Jibunor can’t wait to return to UF: Florida Gators recruiting

The Florida Gators recruiting class of 2018 only has one linebacker in it and the Gators are needing depth at the position in a bad way.

On Saturday, the Gators hosted one of their top targets at the position in linebacker Richard Jibunor (6-3, 206, Athens, GA. Athens Christian) and the visit went as good as you could hope if you’re Florida.

“I was lucky to be here for a very good game,” Jibunor said. “It was a very good game to see and to see how good they played. I was really impressed by the environment, it was awesome. I really heard a lot about Florida but I wanted to see the how the campus was.”

Linebackers coach Tim Skipper told Jibunor that the atmosphere was going to be good but not as good as usual but the linebacker was still impressed by the Swamp.

“It was crazy, it was very good,” he said of the atmosphere. “Coach told me that most of the fans weren’t there after the hurricane but it was very very awesome. I will definitely be back soon.”

Jibunor played close attention to the linebacker group on Saturday and he understands the need for bodies at the position.

“They played good, it showed that they have a good coaching instructor,” Jibunor said of the linebackers. “They really played hard and that’s what I like is for guys to give it all they got. There’s opportunity for anyone to walk in and play.”

After the game was over, Jibunor spoke to two Gators assistant coaches and they were all happy to have him in town.

“I talked Coach [Tim] Skipper and Coach [Randy] Shannon,” he said of who he talked too. “They were very happy to get me down here, they’ve been trying to get me down here for a long time now. They were just excited and trying to get me to commit and everything. I can’t wait to be back, I like it.”

Auburn has been the front runner for sometime now but Jibunor says that he’s sticking to a top three instead of naming a leader.

“Florida is definitely one of the schools that I’m considering,” Jibunor said of Florida. “They’re definitely in my top three schools. I talk to Auburn a lot, I talk to Tennessee a lot and I talk to Florida a lot.”

Jibunor has said in the past that he wanted to make an early decision but now he’s unsure of when he will announce that decision.

“I really don’t know when but that’s why I took this visit today [Saturday],” he said of a decision. “I’m just going to go back and discuss it with everyone, there’s people that I have to discuss it with.”

 

INSIDERS TAKE: Auburn has seemed like the favorite for Jibunor for sometime now but Florida really made up some ground this weekend. Jibunor stayed through Sunday and has quietly been talking to linebackers coach Tim Skipper a lot lately.

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.