Harrod explains why he committed to the Florida Gators

On Monday afternoon the Florida Gators picked up a big commitment from offensive lineman William Harrod (6-5, 312, Fort Washington, MD. National Christian Academy) who was on official visit to Florida this past weekend.

Harrod who had never visited had an idea that the Florida Gators was a team that he could play for in college.

“I knew I wanted to go there even before I visited, I was real interested in them,” Harrod said of why he committed to Florida. “And then I just needed to go down there and see how it is down there so I just took my official visit down to the University of Florida. When I first got down there I had that feeling that I want this to be my home for the next year four years.”

The offensive lineman knew a lot about the Florida program and had heard a lot about the team and that was a big first impression for Harrod.

“Coaches, teammates and fans,” he said on what he liked about Florida before he got down there. “And the environment that they were so great and you can’t get no better than them.”

Harrod met with offensive line coach John Hevesy a lot during the visit and the assistant coach explained how Harrod would be used on the line in Gainesville.

“He said starting me at guard and then moving me to tackle,” Harrod said on where Hevesy sees him playing at on the offensive line. “He said get used to the plays and not try to rush it. He said learn the interior and learn the plays inside when I first get down there but eventually move to tackle.”

This was the first time for Harrod and Hevesy to really talk a lot in person and the offensive line commit was impressed by the veteran offensive line coach.

“He’s a straight forwarded guy and he doesn’t sugar coat nothing,” he said on impressions of Hevesy. “How he talks and how we talked with each other. We didn’t talk all about football and I liked that we could just talk about anything.”

While in Gainesville Harrod also met with Dan Mullen a lot and the commit walked away very impressed with Mullen both on and off the field.

“He was just telling me to be patient,” Harrod said of his talks with Mullen. “We had a quick talk before I left and he was just saying be patient and that Florida was a great place. I could just tell that he’s a great coach and he really cares about his players.”

Harrod also got the chance to meet several current Gators commits and now he’s chomping at the bit to get on the field with them.

“I can’t wait to play with them on the field,” he said of meeting the other commits on Saturday night. “They’re going to be really cool teammates.”

Now that Harrod has committed to Florida he’s looking forward to finishing up his high school football season and signing early.

“I’m done with visits and I’m 100% committed to the University of Florida,” Harrod said of his commitment status. “I’m planning on early enrolling.”

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.