On Monday, new Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier made a visit to the Gators top commit, and it was a good visit.
Defensive line commit Chris McClellan (6-3, 295, Owasso, OK. High) was able to meet Napier for the first time on Monday after speaking with him last week.
“It was good, it was a cool visit,” McClellan said of his visit with Napier. “I got to meet him and see how he is as a person and as a coach. It was good.”
McClellan was the first commit to receive a visit from the Gators and Napier explained why it was important to visit him first.
“It means a lot,” he said on what it meant to have Napier visit him so soon. “He said just like how I made them a priority, he’s going to make me priority since I committed to them without a head coach. It was pretty cool to hear that from him.”
Napier also explained to McClellan how he plans to run his program at Florida and what the defensive lineman could expect in Gainesville.
“The stuff that they were doing at Lafayette he’s going to be doing that even more at Florida,” McClellan said of the message from Napier. “He said they didn’t have the resources or the personnel that they’re going to have at Florida so he’s going to change the program around and doing something that he hasn’t been able to do before.”
McClellan had questions about what the coaching staff would look like under Napier and while the head coach didn’t give any names, he did give him a hint.
“We talked about the coaching changes that were made,” he said. “But like I said when I committed, I fell in love with the University not just the coaches. I’m going to miss Coach [David] Turner, Coach [Garrick] McGee and all those guys. He didn’t tell me who was going to replace those guys, but he gave me a hint that they were coming from the NFL.”
The first meeting between McClellan and Napier went well and the commit was impressed by Napier’s vision.
“He’s pretty cool, he’s intense,” McClellan said on his early impression of Napier. “He has a plan and a strategy. I’m looking forward to seeing it and being a part of it.”
McClellan plans to sign next week and he says he’s solid to Florida for a few reasons in particular.
“I feel like I am because Coach Napier is really turning it around,” he said on if he’s solid with Florida. “The people he’s recruiting this whole week, he’s been all-around the country.”
INSIDERS TAKE: The day after the All-American game, I will be in Gainesville to enroll early.