James knows he made the right decision with the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators’ coaching staff had a lot of help in recruiting their top targets this past weekend as several of the Gators’ commits have been vocal recruiters for this class.

Linebacker commit Shemar James (6-2, 212, Mobile, AL. Faith Academy) is one of those guys and enjoyed a relaxing weekend in Gainesville.

“It was nice, real nice and fun,” James said of his visit to Florida this past weekend. “I was around Coach C-Rob and Coach [Chase] Clark, it was real fun. It was less about football, we were just laughing and kicking it this weekend.”

James didn’t shy away from working out this past weekend and he spent a lot of time going one-on-one with tight end CJ Hawkins in the Swamp.

“I’m always here to work,” he said on why he decided to work out on Friday. “Getting some work in, there was a lot of nice guys out here. He [CJ Hawkins] was probably the best guy I’ve ever covered. He’s long.”

This was the first time for James to be back in the Swamp since he committed, and he says this weekend helped him realize where home is.

“It really showed me that I made the right decision,” he said of Florida. “I plan on being back the first week and the third week against Alabama.”

When James returns to Gainesville in a month, the linebacker knows what he wants to see on game day.

“I want to get that game day atmosphere, that college feel back,” James said of what he’s looking forward to now that he’s committed. “

Alabama has continued to recruit James hard but the linebacker says he’s solid with the Gators and the decision to stick with Florida isn’t hard on him.

“It’s not really hard for me because I’m my own man,” James said on how hard it’s being committed to Florida from Alabama. “I try to focus on myself and not really focus on the outside noise.”

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.