Recruiting has changed so much over the last few years and that was evident on Saturday when the Florida Gators had a junior day and several of the top prospect in the class of 2017 were in town.
One of the members of the 2017 class in town was Ohio State athlete commit Bruce Judson (5-9, 176, Cocoa, FL High) who was making his first trip to Gainesville on Saturday and enjoyed his stay.
“It was good,” Judson said of his first visit. “We took a tour of the campus, saw the facilities and meet all of the new coaching staff. We also got to try on the jersey’s and see the new practice facility.”
Judson, like most of the prospects in town on Saturday, had never met the new coaching staff and head coach Jim McElwain made sure that he got to meet everyone he wanted too, plus talk one-on-one with the head man himself.
“I got to talk every last one of the coaches,” Judson said. “Coach McElwain said that they are going to really recruit me hard and that they want me bad. He said that they are going to keep after me and that I’m welcome back any time. He said he wanted me to come back up this spring.”
Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier is someone that Judson has heard a lot about and the Gators play caller made his pitch to Judson on Saturday.
“Coach Nussmeier said he could use me in the offense bad and that he would like me to play for him,” Judson said. “The new running back coach [Tim Skipper] is a cool guy too. He said he knew who I was and that we wanted me to be apart of the team.”
All of those conversations with the coaches were impressive to the 2017 athlete but it was the atmosphere in the building that stood out to him the most.
“The highlight of the trip was how the coaches have a lot of energy,” Judson said. “They are cool and laid back but they are also serious and they know how to talk to young people. They are just cool guys with a lot of energy.”
Judson has been committed to the Buckeyes for over two months now but a new school is charging in and one of his teammates is the lead recruiter for that school.
“Florida is my number two school now,” Judson said. “I’m committed to Ohio State but Florida is behind them. My teammate Chauncey [Gardner] is recruiting me hard to go to Florida with. We will be back up for the spring game.”
INSIDERS TAKE: There is still a long ways to go in Judson’s recruitment but having Gardner in his ear, plus the Gators showing progress on the field will only help Florida’s chances here.