Florida Gators defensive end commit Josh Griffis has had his recruiting process pick up a lot over the last few weeks after the defensive end had a really good showing in Orlando at the Under Armour camp.
Earlier this month Griffis was on campus in Gainesville for the Gators junior day and it was a good trip for the Florida commit.
“It went pretty good,” Griffis said of his visit to Florida for junior day. “I talked to my position coach and to Coach [Dan] Mullen. I just got to be around the coaches and some of the players.”
Griffis got the chance to sit down with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham as the assistant coach explained how the Gators plan to use the 2020 commit.
“Coach Grantham sat me down and showed me all the different schemes they run and where they would have me playing,” he said on his meeting with Todd Grantham. “He showed me film of the outside linebackers and he showed me all the players he put in the NFL. They want me to play the BUCK position.”
Grantham also explained to Griffis how important the BUCK position is to what the Gators want to run on defense.
“He said he usually puts the fastest player and athletic player at the position,” Griffis said on Grantham’s message about the BUCK position to him. “He needs someone athletic that can drop back into coverage or pass rush and set that edge. He explained how in the NFL the top players that get paid are the quarterbacks, the line and then it comes to the pass rushers. He says pass rushers are one of the most important players in football.”
The 2020 Florida commit also took notice of what Grantham and the Gators were able to do for Jachai Polite who played that BUCK position some this past season.
“Yeah I do,” he said on if he likes the spot and if he watched Jachai Polite play the role last year. “He explained that nobody really even knew of Jachai when he got there, he had like two sacks when he got there and they changed him to the BUCK position and he led the whole SEC in sacks this year after Grantham got there. He was telling me how that could be and stuff like that.”
While on campus, Griffis also got the chance to talk with head coach Dan Mullen briefly.
“Coach Mullen was just asking me questions about how I was doing and stuff like that,” Griffis said on meeting with Mullen. “I didn’t get to talk to him much because there was a bunch of recruits there and he was trying to talk to everyone.”
Griffis was on campus several times last year and was on campus a lot under Jim McElwain says that he sees a difference in the way Mullen is running Florida’s program.
“I think they’re making their way to one of the top programs in the nation,” he said on where he feels like the program is heading. “They’re getting all of these recruits in and they’re taking their program more serious, especially their weight lifting program. I think a good weight lifting program controls what kind of team you are. Coach [Nick] Savage does a good job with that.”
The 2020 commit has been committed to Florida for over a year now and was committed to the previous staff and Griffis explains just why he stayed committed to Mullen and this staff.
“When they first transitioned in, Coach Mullen just came in and showed me and explained how his program was going to be,” Griffis said on what has made him stay committed from McElwain to Mullen. “He was right about it all, they’re changing things around there and taking things more serious and working hard.”
INSIDERS TAKE: Griffis says he’s probably going to take visits to other schools but he isn’t sure on where and when. Griffis says he remains a solid commit to the Gators.