It has definitely changed,” Freeling said of the culture at Florida. “I go in there and just go through all of the meetings and it’s quiet in the morning but then you get to field, and everyone is out there and you say, ‘man this is a hard practice’ and then after you go in there and ask the players what the difference is between Coach [Dan] Mullen and Coach [Billy] Napier and they say it’s night and day difference. The practice is way more intense, and everything is getting way better.”
While on campus, several players spent time with Freeling and explained to him the changes that Napier is making.
“I met a lot of people,” he said on who all he met during the visit. “They were just telling me how the recruiting process is and however everything is. One of the players when through the coaching change and he just told me it’s night and day.”
Offensive line coach Rob Sale has been the main contact for Freeling and the two are building a solid relationship.
“I like Coach Sale, he keeps it real,” Freeling said of his impressions of Sale. “I was talking to him in his office, and he was just telling me how everything is and that the NFL and college are different. Nowadays it’s becoming that college is harder than the NFL just because you must balance playing that top-tier talent every week, but you also have to worry about school.”
The offensive lineman isn’t ready to narrow down his list of schools yet, but he says the Gators made a move for him during the visit.
“Florida is definitely there now,” he said on his interest in Florida. “Just because the program has changed, I was at practice, I liked how fast paced it was.”
Next up will be a trip to Miami for Freeling but the lineman says he hopes to get back to Gainesville soon.
“Probably the summer, it’s only five and ½ hours away,” Freeling said on when he will return to Gainesville. “Hoping next time, I’ll be able to take my older brother down here, I just kind of want to get the whole family down here to experience this and get their opinion on it.”