Helm solid with the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators have several out of state commits in the class of 2020 and on Friday night they welcomed a few of those guys to campus for Friday Night Lights.

Defensive back commit Avery Helm (6-2, 170, Missouri City, TX. Fort Bend Marshall) was on campus and he broke down exactly why he committed to the Gators in April.

“Honestly, the first conversation I had with Coach [Torrian] was a big impression after all the injury and stuff,” Helm said of what drew him to Florida. “He made it real easy for me. I had never even thought about Florida until he called me.”

Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray instantly made Helm comfortable with him as the defensive back appreciated Gray caring about him as a person and as a player.

“He said it was like a week, right after he got the job he called me and he thought they had already offered me,” he said of his first conversation with Gray. “After we got to talking for a little bit, I told him that I have the situation with my knee and tearing my ACL and he understood it and he told me to just do what I do and that’s what had me from the jump.”

Helm visited Gainesville for the first time in April and he instantly felt a different vibe in Gainesville then other places.

“My first impression of Florida was that’s family built and it’s different,” Helm said of his first impression of the Florida program. “It’s a different environment you get it here and a different vibe you get here. It’s family orientated and these are guys you’re going to be cool with afterwards.”

The defensive back also knows about the Gators rich history with defensive backs and Helm believes he can help continue that tradition.

“That’s a tradition that you have to keep going, I’m going to keep it going,” Helm said on if the DBU tradition helped Florida. “It isn’t pressure, it’s understanding going into it. That’s just how you have to carry yourself when you go onto the field, everybody is going to know when you see Florida, they’re going to think about their defensive backs.”

Friday was a first for Helm despite him visiting several times in the past, the defensive back brought his parents to town for the first time.

“This is my parents first time visiting so that was the main thing,” Helm said on what he wanted to get out of this visit. “I went by myself on my visits so I could get the full feeling but my mom had to come see it for herself.”

Helm has still been picking up offers despite his commitment to Florida but he says his recruitment is over.

“I’m solid, this is it for me,” he said. “I just feel like this is the place for me that I can and get everything I need to get it done at.”

Next up for Helm is his official visit and he has a few games in mind that he would like to use that visit for.

“I’m either thinking Florida State game or Auburn game,” Helm said on when he wants to take his official visit. “Both of them games are going to be jumping, I might come from both of them. I might bring my grandparents on one of the visits and my parents on the other one.”

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.