On Wednesday, the Florida Gators sent four coaches to New Jersey to visit with an out of state prospect that plans to visit Gainesville this weekend.
Defensive end Jayson Jenkins (6-6, 250, Trenton, NJ. Notre Dame) received a visit and appreciated the coaching staff flying up to see him.
“It was very fun, we had a great conversation,” Jenkins said on Florida visiting him on Wednesday. “I’m just looking forward to the official visit. It was astonishing to see them come all the way from Gainesville to New Jersey, meeting all of them was a very fun time. I’m looking forward to getting to know them more.”
Defensive line coach Sean Spencer was out on the road for the first time on Wednesday and it meant a lot to Jenkins for him to be the first prospect that Spencer visited.
“It’s very astonishing to see, this whole process has been very cool,” he said on what it means being the first visit for Spencer. “To see a guy like Coach Spencer acknowledge me first, I’m very proud and humbled.”
Jenkins had a good first impression of Spencer and thinks he would be a good coach to play for at the next level.
“Very energetic off the jump,” Jenkins said on his impression of Spencer. “He’s always energetic, he gave me some advice on being better. He seems like an overall great person to be coached by.”
Napier, Spencer, and defensive coordinator Patrick Toney explained to Jenkins that he could do several things on the defensive line if he was to pick Florida.
“They want to see if I truly could be a defensive end or a hybrid guy,” he said on where Florida wants him to play. “Once I get on campus, they said they would figure it out because of my athletic ability.”
Wednesday was also the first time for Jenkins to meet head coach Billy Napier and the defensive end liked his energy.
“Coach Napier is a great guy overall,” Jenkins said of Napier. “He’s a very high-spirited guy, he’s always asking if I’m good and stuff. He has been that way through the whole recruiting process and now in person.”
This weekend Jenkins will return the favor and visit Gainesville for his official visit, and he knows what he wants to see out of the visit.
“Just get a feel for the University of Florida and see what I can do for them and what they can do for me,” he said on what he’s looking forward to seeing on his visit. “Just overall taking it all in and scoping everything out to see how everything is.”
After visiting Florida, Jenkins plans to visit one of the Gators arch rivals the following weekend.
“I’m going to visit the University of Tennessee after Florida,” Jenkins said of other visits.