Matthews is comfortable with the Florida Gators’ and has a tough decision

Billy Napier and his coaching staff already landed one top safety in the country in December and this weekend they took their shot at a second one.

Safety Jacoby Matthews (6-2, 193, Ponchatoula, LA. High) was on campus and got answers to all his questions.

“It was amazing, I had a great experience,” Matthews said of his official visit to Florida. “It’s a nice college town, not to crowded but enough to focus on the task. I had a great time with the players and recruits, and it left me with no questions to be asked. I feel like it was a successful visit.”

The highlight for Matthews this weekend was just how in-depth the Gators’ coaching staff was with explaining everything to the safety.

“Really just how much they went into detail explaining everything to us this weekend,” he said on the highlights of the trip. “Stuff like classes, how you would get developed as a player and leave Florida. That just stood out the most.”

Two of the Gators’ current safeties hosted Matthews during the visit and they explained to the Louisiana native that they want him in Gainesville.

“Rashad Torrence and Trey Dean,” Matthews said on the players he was around the most. “They want me and they feel like me coming in that I will be one of the top 3 safeties, they were telling me they’re `comfortable that I would be. They watched my film and said they feel comfortable with me.”

Matthews also spent time around his good friend Kamari Wilson who enrolled in Gainesville earlier this month.

“I spent a little time with Kamari [Wilson],” he said. “He was just telling he was going to stay out of the way and that I was going to like it. Just know that you’re going to like it. There wasn’t much for him to say but me and Kamari go way back from being recruited together forever. We always been undercover saying we’re going to go to the same school.”

Defensive coordinator Patrick Toney, defensive backs coach Corey Raymond and Napier have all been recruiting Matthews hard and spent time with him this weekend.

“Coach Toney, Coach Raymond and Coach Napier the most too,” Matthews says on the coaches he spent the most time around. “With those three coaches, that’s all I need to feel comfortable there. Being with those three guys all weekend made me feel better about the situation.”

This weekend Matthews was able to see a different side of the coaching staff and that made their connection and relationship even better.

“It was way better because during an in-home, they’re forced to talk more about football,” he said on hanging out with the coaches this weekend. “Like here, I was able to see them as dads, as men in an everyday life instead of just coaches. It was a great experience and connection.”

While on campus, Toney and Raymond showed Matthews clips of how he would be used in the Gators’ defense next year.

“They pulled up the scheme for me,” Matthews said on them showing how he would be used. “They made a little of cut out of Derwin James and how he played and that’s how I really want to be used. That shocked me, a lot of the clips they put in was my film doing the same thing he did. I feel like that was great and I feel like I fit in great.”

The staff also explained to Matthews just how the Gators’ defense will be run under Toney and the coaching staff.

“It’s more of a defensive backs defense, it’s made for the DB’s,” he said on Florida’s defense. “You will see them with five defensive backs at times and then six or seven. That’s what really stood out to me the most. They blitz you and play you at different positions.”

After the visit, Matthews says the Gators are high up there for him and he believes the Gators’ have a bright future ahead of them.

“It definitely boosted them up,” Matthews said on if this visit helped Florida. “It was everything I wanted to see and know. Everything that I thought about it. I think that Coach Napier is going to come back and change some stuff around.”

Next up for Matthews will be a trip to his home state LSU Tigers but he says he’s comfortable with the Gators.

“Really I feel comfortable if I was to sign the paper to Florida,” he said on where he stands in his recruitment. “But I still have to take an LSU visit and take it slow. I would say it’s fine line between Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M. It’s super tough on me right now.

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.