Keanaaina feels like he fits in with the Florida Gators

The Florida Gators didn’t have the biggest visitors list on Saturday for the Idaho game but they one prospect come a long way to visit Gainesville.

2020 defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina (6-3, 292, Denver, CO. JK Mullen) visited Gainesville on Saturday and liked how the Gators played a lot of players.

“It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it,” Keanaaina said of his visit to Florida on Saturday. “I knew they were going to win but it was good to see what the atmosphere during the entire game was with them rotating the freshmen and see how they play. I talked to the defensive line coach [Sal Sunersi] after and he was happy they won but he was still ‘we need to do this better,’ and he had a whole list of things they needed to fix.”

This was the first game in the Swamp for Keanaaina and he enjoyed the atmosphere and how the fans reacted to the team.

“I loved it,” he said of his impressions of the atmosphere. “I loved all of the Gator chomping everyone did and it was just great to see. Everyone was just so into the game and barely anyone left. Everyone was just all into the game.”

After the game was over with Keanaaina got the chance to speak with the Florida coaching staff and they had a simple message for him.

“They were like we’ve been here a year and we were able to turn this team around from 4-7 to now we have 8 wins,” Keanaaina said of the message from the coaching staff. “So imagine what we can do in the future and we want to bring kids like you in to be a part of that class.”

Keanaaina’s father played college ball with receivers coach Billy Gonzales and the 2020 defensive tackle got to meet him on Saturday.

“Oh yeah, I actually met him, he was one of the first coaches we met here,” he said on meeting Coach Gonzales. “It was my first time actually seeing him, I’ve talked to him on the phone but he seems like a great guy. My dad always talks about him and it’s always good to meet former players of my dad’s.”

Coming all the way from Colorado shows that Keanaaina has interest in the Gators and he says distance isn’t a big deal to him.

“I’m open to anything,” Keanaaina said on if distance is a factor for him. “I don’t care where I go as long as I feel like I fit there best, I want to go there. Weather is nice here, that’s one thing I like here, and Florida weather is always nice.”

Fitting in is what Keanaaina is looking for and he believes over time that he can fit in with the Gators program.

“I do believe that,” he said on if he feels like he can fit in at Florida. “I was talking to the defensive line coach after the game and they all seem good, I was having a conversation with them and they were all having fun and hyped up. Great environment.”

This has been a busy fall for Keanaaina as he has taken several visits and he’s doing all of that in hopes of making an early decision for his college destination.

“I enjoyed Wisconsin, I enjoyed Virginia, Notre Dame, I loved it,” Keanaaina said on schools standing out to him. “Florida actually, I really enjoyed it too and I can put them up there too. Most of the schools I visit, those are the schools that I want to visit. I’m trying to trim it down to official visits and then I’m planning on choosing a school before my senior year of football.”

For the Gators to get an official visit, Keanaaina knows exactly what the Gators must do.

“I think they have just keep communication,” he said on what Florida has to do in order to get an official visit. “Just showing me that I fit in here and making me get comfortable with the coaching staff. If I feel comfortable, I was told that I can be shy at times but I like getting comfortable with a coach. Once I get comfortable with him, I’ll learn better.”

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.