The Florida Gators have two signees in the Under Armour All-American this week and both of those guys were guys who announced their college intentions earlier this month.
Offensive lineman Deyavie Hammond (6-3, 353, Lakeland, FL. High) is one of those signees playing in the game and he says the environment in Gainesville is what sold him on the Gators.
“It was definitely the family vibe,” Hammond said on why Florida was the school for him. “When I got there they were so inviting, the atmosphere was so great. When I went to the Florida/LSU game, I instantly fell in love with the crowd and the energy of it with all the coaches but I wanted to get my mom, my aunt and my family up there so they could be comfortable with where I’m going to be spending my next three to four years. They loved it there and after the official and it was pretty much set after that.”
The Gators didn’t start heavily recruiting Hammond until this fall but once they started recruiting him, Hammond says Florida did a good job at it.
“It was definitely their pursuit of me,” he said on what set Florida apart from the other schools in his recruitment. “They did really good in recruiting me and I just loved the love they were showing me. Every week they were hitting my phone just talking to me. The process of them recruiting me was great and that’s what really sold me.”
Offensive line coach John Hevesy has sent a message to Hammond about needing him to be ready to play early once he gets to Gainesville this summer.
“He says he wants me to come in and get some early play so he wants me to take reps at tackle,” Hammond said on where Hevesy sees him playing at. “So that’s where I can get in and also learn the other positions. He wants me to get in and play early at tackle.”
Hammond was impressed by the Gators offensive line this year under Hevesy and he’s ready to join those guys.
“It was a great group,” he said on his impressions of the offensive line this year. “I loved the offensive line, they just showed that they work hard and they go four quarters. They showed that it’s always a grind down there in the trenches. They showed what a real offensive line is and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
The offensive line signee was also impressed by the job of this new coaching staff in Gainesville.
“It was, looking at last year’s team and looking at this year’s team, you can see the big difference in the records,” Hammond said on the job of this year’s coaching staff. “The play style and coaching was just overall a big difference. I loved this new coaching staff.”
Now that Hammond has signed with the Gators, his focus is on getting more of his Lakeland teammates to join him in Gainesville.
“It has always been a great tradition from that 06 team and we’re just trying to get it going,” he said on the Lakeland pipeline at Florida. “I mean it wasn’t really planned but now that’s going, we’re just going to keep it going.”