The Florida Gators had a packed house of recruits on Saturday for its second junior day but offensive lineman Parker Boudreaux (6-5, 291, Orlando, FL Bishop Moore) felt like he was on top of the world during the visit.
“Florida treated me like they did at Clemson and I wasn’t really expecting that since it was a junior day,” Boudreaux said. “I wasn’t expecting them to talk about me since there was so many other recruits there but they were talking about me in front of other recruits. So I thought it was pretty cool. Kind of the red carpet treatment.”
Boudreaux received the red carpet treatment as he was toured around the Gainesville campus and was able to take in a spring practice.
“It was awesome, it was really great,” Boudreaux said. “We saw everything. It was a junior day so I wasn’t expecting that much love but they treated me like a king there. I got to see practice too.”
The big time offensive lineman got to watch the Gators practice in the Swamp on Saturday and he liked what he saw from offensive line coach Mike Summers.
“Practice was great, I got to see everything out there,” Boudreaux said. “They were working on them going really fast and going up-tempo. I liked it. Coach Summers is doing a great job of coaching those guys they have now. He’s a great guy.”
Coach McElwain is building a brand new offense in Gainesville. Boudreaux was able to watch the beginning stages of that and see why McElwain’s past offenses have had so much success.
“I really liked the offense,” Boudreaux said. “I like how coach Mac is getting the offense prepared for the NFL so it’s easier to transition to the NFL. It’s more of a pro-style offense and it was very fast paced. They are doing a lot of sprinting around but yeah, I really liked it.”
After the practice was over the Orlando native got a chance to watch film and talk with Summers, and the Gators o-line coach made it clear that he wants Boudreaux in Gainesville.
“Coach Summers said that I’m a priority for them,” Boudreaux said. “He said that I’m his top guy and he really wants me to be a part of the family. He said that he really wants me to be the leader of the offensive line coming in and he said that I can play early because of the depth they have on the team. It was awesome to sit down with him again.”
Saturday was the first chance for Boudreaux’s family to meet head coach Jim McElwain and McElwain made sure to impress everyone during the visit.
“Coach Mac says that he wants me and my family to be a part of the Gator family,” Boudreaux said. “We got a chance to sit down and talk with him for about 20-30 minutes. He’s a great guy and he’s going to change the program around. He already is doing that with the upgrading of the facilities.”
Boudreaux had his sister, mother and father on the trip and if the Gators were looking for support from then the visit was a success.
“My family liked it a lot,” Boudreaux said. “My mom and sister really liked the campus and they really liked the coaching. This was there first time to meet everyone but yeah, I think they really liked it.”
Next up for Boudreaux is a tour of the south, where he will visit five different schools before narrowing down his list.
“Everyone is pretty even,” Boudreaux said. “Next week I’m going to Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State but I think that I’ll have a top 5 or so this summer. I’ll make a decision whenever it feels right. I’ll sit down with my family and pray about everything.”
The Gators aren’t one of those five schools that will get a visit coming up but Florida will see the lineman back on campus soon.
“Hopefully I can go to the spring game since it’s only an hour and a half drive,” Boudreaux said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere but yeah I’m hoping to get back up there again soon.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Florida really put on a show for Boudreaux on Saturday and really help its chances with the big offensive lineman. Right now I would say that Clemson and Florida are battling neck-and-neck for that top spot.